Exhibitions

Speechless: A sensory exhibition charts a new path to accessibility in learning

By Sarah Schleuning

Museums are constantly experimenting with how we can present content in ways that engage and inform a wide audience. Part of the challenge is to consider issues of accessibility and disability, to develop different ways of communicating …
Four Ways Modern Audiovisual Technologies are Helping Museums Improve Exhibits and Operations

By Dan Goldstein

The museum field is using modern audiovisual (AV) technologies to reinvent how people experience art, cultural antiquities, and historical events. Some of these methods include developing immersive digital exhibits, deploying virtual and …
Making a Museum in the Age of 3D Digital Models

By Michael D. Cherney and Adam N. Rountrey

In 2005, not long after the advent of tabletop 3D printing technology, the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology (UMMP; a research institution) used this approach to generate elements missing from a skeletal mount of the Buesching …
Zoos and Aquariums: Inspiring visitors, inspiring museums

By Elena Gonzales, PhD

I’ve been researching curatorial work for social justice for more than fifteen years and curating for more than ten. One of the biggest surprises I’ve had in this work came while I was writing my new book, Exhibitions for Social Justice. …
For the Love of Front-End Research: How to make new ideas audience-centered using visitor studies

By Elizabeth Bolander

The “Eureka!” moment when you come up with a fabulous idea to implement at your museum is a great one, but it is also sometimes accompanied by trepidation: What if visitors don’t respond to the idea? How can I get my colleagues on board? …
2019 Museum Publications Design Competition Winner: Painting the Floating World

By American Alliance of Museums

AAM’s annual Museum Publications Design Competition recognizes superior execution and ingenuity in the graphic design of museum publications. A panel of graphic designers, museum professionals, and publishers chooses winners for …
Lessons in Cross-Cultural Partnerships for Mid-Sized Museums

By Nannette V. Maciejunes

On paper, the relationship between Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) and the Dordrecht Museum in the Netherlands looks like a typical museum partnership. For our recent exhibition Life in the Age of Rembrandt: Dutch Masterpieces from the …
Partnering with the Blind to Make Exhibits More Accessible

By Carrie Christoffersen, Anil Lewis, and John Olson

The opportunity to experience photography, art, and other museum exhibits can be life-altering to a blind person. “As a blind person, when I can experience a painting on my own without asking for help, that represents increased freedom, …
Sofa So Good: A word on behalf of older folks

By Bill Tramposch

I don’t know about you, but a career in museums has made it very difficult for me to be a satisfied museum visitor. I find that I am always peering into “how the sausage is made,” as it were, noticing how the front-of-house staff interact …
Unlocking the Neuroscience of Visitor Experience

By Tedi Asher, PhD

The act of understanding is fundamental to the museum experience. In visiting a museum, we come to understand the objects placed before us, along with the stories of their human pasts. So too is understanding a key to creating these …