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The Future of Ethics: Living Collections and the “Ambassadors for Their Species” Concept
Today’s guest post is by Colleen Dilenschneider, director of digital engagement at the predictive intelligence company, IMPACTS Research. I highly recommend Know Your Own Bone, where Colleen blogs about creative online engagement and new … -
On Stories, and Authenticity
I just got my copy of the new book Significant Objects documenting a fascinating project exploring the relationship between objects, stories and value. Synopsis: Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker collected inexpensive, tag-sale objects (e.g., a … -
Crowdsourcing the AAM Annual Meeting
Ever wish you had a voice in running the AAM’s annual meeting? Now you do. AAM has opened up the session proposal process to crowdsourced input. You can use the new site to submit a draft session proposal for input from your peers, and to … -
Glimpses of the Ethical Future
Today’s guest post is by Sally Yerkovich, director of the Institute of Museum Ethics at Seton Hall University and instigator of the Forecast on the Future of Museum Ethics. You can catch up on previous news from the forecast here. At the … -
Futurist Friday: Internet Fail
Futurist Friday is a series of occasional posts featuring recommending reading, viewing or listening resources to expand your thinking and fuel your forecasting. When I teach forecasting workshops, I lead participants through the process … -
Natural History Museums as Superman’s Crystal Palace
Today, guest blogger Henry McGhie (seen below), Head of Collections and Curator of Zoology at the Manchester Museum, shares his thoughts on how museums can empower visitors to become superheroes, and describes the museum’s unorthodox … -
Innovation Lab for Museums, Round 2
MetLife Foundation, EmcArts and AAM issued a press release yesterday, announcing the second round of participants in Innovation Lab for Museums. I’m pleased that these three projects continue the pattern, established in round one, of … -
Museum Volunteers are Awesome!
Erin Blasco does public programs and social media at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum. You can always say hi to her on Twitter at @erinblasco. Today she shares a new initiative they’ve begun to recognize their … -
Great ideas…
I am encouraged to see that my recent post, “A Rising Tide: The Changing Landscape of Risk Assessment” has been widely read and circulated—I think it’s critical that museums factor environmental trends into their long-term planning. As we … -
The Reluctant Optimist on the Difficulty of Writing Bright Futures
I recently taught a forecasting workshop at the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections’ 27th annual meeting in New Haven, Conn. To seed our conversations, I recruited a few twisted brilliant collections managers to …
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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), …