Center for the Future of Museums Blog

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STEAMing into Solvency: Integrating a Museum into the Public School System

By Karen Ackerman Witter and Leah Wilson

The pandemic was an economic tsunami for museums, particularly those already experiencing financial stress. Relatively new museums, still getting their feet under themselves, were at particular risk. Today on the blog, Karen Ackerman …
Hiring into Pathways for Advancement

By Elizabeth Merritt

What if every entry level museum job was designed to be the first rung in a career ladder for anyone who desires to climb? How could that change who wants to work in a museum, and whether they are willing to commit to the long-term? How …
In the Pandemic a New Museum Charter School is Born

By Amber Shive

Over the past two years, the pandemic has prompted museums to experiment with new products and services to meet the needs of their communities. Some of these experiments have turned out to be, in effect, pilot projects for financially …
Forecasting 2022, Part 3: Build Your Own Adventure

By Elizabeth Merritt

When I sat down to write the third entry in CFM’s scenario set for 2022, I struggled over what kind of story would most usefully round out the collection. Scenario one (A Third Year of Waves) explores a depressing but entirely possible …
The Long-awaited Tail

By Elizabeth Merritt

“With our imagination, the future is a place where anything, or one hundred things, or everything, can be different—even things that seem impossible to change today.” –Dr. Jane McGonigal, futurist and games designer I want to start …
Forecasting 2022, Part 1: Waves Ahead

By Elizabeth Merritt

I’d hoped to be forecasting the post-COVID future by this point, but that apparently wasn’t in the cards. (Forgive me a little futurist Tarot humor.) Instead, it’s entirely possible that 2022 will become Year Three of the COVID-19 …
Museums and Equity: Volunteers

By Elizabeth Merritt

Note: this post is adapted from a post originally published on the CFM blog in 2019. 42% male 22% African American, Asian, or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity 66% under the age of 55 49% with less than a college degree That’s the demographic …
FIRE! Providing Comfort in a Moment of Crisis

By ZeeAnn Mason, Museum of the American Revolution

Museums make their communities better, stronger, and more resilient in myriad ways. Some of these are directly related to their missions: enriching local education, improving health and well-being via arts engagement, providing context …
An Investment in Our Collective Future: Building for Staff Advancement from the Inside Out

By Margaret Koch

With the worst of pandemic disruptions behind us (we hope) some museums are using this as an opportunity to rethink their operations, rather than simply rebounding to the previous norm. COVID amplified the inequities between stable and …
What Does It Mean to be Trustworthy?

By James Gardner

On September 30, the Alliance released Museums and Trust 2021, the latest research to measure public trust in US museums. It was reassuring, though not surprising, that the results confirm museums continue to be highly trusted. However, …