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How Emotional Intelligence Can Create Happier and Healthier Museums

By Jennifer DePrizio

After twenty years of working in museums, I’ve seen all sides of the field—the good, the bad, and even the ugly. But regardless of the negative experiences, my hopes are still as high as when I began my career. I still believe deeply that …
Taking a Stand: A Q&A with Micah Parzen, CEO of the Museum of Us

By Adam Rozan

While for some museums the pandemic was a wake-up call to reimagine how they engaged and served their communities, for others it was an opportunity to go deeper. One of those museums, the Museum of Us, had been on a trajectory for several …
A Farewell from AAM’s Departing President & CEO

By Laura Lott

It has been an incredible honor to lead the American Alliance of Museums and to work with all of you for the last thirteen years. Throughout my tenure, I visited hundreds of museums and enjoyed meeting thousands of museum …
Empathy Interviews: A Tool for Museums to Understand the Feelings and Experiences of Others

By Kari Nelsestuen, Julie Smith, and Daniel Ramirez

Imagine sitting down with local community members and hearing stories about the places they feel they can show up as their most authentic selves, or where and how they have learned something interesting in the past, or what drives them to …
A Human-Centered Approach to Guest Services

By Laurel Maxwell

Compared to other areas of museum work, guest services (or visitor services, as it’s sometimes known) often gets overlooked for the impact it has on community-building. This may be because, rather than any one big initiative, the work of …
#AAM2023 General Session

By American Alliance of Museums

The General Session of the 2023 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo took place on May 19, 2023 with Chevy Humphrey, AAM Board Chair and President and CEO of the Museum of Science and Industry Chicago; Laura Lott, AAM President & CEO; …
Advancing DEAI in a Polarized World

By Minal Bopaiah & Jakob Wolf-Barnett

Recently, we hosted a webinar with museum leaders on values-based communications for diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (DEAI). While all attendees were eager to commit fully to DEAI, many acknowledged the risks of doing so in …
Mission Made: How Museum Stores Are Embracing Sustainability and Inclusivity

By Melody Caban & Elizabeth Price

When most people think of museum stores, they likely envision shelves filled with postcards, magnets, and keychains featuring famous artworks or other exhibits. In recent years, however, many have been making an effort through their …
3 Trauma-Informed Practices for Museums to Follow

By Jackie Armstrong

Earlier this year, I presented at MuseumNext’s Museums, Health, and Wellbeing Summit about what we risk by not integrating trauma-informed practices and values into our work. In my talk, I chose to use reflective prompts and storytelling …
Museums and YouTube: You’ll never believe these 3 tips to improve your channel

By Xiomara Blanco

When the pandemic forced museums to make a hard pivot to online content, the importance of reaching audiences beyond gallery walls became clearer than ever. As The Historic New Orleans Collection’s first in-house media producer, figuring …