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The Mall Over the Museum

By Susie Wilkening

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2009 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. “We’ve outgrown museums,” the girl said. Behind her, heads nodded in agreement. Were these 13-year-olds trying to say …
Law and Ethics: An Ounce of Prevention

By Elizabeth Merritt

This article originally appeared in the July/August 2009 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. Q: I am the director of an art museum in a small liberal arts college. The college is having financial problems and the new …
Ethical Considerations for Museum Closures

By Amy Rogers Nazarov

This article originally appeared in the July/August 2009 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. As the recession continues to roil global markets, erasing jobs and halving endowments, many museums and historic sites are …
Fiero! Museums as Happiness Engineers

By Jane McGonigal

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2009 edition of Museum magazine. The future is elusive—but it’s still a topic of ceaseless speculation. It has been a constant of human nature across time and cultures to want to know …
Law & Ethics Can We Believe In Change?

By Elizabeth Merritt

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2009 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. Q: I am executive director of a small history museum. Our board of directors is drafting a new institutional code of ethics. …
What Teachers Want from Field Trips

By Mary Ellen Flannery

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2009 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. Ten-year-old Alejandra, playing the part of a fortunate daughter of Virginia patriot George Mason, has spilled a slice of onion …
Take a Seat

By Steve Tokar

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2008 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. Here is a scene I witnessed on a recent visit to a major American art museum: In a foyer between galleries, a young woman …
13 Ways of Looking at an Admissions Desk

By Nina Simon

This article originally appeared in the July/August 2008 issue of Museum magazine, a benefit of AAM membership. Almost every museum experience begins the same way. You start at an admissions desk or ticket window, not an exhibit. You pay, …
Rethinking the Rembrandt Rule

By James M. Vaughan

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2008 of Museum magazine. Treat every object as if it were a Rembrandt. For decades this simple idea has been taught and accepted as the basis of good museum practice. It is the …