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Questioning Assumptions: Is Inspiration More Important than Knowledge?
Today’s guest post is by Conny C. Graft, a consultant in research and evaluation based in Williamsburg, Virginia. Her keynote on the future of museum audiences, delivered at the Small Museums Association Conference this past spring … -
Futurist Friday: Past Visions of the Future
Meet Matt Novak. Matt is a self-identified “accidental expert” on past visions of the future, and oversees the Paleofuture blog—an online archive of materials related to retro-futurism. Paleofuture explores “the past that never was.” Why … -
The Dirt on the Stearns Museum’s Children’s Garden
Ella Mitchell, who is interning in AAM’s Government Relations and Advocacy department, reports on her interview with director Charlene Akers of the Stearns History Museum, an early volunteer for the Let’s Move! Museums and Gardens … -
Futurist Friday: BioPunk Fiction
“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 … -
The Next Era of Education will be…what?
This is a very important question for museums, don’t you agree? If museums are, fundamentally, educational in nature, if this role is the basis of our tax-exempt status and our major contribution to society, it’s crucial for museums to … -
It’s Not About the Cat Cams
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Blogger, Tumblr—the world is awash in social media platforms and museums are, like the rest of the world, experimenting with when to use them, to what ends and how to measure success. Guest blogger … -
Bridges from School to Work
This week’s guest blog post is by Kelly Pavich, employee representative and trainer at the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities, established in 1989 by the family of J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott to enhance employment … -
The Future of Development: Crowdsourced Funding
When AAM conducted its 2009 Museum Financial Information survey, a quarter of respondents had a capital campaign in progress. We don’t even have stats on how many museums regularly run annual giving campaigns, but it sometimes it … -
The Future of Museum Ethics: A Chat Wrap Up
CFM hosted a lively Twitter chat yesterday, soliciting input on the future of museum ethics as a kickoff for the forecasting project we are conducting with the Institute of Museum Ethics this summer. The goal of the chat was to gather … -
Practical Futurism: a Case Study
This week’s guest blogger is Bill Martin, director of the Valentine Richmond History Center in Virginia. Bill was one of our panelists on the session “Practical Futurism” at the AAM annual meeting in Houston last week, and shares how his …
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How to respond to new threats to nonprofits
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Center for the Future of Museums Blog
Last week, I learned that the IRS is planning to propose regulations that would give it …
Take Action to Protect the Independence of the Smithsonian Institution and America’s Museums
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Advocacy Alert
Advocacy Alert – July 20, 2026 AAM statement on the independence of the Smithsonian …
AAM Statement on the Independence of the Smithsonian and America’s Museums
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Press Release
The American Alliance of Museums condemns the Administration’s continued attacks on the …