Changing Childhood

The special exhibition Changing Childhood. From the Straw Doll to the Smartphone invites visitors to take a journey through time. It illuminates the many facets of childhood, from upbringing, education and play to work, nutrition and medical care, showing how childhood has changed over generations.

Historical differences are addressed as well as unifying commonalities. What roles did gender and social background play? What did ‘childhood’ mean then – and now?

The focus is also on Peter Rosegger, who wrote strikingly in his works about the challenges and joys of childhood in 19th century rural Styria. His observations still resonate today, providing fascinating insights into a bygone world and prompting the following questions:

How have children’s lives changed over the last 200 years? What distinguishes a childhood in the 19th century from that of today’s Gen Z or Generation Alpha?