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Essential Evaluators: Answering COVID Questions

By Laureen Trainer and Andréa Giron Mathern

Essential Evaluators seeks to gather evaluators in a common space to dialogue, reflect, and support each other in a world upended by COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter protest movement. This is a time of uncertain and unknown expectations …
An “Empathy Bridge” Helps the Woodland Park Zoo Drive Social Change

By Laurie Stuart, Daniel Rother, Laurel Abbotts, & Mary Jackson

Any cultural institution can benefit from understanding and fostering meaningful, emotional experiences for our audiences, especially those whose missions emphasize individual, community, or societal change. For zoos and aquariums, this …
Using Local Data to More Fully Understand the Visitor Experience During COVID

By Kari Ross Nelson & Stephen Ashton, Ph.D.

At Thanksgiving Point Institute—a farm, garden, and museum complex in Lehi, Utah—we’ve been wondering how visitor agendas are changing during the current health crisis. Understanding visitor motivations informs our efforts to be inclusive …
Obtaining Government Funding for Education Programs

By Mae Sevedge & Reggie Lynch

In this series of posts, EdCom’s Trends Committee is taking a deeper look at emerging phenomena identified in the 2020 edition of TrendsWatch from the Center for the Future of Museums. In this post, they dive into government funding, with …
How the Frazier History Museum Is “Bridging the Divide” in Its City

By Rachel Platt

The Frazier History Museum is located on Main Street in Downtown Louisville, Kentucky, at the corner of Ninth Street. What makes our address significant, historically significant, is that Ninth Street has long been known as the “Ninth …
Do-it-Yourself Exhibits: How the National Museum of Natural History Created a New Model for Reaching People in Their Communities

By Kerri Dean

The Challenge Years before the world was thrown into the coronavirus pandemic, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) sought to increase awareness about the concept of One Health—the interconnectedness of human, animal, …
How to Master Humble Learning, a Requirement for Cultural Competence

By Ann Hernandez

Among dancers, there is a common saying that even an advanced dancer can always work on their basic step. I have been a salsa and Latin dancer for over a decade, but when I attend a beginner-level class, I still carefully watch the style, …
Monthly Subscriptions Make Membership Easy to Say Yes To

By Rosie Siemer & John Lewis

As cultural organizations continue to face declining membership and significant lost revenue during the pandemic, many are seeking ways to engage new audiences and retain existing members. Luckily, while the long-term impact of the crisis …
Seasons of Growth: Creative Aging on Display at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center

By Claire Carlson

In October 2020, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, opened the gallery exhibition Art Links Sheboygan: Seasons of Growth, the culmination of a new program to promote creative aging. The program, Art Links …
How to Procure Digital Services with Accessibility in Mind

By Sina Bahram

As you commission a website, mobile app, experiential multimedia piece, or other digital interactive, it is critical to incorporate accessibility and inclusive design considerations throughout the process. Weaving inclusion-based goals …