Childhood madness: Compassionate portraits of children in Canadian insane asylums, 1880-1930

Childhood Madness is a digital exhibit about the experiences of children in Canadian asylums across five provinces. Kira’s project includes a map and timeline to develop a larger sense of time and the impact of colonialism. From there, viewers engage with province-based sections that include stories about institutionalized children. The goal of her project exhibit is to foster compassion between the viewer and the content through illustrated portraits and fictional vignettes integrated with historical context. Finally, there is a pedagogical component—a lesson plan for history-centred learning for health professionals. Using the exhibit as a foundation, this lesson plan will be workshopped with medical and nursing students under the supervision of two expert historians who teach in clinical settings. The content is designed to use the exhibit as a teaching tool to make experiences around children’s mental wellbeing come alive and be relevant to both service users and practitioners.