Building Audiences

Join the Conversation on Museums and Creative Aging

By Bill Tramposch

Calling all kindred spirits! Museums and the field of “creative aging” have a wonderful future together. As Aroha Fellow for Museums and Creative Aging for the next two years, I would like to explain clearly the intents of our …
A Global Education For All

By Lizzy Martin

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2019 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of membership with the Alliance. Click here to learn more about membership! The Children’s Museum of Manhattan successfully navigated potential …
In Polarized Times

By Svetlana Mintcheva

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2019 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of membership with the Alliance. Click here to learn more about membership! How can museums better respond when caught in the crosshairs of …
For and By The Community

By Matthew Welch

An art museum stepped out of its comfort zone to host an exhibition focused on healing in the aftermath of a local tragedy. This article originally appeared in the March/April 2019 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of membership with the …
From a Teacher: How to make your museum field trips ones to remember for students and staff

By Claudia Bartow

“That was an awesome field trip!” “That place was so much fun.” These are the statements you want to hear from students after a field trip. As an eighteen-year veteran teacher who has escorted young people on dozens of field trips, I can …
Museums Should Take Notes from Black Panther and Beyoncé: How to engage visitors in difficult discussions using popular media

By Stacey Ingram Kaleh

These days, when museums make it into popular conversation it’s a cause for celebration in the community. As we face increasing competition for leisure time and new challenges in audience engagement due to emerging technologies and …
Creating Engaging Virtual Reality Experiences for Your Museum Collection Might Be Easier Than You Think

By Brady Lund and Shari Scribner

May Massee is a literary legend. She was a key player in the development of children’s literature in the United States, establishing the “junior books” division of Doubleday, Page, Inc. in 1923 and at the Viking Press in 1933. The May …
The Spaceship Solution: How museums can use experimental technology to solve problems

By Erica Harmon

Picture this: children and adults alike standing on the grounds of a museum on an early winter morning, sipping hot cocoa. Their eyes reach upward as they watch a three-foot spaceman created by the hands of an artist for this sole mission, …
A New Way to See: Looking at museums through the eyes of the blind

By Samantha Silverberg

Let’s talk about accessibility. In the twenty-first century era of inclusivity, museums are working towards making the visitor experience a more positive and unique one, as part of efforts to increase the number of visitors to museums. In …
Say Cheese! 3 Ways Museums Can Compete with Instagrammable Pop-Ups

By David Whitemyer, AIA

This article is loosely based on a session panel that I facilitated at the 2018 New England Museum Association (NEMA) conference titled, “Let Me Take a Selfie: The Power of Photo Ops and ‘Instagrammable’ Moments in Museums.” Panelists …