Community Engagement & Impact

Probing Grief at Historic House Museums

By Callie Hawkins and Rob DeHart

Historic house museums can connect their physical spaces with personal experiences, including grief. This article originally appeared in Museum magazine’s May/June 2024 issue, a benefit of AAM membership. Historic house museums often focus …
Supporting Those Who Care at the Baltimore Museum of Art

By Susan Witmer Wolffe and Margaret S. Chisolm

The Baltimore Museum of Art has partnered with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to better prepare medical students. This article originally appeared in Museum magazine’s May/June 2024 issue, a benefit of AAM membership. …
Creating Restorative Moments at Woodland Park Zoo

By Lauren Carroll-Bolger

Woodland Park Zoo’s Hope & Healing offers uplifting community experiences for people facing life-altering challenges. This article originally appeared in Museum magazine’s May/June 2024 issue, a benefit of AAM membership. A child …
Partnering for Community Healing and Change at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center

By Xoe Fiss and Patty Bode

Museums can play a role in destigmatizing addiction disorder. This article originally appeared in Museum magazine’s May/June 2024 issue, a benefit of AAM membership. What inspires a complete stranger to engage in the destigmatization of …
Toward Equity in Metadata: How Sandy Spring Museum Is Going beyond Reparative Cataloging

By Allison Weiss

Equity: freedom from bias or favoritism Metadata: data that describes and provides context for digital items, which in turn helps users find and discover these resources. Though Black and white residents numbered almost equally throughout …
Extending the Invitation: Strategies for Welcoming Visitors and Reducing Barriers to Access

By Raphaela Platow

In the aftermath of the pandemic and amidst ongoing calls for museums to become more inclusive and attuned to community needs, many institutions are still seeking ways to recover from faltering attendance and expand the reach of their …
You, Me, We: Tackling Identity and Discrimination with Young Audiences

By Melissa Higgins and Lok-Wah Li

In February 2023, Boston Children’s Museum opened a new exhibition called You, Me, We, which encourages families to connect with each other around questions of fairness in the world, reflect on and express their identities, explore …
Identity, Choice, and Emotion: New Approaches to Touring

By Debbi Hegstrom, Kara ZumBahlen, and Sheila McGuire

As Learning staff at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), we regularly assess our tour offerings to understand what’s working well or where we may need to find new approaches. Over the past five years, several factors have pulled us in …
Seizing the Moment: How Museum Outreach and Programming Can Champion Overlooked Communities

By Deborah Ziska

Sometimes, instead of waiting for an invitation, overlooked communities will come knocking at your door. If so, is your museum ready to be fearless, seize the moment, collaborate, share narratives, and maybe even have some fun? One such …
A Journey of Healing: Creating Co-Stewardship with Tribal Communities

By Caitlin Dichter & Nicole Armstrong-Best

What’s in a name? The language we use tells us who is speaking, from what perspective, and (implicitly), who controls the narrative. Names, in short, have power. Today on the blog, Caitlin Dichter, Exhibit Designer, & Nicole …