A few months ago, Mike Murawski, in partnership with LaTanya Autry of the Mississippi Museum of Art and The Empathetic Museum, created t-shirts to support a “Museums are not Neutral” campaign. Murawski wrote, “Museums have the potential to be relevant, socially-engaged spaces in our communities. Yet, too often, they strive to remain “above” the political and social…
There’s a cult of failure these days. A google search for “failure” brings up articles like “Why success always starts with failure” and the New York Times article “On campus, failure is on the syllabus.” In fact, failure is so in vogue that there is now a museum dedicated to it. Failure is hot in museums,…
As we plan for 2018 at the Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum, we have decided to reduce the number of programs we offer, holding workshops and home-school programs monthly instead of semi-monthly, and cultural festivals bi-monthly instead of monthly. The goal is to leave more time to ensure excellence of programs, and to build strong systems…
This week’s guest post is by Tracy Truels, Director of Learning and Engagement at Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Tracy has also worked at museums in Houston and New York. In addition to her work in museums, Tracy is a writer of fiction and operas. The views expressed in this post are Tracy’s own, and do…
This guest post is by Lynda Kennedy, the Vice President of Education and Evaluation at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum Complex. Lynda has worked at numerous museums, including the Museum of the Moving Image, the Brooklyn Historical Society, and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. A graduate of the Bank Street College of Education’s…
Laura Huerta Migus is the Executive Director of the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM). Prior to joining ACM, Laura was the Director of Professional Development and Inclusion Initiatives of the Association of Science & Technology Center, where she was responsible for the planning and implementation of all professional development and equity and diversity efforts. In…
For the past few months I have been working an article related to children’s museums, and thinking a great deal about the period from the 1960s to the 1980s, when children’s museums transformed from spaces with collections-based exhibits aimed at elementary school children into play spaces for the under-10 set. At first I understood this transformation as the…
This guest post is by Becky Gaugler, an independent Museum Educator in Pittsburgh. In her previous position, Becky managed programs for school and adult groups at Carnegie Museum of Art as an Assistant Curator of Education. A native Pittsburgher, Becky returned to her hometown after coordinating school programs at the Rubin Museum of Art in…
My two most recent posts have suggested that museums may have techniques at their disposal that help transform thinking, in particular fostering critical thinking and tolerance. Since sharing those posts, I have come across articles and video clips that I think further the argument, and may even help museums train staff. Demonstrations of how to facilitate and…
Because we live in a culture in which we primarily receive information written and shared by those who think just like us, I have spent the last two weeks immersed in a flood of media that deepens my despair at the world this election has cast us in to. Some day, it will be the job…
Reflections on Museums, Programs, and Visitors
A catalog of museum experiences and impact
Thinking critically about museums and art galleries.
Experience Well-Crafted
Because nonprofit leadership is messy
Being a mom is so much more than simply “being mom.” It’s about still knowing yourself, finding time for the people you love, the things you love and knowing you would do anything for those who call you mom.
Reflections on Museums, Programs, and Visitors
Reflections on Museums, Programs, and Visitors
Thoughts on 21st Century museum leadership by Anne Ackerson and Joan Baldwin
Exploring museums, parks, cultural sites, and other informal learning environments…and every WMATA Metro station
Reflections on Museums, Programs, and Visitors
Reflections on Museums, Programs, and Visitors
Musings on the therapeutic, empowerment, and wellbeing-enhancing possibilities of the museum
Reflections on Museums, Programs, and Visitors
Reflections on Museums, Programs, and Visitors
Peer-populated resources for art history teachers
Reflections on Museums, Programs, and Visitors
"There is no cure for curiosity." ~Dorothy Parker
thoughts on museums, content, design, and why they matter
