Posts
Education & Interpretation
Why Teachers Want Virtual Field Trips to Stay
On a virtual field trip, students search their screens for signs of movement as they try to spot the elusive macroinvertebrates lurking in a pond water sample. A grid appears over the …
Finding Wonder in a Virtual World
Envision a group of schoolchildren standing before you, giddy with anticipation and excitement. In front of them are two elongated rectangular wooden doors, which, once opened, will …
The Peabody Essex Museum’s Climate + Environment Initiative Seeks to Create a Different Climate Future
As the director of an interactive art and nature space, I’ve included climate change as a topic in many shows and programs over the years. But until recently, I had convinced myself that …
What’s the Connection Between Financial Capital and Museum Education?
In this series of posts, EdCom’s Trends Committee is taking a deeper look at emerging phenomena identified in the 2020 edition of TrendsWatch from the Center for the Future of Museums. In …
Museums Can Renew America Through the Semiquincentennial
Though it may still feel like a long way off, the United States’ 250th anniversary is rapidly approaching. Right now, the US Semiquincentennial Commission, federal agencies, state history …
A Children’s Museum’s Partnership With Local School District Brings in Revenue — and New Ideas
Leaders at the Children’s Museum of Fond du Lac got to see different teaching techniques in action when it hosted a charter school for the 2020-21 academic year. The money that the …
Changemaking and Museums for Civic Learning
Civic learning is about nurturing our shared civic imagination and restoring our community fabric—endeavors that are more important than ever. We believe that museums have everything to …
Excite, Build, Consider: A Structure for Open and Honest Feedback in Project Development
One challenge we’ve all probably faced in collaborative program and exhibit development/design is creating a space for open and honest feedback. We know candid feedback is crucial for …
What I Learned in a Year of Writing “Museums and Creative Aging: A Healthful Partnership”
The creative aging movement is coming of age, and just in the nick of time. As of last year, 80 percent of state arts agencies across the United States reported a high or very high demand …
How the Delaware Art Museum is Centering Community Voices in Interpretive Planning
In 2018, the Delaware Art Museum (DelArt) began a radically inclusive approach to reinstallation planning, integrating community voices at every stage through focus groups, iterative …
AAM’s Education Committee Announces Four Pandemic Innovation and Education Awards
For Immediate Release Arlington, VA—The COVID-19 pandemic altered many established museum education practices. In response to these challenging times, museum education staff created …
A Futures Approach to Museum Planning
Nothing gives me greater joy than learning how the futurist materials created by CFM have helped museums and museum people in their work. Today on the blog, Ty Smith and Jeremy Taylor tell …