Kids Keep Out!

My copy of the festival guidebook must have originally belonged to a Mansfield area resident.  Resting inside the pages I found a slim fold-out leaflet which had been printed by the Mansfield Motor Traction Company.  Although organisers put events on around the country, clearly people wanted to get to the hub and travel down to the South Bank to see what all the fuss was about.  Two coach parks were built to receive the expected influx, but they were obviously not close to the site – after disembarking, passengers were then expected to catch a tube train.  

 Of course there wasn’t just the South Bank site. Other prestigious locations hosted exhibitions which were part of the festival.  This leaflet tells of the special exhibitions on science, architecture and books.  These were held at The Science Museum, Poplar and South Kensington respectively.

Despite seeming inclusivity of the festival, which aimed to draw everyone together to celebrate this country and its future role in the world – one group of people were persona non grata. We are briskly informed at the foot of this leaflet that children under 5 were not admitted to these special exhibitions.  Looking at this from a modern perspective, I didn’t know whether to:

a)     be shocked that the newest and most futuristic members of society were banned from what could have been a wonderful learning experience

b)    find it refreshing that in the 1950s they were not afraid of making a stand and declaring – NO toddlers!  They are indeed something of a nuisance at things like this.

No-one would dare to ban young children from an educational exhibition these days.  The letters page of The Guardian would be in uproar.  I’m sure that this ban meant that some people missed out on seeing the exhibitions.  And I’m also sure that others appreciated seeing them without the infernal crying of babies and toddlers in the background. Don’t get me wrong, I am a mother of two and I like taking them to museums and galleries.  But when they were little they were a pain in the backside – always making a row at the wrong time and making me feel very guilty. I have a sneaky admiration for the 1951 attitude. 

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