-
Yah, Museums Do That
I want to share this video the Alliance recently released. It shares a couple of great stories demonstrating museums’ role in the growing “vibrant learning grid” connecting educational resources in the US. These stories … -
Meet Watson, Your Personal Museum Learning Agent
A recent post by Steve Hamm wrote on the IBM Smarter Planet sparked a new thought about a role for AI (artificial intelligence) in museums. Steve writes about IBM Watson’s new gig: improving the customer experience, as demonstrated in this … -
Futurist Friday: Heads Up
When Jeff Bezos announced last year that Amazon was going to introduce “Prime Air,” a drone delivery service, he was roundly mocked and Amazon quickly backed off the claim. But, in fact, the barriers to drone delivery are … -
Museums in the World of Open Data
Yesterday IMLS gave a webinar explaining the methodology that went into compiling the 34,144 records in their recently released Museum Universe Database File (MUDF). The big news isn’t so much the count, though that is important, as … -
Futurist Friday: Robotic Emoticons
I will be writing soon about CFM’s experiments with robots (telepresence robots and drones) at the annual meeting in Seattle last month. Spoiler alert: some people found our robot guests charming, others were more than a bit creeped … -
A Recap of Big Data
The good news about the CFM Big Data session in Seattle is that it was very well attended. Actually, that was the bad news, too, as the room was overflowing and we had to turn folks away. I suppose there are worse problems to have—I am … -
Synesthesia: Multisensory Publication in a Multisensory World
As soon as TrendsWatch 2015 published in March, I started searching for stories that extend my exploration of this year’s themes. The “synesthesia” trend is, predictably, yielding some of the most playful, pleasurable and simply joyful … -
Monday Musing: For Profit for Good & the Challenge of Scale
Last week Forbes featured the company TechChange in an article titled “When and How to Scale: DC Startup at Crossroads.” The piece caught my eye for three reasons: TechChange is an example of the “for profit for … -
Futurist Friday: IBM Watson Applies for Membership in the Oxford Union
OK, I made that headline up. Oxford isn’t really in the position of having to decide whether to accept a computer program as a member of its prestigious debating society. (For one thing, Watson isn’t enrolled in the University. … -
The Biometrics of Cultural Engagement
I’m excavating the stratigraphic accumulation of emails, reports, requests and assignments while I was at the Alliance annual meeting last week. Mindful of those who could not join us in Seattle, I’ll share highlights and links via …
Center for the Future of Museums Blog
The Center for the Future of Museums Blog shares musings on the future of museums and society.
Read Dispatches from the Future of Museums online!
Get more resources from the Center for the Future of Museums.
Explore all Publications from the Alliance.
Explore the AAM Resource Library by topic, and further filter by subtopic or resource types to find what matters most to you!
Latest Stories from AAM
Museums and Censorship: A 2026 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story
Category:
Alliance Blog
This visual Data Story is based on findings from the 2026 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, …
Accessibility by Design: Empowering Staff for Human-Centered Change
Category:
On-Demand Programs
What does it mean to build a truly human-centered museum? This webinar supports staff at …
October Advocacy Alert: Smithsonian Protection Bill, Member Week Advocacy Programming, and more
Category:
Advocacy Alert
Advocacy Alert – October 2, 2026 In this Alliance Advocacy Alert: Smithsonian Protection …