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Facilities
Explore dozens of articles and member resources on financial sustainability in museums.
Crafting the Museum Experience: How Mingei International Museum Centered Mission and Visitor Experience in a Major Renovation
In September 2021, Mingei International Museum will reopen after a three-year, fifty-five-million-dollar renovation. This ambitious and unique capital project, completed in partnership with …
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 …
Green Trends in Museum Retail
As a seamless extension of the museum experience and a culmination of the exhibitions on view, the museum store is uniquely poised to reinforce an institution’s mission and values. For …
Facing the Rising Tide: How the Whitney Museum of American Art Addresses Resiliency and Storm Preparedness Through Design
With rising sea levels and stronger floods and hurricane seasons, priceless cultural sites and museum collections around the world are increasingly under threat from severe weather events …
For Post-Pandemic Success, Get Creative with Distributed Museum Models
As the global pandemic has put a halt to in-person visitation for much of 2020 and brought long-held planning and operational models into question, museum leaders across the country have …
Never Waste the Walls: What PK-12 Schools Can Learn from Museum Design
Generally speaking, children are much more enthusiastic about heading to a children’s museum than school, even though learning occurs in both places. Visit a children’s museum any day of …
Will COVID-19 Change Museum Architecture?
Here’s a happy thought: COVID-19 will—at some point—recede, and like pandemics of the past it will be history, another story to tell. But after the disease is gone, will any of the …
Diary of a Museum Reopening
As of May 7, the Buffalo Bill Center of the West is officially reopened to visitors. The BBCW is a massive AAM-accredited facility located in rural Wyoming in the Yellowstone National Park …
Security and Operational Priorities for Reopening Cultural Institutions
Support Free COVID-19 Resources for the Field: The current crisis is taking a distressing financial toll on cultural organizations, and AAM is no different. In these challenging times, we …
Earth Day during COVID-19: Green Tips for Closed Museums
In 2020, Earth Day falls during a time when much of the coronavirus-stricken world is staying at home. Every part of the global community is impacted, and museums have been hit particularly …
Making a Splash! 6 Things to Know about Exhibits with Water
It’s no surprise that many museums choose to entertain and educate visitors with the stuff that covers 71 percent of our planet’s surface. Water can contribute greatly to a wide variety of …
The Case for Digital Facility Reports
Facility management is one of the core elements of running a museum. As AAM’s core standards say, it is “incumbent upon [museums] to ensure the safety of their staff, visitors and …