Center for the Future of Museums Blog

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Game Plan Call for Applications! Professional Development for Museum Educators

By Elizabeth Merritt

In 2008, Dr. Jane McGonigal delivered the inaugural lecture for the new Center for the Future of Museums. McGonigal, who is both a professional futurist AND a ludologist, made the case that museums could learn a lot from games design. (AAM …
Tales from Campus: Oxy Arts

By Elizabeth Merritt

One of the risks posed by the pandemic is that the public health imperative for social distance might discourage activism and engagement just when it is needed most. In this guest post, Frankie Fleming, Manager of Education and Community …
The Museum of Future History: An Antidote To Chronological Squatting

By Elizabeth Merritt

Those of you who follow my writing may be aware of my passion about the need to decolonize the future. I believe museums can play a vital role in helping the public be better stewards of the world we leave to future generations. Today’s …
Museums as First Responders: Museum of Homelessness

By Elizabeth Merritt

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed gaping holes in the systems that should shield communities from harm. Patching the frayed social safety net will require government, private, and non-profit sectors to work together, going beyond their …
Digital Tools for Pandemic Times

By Elizabeth Merritt

Almost all US museums closed during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. While a few reopened by summer, many decided to remain shuttered for the entire year, and often for these museums the only way to engage with the …
Tales from Campus: Connecting Community in the Time of COVID

By Elizabeth Merritt

What’s it like to be an undergrad this year? The social experience of college is as important as the academic content, but many students are attending class online from their dorm rooms, and most social groups and events are on hold. In …
My Primary School is in a Museum—US Pandemic Edition

By Elizabeth Merritt

Can you imagine being a school-age kid during this pandemic? Whether they are glued to a screen trying to learn via Zoom, attending class masked and distanced, or being home-schooled, this experience will shape our youngest generation for …
Fatigue and Resilience Resources

By Elizabeth Merritt

You may be grappling with the stress created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the prospect of prolonged uncertainty about the outcome of next week’s election, and 2020 generally. I certainly am, as are my colleagues at the Alliance. To help …
Downsizing Our Museum in the Face of a Pandemic

By Elizabeth Merritt

According to the Alliance’s first COVID snapshot of museum operations, conducted this past summer, one-third of US museums expected to lose over 40 percent of their annual operating income this year. Forty one percent anticipate having to …
Tales from Campus: how a collections-based seminar went virtual

By Elizabeth Merritt

All museums have had their worlds turned upside-down in the past year, but college and university museums and galleries face a specific set of challenges. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, as this academic year began only 27 …