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Mining Data in Colorado
In the 1850’s, the Fifty-Niners flocked to Colorado to join the gold rush. In 1879, it was silver that drew adventurers to the state with visions of riches. Now the History Colorado is prospecting for a new kind of wealth—data. The … -
Access: No Longer About Unlocking the Front Door
I’ve blogged about my brief experience with Google Glass at the Tech@LEAD conference. Turns out @nealstimler loaned that same pair of specs to Nik Honeysett, head of administration at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Today Nik shares his … -
Museums in an Age of Scale
On September 16-17, 2013, an eclectic crew descended on the National Building Museum here in D.C. for “Museums and the Learning Ecosystem: building the future of education”—a convening co-hosted by CFM and The Henry Ford, with the support … -
Smithsonian X 3D: Putting 3D to work for museums
Last week I played hooky from writing TrendsWatch 2014 to catch up on one of our 2013 picks: 3D scanning and printing. The Smithsonian X 3D conference featured speakers from around the world sharing the latest developments in this rapidly … -
Risky Business: tackling the securing challenges of technology
Focusing on the horizon, as futurists do, can distract us so much that we risk tripping over what is right under our feet. The truth of this statement was brought home to me recently by Steve Keller, founding partner in the Architect’s … -
Why “Free” Isn’t Always a Good Thing
The charitable sector is going through a period of painful self-examination about the unintended side effects of well-intentioned philanthropic efforts. TOMS, the popular “profit for good” shoe company that donates a pair of shoes to a … -
Choosing Roles: Can we advance action AND enhance experience?
In the course of my ongoing quest for stories of how museums make the world a better place, I met Douglas Meyer, a consultant who’s worked with a variety of nonprofits in the U.S. and internationally. For example, teaming with the firm of … -
Futurist Friday: Cloud Robots
Actually, the term is “cloud robotics” (machine-to-maching learning between robots over the web). But “cloud robots” sounds way cooler. In any case, your Futurist Friday assignment, this 5 1/2 minute video … -
Museums in the Future: A View from Across the Pond
I was originally going to feature the report “Museums in a Digital Age” from Arups’ Foresight + Research + Innovation thinktank in a Futurist Friday post, but I try to confine the recommendations in that series to short bites of reading or … -
The Fourth Sector
The second flight of “Test Pilots” is winging their way through the CFM Digital Badging project. Besides helping the Alliance test the potential of this form of microcredentialing to serve our members, and providing some training on …
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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 …