Environmental Sustainability

One from each Category: Part 2

By Elizabeth Merritt

Time for a brain stretch. This is part two of a quick review of recent scanning hits in five STEEP categories of forecasting—this one covers economic, environmental and political developments. (You can read part one, on social and …
Great ideas…

By Elizabeth Merritt

I am encouraged to see that my recent post, “A Rising Tide: The Changing Landscape of Risk Assessment” has been widely read and circulated—I think it’s critical that museums factor environmental trends into their long-term planning. As we …
A Greener Tomorrow: Museums Take Steps Toward Sustainability

By Stephanie Shapiro

This article originally appeared in the July/August 2012 edition of the Museum magazine. According to AAM’s Code of Ethics for Museums, the common mission of our institutions is their “unique contribution to the public by …
A Rising Tide: The Changing Landscape of Risk Assessment

By Elizabeth Merritt

In my time heading the Excellence Programs at AAM (including MAP and Accreditation) it was always a challenge to coax, cajole or even gently bully museums into producing well-tailored risk management plans. AAM staff tried disseminating …
PNC SmartHome: An Inspirational Exhibit of Extreme Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction

By David Beach

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2012 edition of Museum magazine. The term “natural history” often evokes a sense of the past, but increasingly The Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) is showing the way …
Choosing Roles: Facilitator or Advocate?

By Elizabeth Merritt

Would you rather be loved, or would you rather save the world? You can’t necessarily have both. I pondered this choice, as it applies to museums, yesterday morning at the last half day of the 21st Century Learning in Natural History …
Food: A Recipe for Successful Museums

By Elizabeth Merritt

I hope you’re planning to get together with colleagues to share “Feeding the Spirit: Museums, Food & Community,” CFM’s free webinar on Feb. 17, and explore food literacy, values-based food service and community building. If you’re …
Museum Food Services: Serving up our Missions and Eating our Words

By Elizabeth Merritt

What do visitors eat, when they come to your museum, and what messages do they take away from the experience? We’ve devoted many posts on this blog, over the past year, to celebrating how museums can help their communities improve their …
Seeds Of Change: Museums tap food trends, reap rewards.

By Rina Rapuano

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2011 edition of Museum magazine. Considering all the signs that read “No food or drinks allowed,” most museum visitors probably never imagined walking into a gallery to …
Futurist Friday: BioPunk Fiction

By Elizabeth Merritt

“The function of science fiction is not always to predict the future but sometimes to prevent it.”—Frank HerbertMe, authoritative voice, telling you, museum professional: Read More Science FictionI know, it may look and feel like wasting …