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Scanning for Political Futures
Though I’ve worked in D.C. for over ten years, I know very little about politics. I’m a biologist by training. My colleague and partner-in-scanning, Phil Katz, is a historian. This inevitably shapes our reading, if only because we … -
Forecasting Giving to Museums in 2012 Through the Giving USA Data
Museums watch current economic trends with a combination of fear and fascination. Every major source of museum income has been undermined in recent years, including private philanthropy (which accounted for a median of 36 percent of museum … -
Catching up with: Gregory Rodriguez, 2009 CFM Lecturer
On Dec. 9, 2009, over 150 people trudged through a chill evening to the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., to hear LA Times columnist Gregory Rodriguez speak on “the new mainstream”—the growing Latino population of the U.S. which, as … -
CSISOS: Cool Sessions in Search of Speakers
The call for proposals for the AAM 2013 annual meeting closes on Friday, Aug. 24. As I’ve explained in an earlier post, this year AAM is encouraging people to post early drafts of their ideas and refine them with crowdsourced input. As I … -
Catching up with: Tracy Hicks, 2011 CFM Artist Interpreting the Future of Museums
Tracy discussing Helix: Scaffolding #21211 with attendees in Houston. Tracy Hicks was CFM’s 2011 Artist Exploring the Future of Museums. Installed in MuseumExpo at AAM’s 2011 annual meeting in Houston, Tracy’s sculpture and video … -
Shhhhhh… it’s a surpise!
The National Museum of American History has been exploring the American Experience through the study of American food and foodways for the past 15 years through its Food and Wine History project. A signature object in the museum’s … -
The (Authentically Fictional) Future of Education
Today’s guest post is by Ken Eklund, Writerguy, freelance game and experience designer. Ken creates “what if?” games and experiments, usually for museums, public media, or foundations. He works in what he calls “authentic fiction.” Ken’s … -
The Strength of Diversity
“No matter what business you are in, most of the smart people work for someone else.” –Joy’s Law I see many people I work with having to make hard choices about what conference(s) to go to this year and which professional memberships to … -
Catching up with: Jane McGonigal, 2008 CFM Lecturer
This the first in a series of updates on various interesting folk you have been introduced to through CFM lectures or our the “artists interpreting the future of museums” installations at the AAM annual meeting. The fabulous … -
Futurist Friday: The Rosetta Project
Pop Quiz. Q #1: How long do you want your museum’s collections to last? r50 years r100 years r 500 years r1000 years r > 1000 years Q #2: what is your museum doing to meet that goal? (Use the comment section, below, if you want …
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Latest Stories from AAM
May Advocacy Alert: Appropriations Updates, NEH Court Case Update, Invite Congress 2026, and More
Category:
Advocacy Alert
Advocacy Alert – May 8, 2026 In this Alliance Advocacy Alert: Appropriations Updates The …
AAM Recognizes 18 Individuals and 8 Institutions for Exemplary Work in the Museum Field
Category:
Press Release
For Immediate Release ARLINGTON, VA – The Board of Directors of the American …
Future Chat: Trends in Philanthropy
Category:
Future Forecasting
American philanthropy is being reshaped by the economy (who has the capacity to give), …