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Taking a Museum Education Study from Research to Practice

By Emily Holtrop and Stephanie Downey

People often talk about going “from research to practice,” but in reality, this is fraught with challenges, not just among museums but in any field. One primary challenge is that research institutions operate in a realm of theories, …
2019 Award Winner for Innovation in Museum Education: Wa kuk wa jimor (“Canoe of One Community”)

By Allyn Lord

The EdCom Award for Innovation in Museum Education recognizes, encourages, and celebrates new, creative ways of engaging with audiences. The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History’s approach to collaborating with the local Marshallese …
Toward a National Convening on Museums and Creative Aging

By Bill Tramposch

Here are a few facts, to put you in the frame of mind to think (hard) on the power of aging creatively and the rich opportunities we have in museums to redouble our efforts to engage older adults and grow from their contributions: Fact: …
The Memory Café: Creating a museum program for people with dementia

By Norman Burns

At Conner Prairie—a Smithsonian Affiliate living history museum in Fishers, Indiana—we recently debuted a program for people with Dementia and Alzheimer’s. In partnership with the Central Indiana Council on Aging (CICOA) and Dementia …
Seeing Paris—and the World—through Small Museums

By Josette Souza

A few months ago, a museum exhibition sparked a thought in my mind that I haven’t stopped thinking about ever since. I was walking aimlessly around Paris and had just wandered into Le Musée des Arts et Métiers. There I found rows and rows …
An International Experience at #AAM2019

By Angela Gala

After moving back to Europe from America in 2016, I had never been able to come visit until last month. That’s when I flew all the way to New Orleans to attend this year’s Annual Meeting of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) and …
A Museum ‘Dating’ App Helps Visitors Fall in Love with Art

By Julia Forbes and Ivey Rucket

As the High Museum of Art prepared to completely reinstall its collection in the fall of 2018, we began talking about how we could use mobile technologies in new and innovative ways to engage the public with our newly installed galleries. …
An After-School Program Gives Refugee Children a Creative Boost

By Aimee Hunt

One of the many things that make Charlottesville, Virginia special is that it serves as a destination city for the International Rescue Committee, which helps refugees settle into their new countries. Since 1998, more than three thousand …
More Evidence for the Power of Creative Aging

By Bill Tramposch

One of the most fruitful areas of the creative aging movement is the one that explores the arts and aging. The evidence for the positive effects of arts on wellbeing is mounting rapidly and to such a degree that it has spawned a new …
Attracting Visitors with User-Generated Content

By Amrita Gurney

If I ever find myself with a few hours to spare, there’s no place I’d rather be than a museum. Visiting a new exhibit fills me with exhilaration, perspective, and knowledge. But in North America today, there are a large number of people …