Artificial intelligence…grant disruptions…unionization…tourism…birthrates…new legislation…philanthropy …climate change…social media…hantavirus…

How can you make sense of the hundreds of stories vying for your attention in your digital and analog feeds? How can you find, in that ocean of content, the critical signals that may impact your operations?

Please, let me help.

As AAM’s in-house futurist I monitor dozens of news feeds, identifying stories that may have important implications for our sector. Each week I select three recent news stories to share via Dispatches from the Future of Museums on the AAM website (often with links to additional reading and resources).

I often hear from readers who share these stories with colleagues, staff, and board members to prompt discussion around important issues. News, research, and op-eds can be a great starting point for exploring implications of trends and events, supporting questions such as:

• How would it affect our community/our organization if this trend continues?
• Does this trend or event present a challenge or an opportunity for our organization?
• What might happen next?

Here are two examples of how you might explore the implications of recent stories featured in Dispatches:

Why singles are choosing bars over bios

Axios, 5-13-26

Synopsis: “Since the pandemic, and as Gen Z has come of age, people looking for love have soured entirely on swiping. The push for in-person connection shows up in research data, product launches, extensive coverage of the loneliness epidemic, and Gen Z’s app aversion. But approaching and connecting with strangers in real life is a different skill — and for many daters, a rusty one. Singles events on Eventbrite doubled from 2022 to 2025. The momentum peaked in 2024, with a 30% rise in events and an 85% jump in attendance year over year. People are looking for love at running clubs, private dinners — even wrestling speed dating.”

This headline is kind of click bait-ey, but the underlying data is a signal of an important cultural trend. Exploring the implications of this trend, museums might ask:

• Are young singles over- or under-represented among our current visitors?

• Is this an opportunity to fill an emerging need?

• Could our museum lean into being places of connection, host social events, and promote volunteering as a way to “meet cute?”

Florida Creates a More Conservative U.S. History Course to Rival A.P.

The New York Times, 5-7-26

Synopsis: “Florida has created a new American history course that advances a more conservative interpretation of the nation’s story. FACT — Florida Advanced Courses and Tests—focuses on the Protestant faith of the founders, argues that the U.S. Constitution is an antislavery document and recommends a textbook written explicitly to build patriotism. The class, which will roll out as a pilot program this fall, is meant to serve as an alternative to Advanced Placement U.S. History.  Florida has often set the pace for Republican education policy, so the curriculum could serve as a model that other states follow, or [other states could] choose to administer FACT courses and exams, establishing a sort of red-state competitor to the College Board.”

History—how it is remembered, taught, and presented in museums—has become a political issue at the highest levels. Exploring the implications of this trend, museums might consider:

• If “Alt A.P.s” become a trend, how might that change museums’ role in educating the public about American history (or science, or literature, for that matter)?
• Might alternative curricula like this change what teachers are looking for in museum programming, to complement new learning standards?
• Might teachers and parents look to museums as trusted source to balance perceived bias in the official school curriculum?

Your weekly newsletter from AAM (AVISO or Field Notes) includes a summary and link to the latest Dispatches stories. You can bookmark this link to Dispatches and check in once a week to for a steady stream of fuel to power museum planning. I’d love to hear your thoughts about the implications of these stories, and how your museum is planning to respond to the challenges and opportunities they represent.

Warmest regards from the future,

Elizabeth Merritt

Vice President, Strategic Foresight and Founding Director, Center for the Future of Museums, American Alliance of Museums