Education & Interpretation

Futurist Friday: It’s ByoLogycal

By Elizabeth Merritt

Your Futurist Friday assignment, watch this 5 minute video, and tell me whether you are willing to try the drug it touts: ByoRenew, a synthetic virus introduced in 2012 with the promise that “you might never be sick again.” …
Playful strategy development for museums

By Elizabeth Merritt

When I tell people I’m a futurist, I inevitably get some jokes about crystal balls and Tarot decks. Ironically, I actually HAVE a Tarot deck on my desk: one that I’ve hacked to create a “forecasting deck”—a clever tool to help people …
Futurist Friday: Breakthrough

By Elizabeth Merritt

If you’re a fan of National Geographic specials in general (as I am), you will be psyched to learn they are launching a short futurist series this coming Sunday (November 1, 9/8 Central). Each of the six installments of Breakthrough …
Marva Collins: Education Futurist

By Elizabeth Merritt

You may have met Sylvea Hollis, CFM’s project manager, at the annual meeting last spring, where she stage managed our demonstration of Google Glass in MuseumExpo. Now Sylvea’s working with me on the next steps in our exploration of the …
Futurist Friday: Send in the Drones

By Elizabeth Merritt

This week smart drone manufacturer 3DR is premiering Life After Gravity, an original sci-fi series described as “a thriller on a global scale—intergalactic, really—about the blessingsand poisons of extraordinary power, the many …
Shaping the Future of Learning

By Elizabeth Merritt

Back in 2007, when I started writing CFM’s business plan, I looked for other futures-oriented organizations to adopt as models for our work. One of the first I came across is KnowledgeWorks, a nonprofit dedicated to exploring and helping …
Trending Now: “Museum Schools”

By Elizabeth Merritt

If you attended the CFM session on the future of education at the annual meeting in Atlanta last year, you may remember the lines that stretched up the aisle as folks waited to talk to Katherine Kelbaugh, founder of the Museum School in …
Older Adults and Programming for People with Dementia

By Elizabeth Merritt

I’ve been planning a workshop for the Alliance’s Accreditation Commission, helping them explore evaluation programs that focus on impact, and how that may translate to our field. Bill Gates’ blithely sets numeric goals for eliminating …
The American Alliance of Museums Announces the Ford W. Bell Fellowship for Museums and K-12 Education

By American Alliance of Museums

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 22, 2015 The new Ford W. Bell Fellow will unite museums to create a brighter future WASHINGTON, DC –Today, the American Alliance of Museums announces the founding of the Ford W. Bell Fellowship for Museums and …
Building the Future of Education

By Elizabeth Merritt

Last week I dropped a tantalizing hint about the second position planned for the evolving CFM Fellows program, one that will be officially announced at the annual meeting next week. Here’s the unofficial preview: The Ford W. Bell Fellow …