Health

Supporting the Mental Health of Museum Staff

By Ann Fortescue

I’ve been in close communication with some of the museum directors using CFM resources—including TrendsWatch reports and the AAM Strategic Foresight Toolkit—to inform their planning and management. Today, Ann Fortescue, Executive Director …
An Afrofuturist School Program Empowers Children to Envision the Future

By Nina Woodruff-Walker

Futurism is a powerful tool to share with kids—equipping them to think about the world they want to live in when they grow up, challenging them to make it better. Today on the blog, Executive Director Nina Woodruff-Walker tells us how the …
Building Community and Connection: Guidelines for Museum Educators Teaching Memory Care Programs

By Beatriz Galuban

In the words of renowned museum educator and empathy expert Elif Gokcigdem, “Museums are safe, informal learning spaces, uniquely equipped to help audiences explore and imagine our human heritage and collective experiences.” Museum …
Designing a Collaborative, Distributed National Museum of Mental Health

By Alexandra Orlandi & Paul Piwko

While I’m compiling my fantasy guest blog list to build out the themes of CFM’s newest report, TrendsWatch: Building the Post-pandemic World, generous people from inside and outside our sector continue to share work related to …
Elevating Sustainability Efforts in Museum Dining Operations

By Joyce Lee, Jack Fassler, Lisa Claybon

As museums encourage visitors to learn and think about what is possible, sustainability is no longer a behind-the-scenes activity. Beyond LEED-certified buildings and facilities operations, sustainability initiatives are taking center …
Art, Wellness, and Mental Health

By Elizabeth Merritt

I met Ashley Witherspoon while researching CFM’s current TrendsWatch report—one of the topics we examine is how museums can help foster mental health for all. Ashley is the founder and CEO of Hand Made Dreams, a mental health platform …
The Messenger Matters: How a Novel Partnership Is Enhancing Public Health in Philadelphia

By Dr. Jayatri Das & Deepa Mankikar

Bandaging skinned knees. Conducting health screenings. Managing care for chronic needs. Providing therapy and counseling. School nurses do all of this and more every day as they work with students, families, and staff. Throughout the …
How a South Carolina Library Became a Model of Social Impact Innovation

By Vida Mikalcius

“Bad libraries build collections. Good libraries build services. Great libraries build communities.” —R. David Lankes – Professor and Director of the School of Library & Information Science at the University …
Blues on the Block: Connecting Communities through Live Music, Rhythm, and Public Health

By Erin Simon

The National Blues Museum was one of ninety-one museums, libraries, and cultural or tribal organizations that leveraged their position as trusted community partners to help bolster vaccine confidence in their communities as part of …
Your Self-care Prescription: News Positivity

By Elizabeth Merritt

Reporters at Axios recently summarized data documenting a steep drop-off in news consumption in the past six months. Evidently, the relentless thunder of traumatic events is driving more and more people offline in an effort to preserve …