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How does information help museums build capacity? Interview with Eileen Setti
A few weeks ago, I heard Eileen Setti speak on the topic of capacity building. I was struck by her emphasis on information, and began to wonder about what information we are bringing into museums,...
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What did I learn in my first year?
The Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum turned one year old last week. Amidst the birthday celebrations and thank you emails, I have been reflecting on the question: What did I learn from my first year...
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How can museums contribute to dialogue about social justice when we are...
At the PlayHouse last weekend we celebrated Eid-al-Fitr — the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan — as part of our Celebrate Peoria series. One visitor approached the manager on duty that day,...
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How do you get the word out?
This week, I am thinking about marketing museum programs. Museums generally have a variety of programs to market, often to a range of audiences. And our success varies: At the PlayHouse we have some...
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What is an “Interpreter in Residence?” Interview with Michael Christiano
Michael Christiano is the Interim Senior Director of Museum Programs at the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago. In this role he develops strategies and programs that reflect on the nature...
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What is Museum Disruption?
This post is the result of a conversation with Ethan Angelica from Museum Hack, who is a Tour Guide & also responsible for VIP Partnerships. Ethan Angelica, Tour Guide at Museum Hack [HD] from...
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What responsibility do museums have for shaping the public’s relationship...
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...
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How do museums help to create a better world?
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...
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Museums and political thought: A follow-up
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...
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How can we support local networking among museum educators?
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...
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Why are children’s museums museums? – Take 3
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...
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Why are museums wary of new audiences? Interview with Laura Huerta Migus
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...
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How can we learn from the past?
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...
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What does it mean for a museum director to have a vision?
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...
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What does it take to create a great education program?
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...
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Is Failure Useful?
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...
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Can Museums Be Neutral?
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...
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TOP FIVE IDEAS for leveraging digital platforms and thinking
This post is the first in a series of interviews with individuals who have ideas for how museum professionals might leverage this moment to think or work in new ways, or how we might do our work more...
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TOP FIVE IDEAS for Online Programs
These ideas come from Julia Lazarus, an experience designer and cultural project producer interested in creative audience engagement, public humanities program development, and strategic cultural...
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How do we address the power dynamics of philanthropy? Interview with Lisa Cowan
Lisa Cowan is Vice President of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation; in this capacity she helps with strategy, development and oversight of foundation programs and grantmaking. Lisa has been working...
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