September/October 2026 Preview
The Culture of Welcome
This issue explores how museums can create more welcoming, accessible, and engaging visitor experiences by treating hospitality, neurodiversity, security, and frontline service as core strategy. It highlights practical examples including Cleveland’s visitor-centered renovation, Jewish museums’ digital innovation, the Chrysler’s gallery-host model, and Griffin Museum’s all-ages escape-room program.
Preview select articles from this issue of Museum below. Individual and Museum Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 3+, Ally, Industry, and Industry Plus Members can access the full digital edition.
In this issue:
From the President
Experience is Everything
AAM’s President and CEO, Marilyn Jackson, argues that museums should coordinate every visitor touchpoint to create welcoming, meaningful, and memorable experiences that center people.
The Tour Guide at the Front Desk
Point of View | 🔒 Member Login
by Jeremy Kreusch
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago created a paid program that trains entry-level visitor services and retail staff to lead free public tours, improving visitors’ experiences while giving frontline employees skills, experience, and clearer career pathways.
Designing for Discovery
Feature | Free to Read
by Anna Alger
By embedding physical, financial, and sensory accessibility throughout its renovated spaces, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History broadened participation and more than doubled its typical annual attendance.
Visitor Services as Strategy
Feature | 🔒 Member Login
by Debbie Queen
Visitor services should be treated as an organization-wide strategy that aligns frontline knowledge, accessibility, operations, and hospitality so every touchpoint reflects the museum’s mission and creates a welcoming visitor journey.
Normalizing Diverse Ways of Thinking
Feature | 🔒 Member Login
by Susan Letourneau, Wendy Martin, and Sam Tumolo
The NUDL project partnered with autistic youth to redesign museum activities around varied learning preferences, promoting belonging and agency through clear expectations, learner choice, sustained engagement, and support for reflection and transitions.
Innovating for Impact
Feature | 🔒 Member Login
by Marsha L. Semmel and Greg Stevens
Five Jewish museums show how digital tools can preserve cultural heritage, expand access, strengthen operations, and engage communities beyond museum walls.
Solving the Engagement Puzzle
Feature | 🔒 Member Login
by Kate Higbee
The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry’s after-hours escape-room experience uses existing exhibits, collaborative puzzles, and storytelling to deepen multigenerational engagement, attract new audiences, and generate sustainable revenue.
No Yelling in the Museum
Feature | 🔒 Member Login
by Colleen Higginbotham
Museums can protect their collections while making visitors feel welcome by enforcing rules with respect, empathy, clear explanations, positive engagement, and redirection rather than yelling or intimidation.
September/October 2026 issue
By the Numbers:
Museum Visitation
32%
US adults who have been to a museum in the past year.
38%
Frequent museum-goers who think museum staff make them feel welcome.
Sources: 2026 Broader Population Sampling (AAM + Wilkening Consulting); 2026 Broader Population Sampling (AAM + Wilkening Consulting); 2026 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers (AAM + Wilkening Consulting); 2026 Broader Population Sampling (AAM + Wilkening Consulting)
3 out of 5
Museum-going households that have additional access and support needs.
44%
Museum-goers who are likely to spend money in museum cafés.
» Learn about the Annual Survey of Museum-Goers. While enrollment is already open, stay tuned for more information about the 2027 survey!
“By the Numbers” is compiled by Susie Wilkening, principal of Wilkening Consulting (Susie@wilkeningconsulting.com).
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July/August 2026
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From Blueprint to Imprint
Jan/Feb 2026
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Coming Up:
November/December 2026 – Financial Sustainability and Resilience
January/February 2027 – Our annual TrendsWatch issue of the magazine
March/April 2027 – Curation Today (Deadline for pitches: October 30, 2026)
April/May 2027 – Mission, Value, Impact (Our Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo themed issue)
» Check the magazine’s full Editorial Calendar, out now for 2027! See potential topics and future article deadlines under each theme.