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 jobContinue reading “How do museums help to create a better world?”
Category Archives: What is a museum?
What responsibility do museums have for shaping the public’s relationship with facts?
In March I had a conversation with an insightful colleague, Amy Boyle, an educator at the Guggenheim Museum. Amy suggested that open-ended interpretation might be problematic in a climate in which political discourse disregards facts, and candidates and supporters make up their own truths. I’m not sure I’ve captured the challenges and opportunities offered by thisContinue reading “What responsibility do museums have for shaping the public’s relationship with facts?”
Should Museums Celebrate the Holiday Season?
A few weeks ago, I walked into the Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum to find floor staff creating a clever string of “lights” made of construction paper and cardboard tubes. They wanted to hang it from our tree – a big, fake oak tree that sits just inside our lobby, and is one of the first thingsContinue reading “Should Museums Celebrate the Holiday Season?”
Can what museums choose to exhibit or promote define the character of their cities?
Lately, I have been thinking about the relationship between museums and cities, and how museums support or impact their cities. As part of this exploration, I picked up Gail Lord and Ngaire Blankenberg’s recent book, Cities, Museums, and Soft Power. This book explores questions of cultural capital, and the ways in which museums wield power. The book makesContinue reading “Can what museums choose to exhibit or promote define the character of their cities?”
Should exhibits tell stories?
This is a post I have been trying to write for a long time – over a year. I’m still struggling, so bear with me. There has been a great deal written over the past few years about museums and storytelling. Storytelling was the theme of the 2013 Annual Alliance of Museums conference. In a 2014Continue reading “Should exhibits tell stories?”
Why are children’s museums museums? – Take 2
As I emerge from the chaos of opening a new museum, I am still thinking about the question “Why are children’s museums museums?” which I blogged about in February. In that post I offered three ideas, which grew out of speaking with Barbara Meyerson and Elaine Heumann Gurian, and reading articles by Stephen Weil. In aContinue reading “Why are children’s museums museums? – Take 2”
What type of media is a museum? Interview with Twyla Gibson
For the past year, I have been wondering about Marshall McLuhan’s ideas of “hot” and “cool” media, and how they might apply to museums. Marshall McLuhan was an influential voice in media theory, and thought a great deal about popular culture, and how the dominant media shapes the way we think. (If you aren’t familiarContinue reading “What type of media is a museum? Interview with Twyla Gibson”
Museum of Museums II: How do museums reveal the unknown?
In March I started a “Museum of Museums” on Pinterest. Thank you to readers who suggested additions from Dylan and Collins, as well as the film “Museum Hours.” Here are two more additions, which I share in part because I find them so beautiful. But also because they remind me of the mystical aspects of museums, theContinue reading “Museum of Museums II: How do museums reveal the unknown?”
What do people think about museums?
One way to address the question, “What do people think about museums?” is to look at cultural references to museums. Museum professionals often make note of references to museums in movies. For those who want to pursue that line of thought, here is Huffington Post’s list of “10 of the most memorable museum scenes in film.” In theseContinue reading “What do people think about museums?”
Why are children’s museums museums?
In graduate school in the Museum Education Program at George Washington University (admittedly more years ago than I should admit to), the first semester was dedicated primarily to the idea of object-based learning. How does one teach with objects? How do you select objects for a tour investigating a larger theme? This course of study made sense,Continue reading “Why are children’s museums museums?”
Museum Questions 