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How Museums Can Generate Revenue Through Digital Content and Virtual Experiences

By Brendan Ciecko

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic forced museums of all kinds to close their doors, many have responded by shifting their attention to engaging audiences through virtual and remote channels. Through social media initiatives, virtual tours, …
Digital Gold: Queering Flat Spaces

By Eli Burke

As museums address issues of access to collections, galleries, and education during COVID-19, many have chosen to shift to a digital space to connect with the public and continue their missions as community and cultural institutions. As a …
How to Use Storytelling to Build and Engage Audiences

By Josette Souza

As far as museums go, the National Geographic Museum is unlike any other. With access to over 130 years’ worth of photos, footage, data, and archival materials—plus a built-in audience already hooked on the National Geographic …
Essential Evaluators: A New Era Emerges

By Rose Jones, Laureen Trainer, and Andréa Giron Mathern

In sync with the rest of the world, the museum field has exploded and imploded. Crushed by the weight of ongoing, unresolved systemic racism and paralyzed by the COVID-19 pandemic, parts of the field have collapsed or dissipated, other …
Advocacy is (Always) Essential

By Allison Titman

Do you have five minutes to take a small action that could make a big impact? I know, it sounds like a cheap sales pitch, and if you work in a small museum, your answer may be no. Whether closed, working to reopen, or able to welcome …
How Chinese Museums Closed and Reopened During COVID-19

By Yiru Zhang

What Chinese museums did during their month-long closure Almost all Chinese museums closed immediately on January 24, only one day after the city of Wuhan locked down, to reduce the risk of infection in crowded places. Beginning in early …
6 Data-Tested Approaches to Building New Audiences

By Joseph O'Neill

It’s safe to say that most museums would like new visitors. Visitors actualize museums’ missions, give them vibrancy as places of insight and connection, and contribute to their financial welfare. Even for museums that receive plenty of …
Supporting Museum Professionals During a Time of Need

By Ryan Bourke

One of the best pieces of wisdom I’ve ever received came from a former boss of mine who later became a good friend. The year was 2009, almost a decade after our professional paths converged, and like so many folks during the Great …
Leveraging Smartphone Technology to Protect Museum Visitors

By Kim Spencer

Everyone is eager for a return to normal, which includes access to museums and other cultural venues. While countless people likely have been inspired and sustained by virtual museum tours these past few months, there is something very …
Staying in Touch: Addressing Concerns to Allow Tactile Exploration at Museums

By Cheryl Fogle-Hatch, Ann Cunningham, and Matt Gesualdi

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating new norms that discourage touching all manner of objects to curtail the spread of the virus. However, when public spaces reopen, understandable concern about disease transmission may lead museums to …