I think perhaps it would be wise to think not what people want but what they can have.
Some of the great things we see at museums are, or will be, priceless treasures. The fact is that kids, and their parents, if they are not aviation minded, do not know how to treat these riches. They think that they SHOULD be able to sit in, handle, push, pull, turn, this way or that without any regard for the item. It is also understandable. But we have a duty to protect them.
I have been to Brooklands recently as well as East Fortune, and in each case the exhibits are pretty well untouchable. I have to agree with that. However, at Brooklands I was allowed to sit in the Harrier, which was parked next to the Clerget Camel which they knew I had flown. I suppose I have to admit that it was maybe considered somewhat more desireable for me to do so, but the fact is that they will allow kids to have a sit in the Harrier too - under very strict supervision. But for how much longer? Wear and tear will always eventually take it's toll.
But they cannot touch the 'bouncing bomb' anymore than they could climb into the cockpit of Roland Beamont's record breaking trans-atlantic Canberra at East Fortune. The fear that these relics are now rare and irreplaceable is a very real one.
I would not hide the fact that when someone asks me if I would like to sit at the controls of anything, I would never refuse. I could never have done that when the inviation came to 'handle' the controls of 'AF' (Concorde) at LHR. It was a thrill, as much for me as for Flying Lawyer and PPRuNe Dispatcher, and neither of us was in a mood to refuse.
Anyway, people clambering over aeroplanes can cause any amount of damage and I would prefer that kids and adults alike can SEE but only sometimes touch. That way we preserve them not only for this generation but for many generations to come.
By the way. I also recently went to the FAST museum at F'boro and although it is only 4 or 5 weeks old it already has some remarkable items on display. It is situated in the white building in front of the famous 'black sheds.' It used to be the Farborough Balloon Factory where the great J.W.Dunne built his swept wing glider in 1908. Dunne is mentioned, as he should be, and they have some wonderful designs that were used for testing way back in the early 1900's and many of the subsequent years. The outside display of a T7 Hunter, the Cockpit of Bucc, a complete Lightning and another Hunter is great.
But...............all the exhibits are protected. You can get close - and that is IMHO how it should be.
CP