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Confronting a Painful History: How a museum partnered with its Native community to educate the public about an offensive place name

The Black Rock Historical Society (BRHS) is a volunteer organization on the west side of Buffalo, NY, formed in 2013 around the two-hundredth anniversary of the War of 1812 and chartered …

2019 Award Winner for Innovation in Museum Education: Wa kuk wa jimor (“Canoe of One Community”)

The EdCom Award for Innovation in Museum Education recognizes, encourages, and celebrates new, creative ways of engaging with audiences. The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History’s approach …

Enslaved People Lived Here. These Museums Want You to Know.

Tours of historic houses in the South used to focus on the fine furniture and design. Now, some are talking about who built them. A few years ago, people touring the Owens-Thomas House and …

Seeing Paris—and the World—through Small Museums

A few months ago, a museum exhibition sparked a thought in my mind that I haven’t stopped thinking about ever since. I was walking aimlessly around Paris and had just wandered into Le Musée …

A Tibetan Collection Fights a Battle That Small Museums Often Face

Limited staff, tight budgets and age have taken a toll on Staten Island's Jacques Marchais Museum, but a major renovation is now being planned. Jacques Marchais, an art dealer and …

How One Small Museum Approached Accreditation

Accreditation helps museums focus their purpose, refine their practices, and build their futures. But some museums, particularly those with small staffs and budgets, might consider it …

Thinking about the Unthinkable: Disaster preparedness and emergency response plans for small museums

Since 1981, the Museum Assessment Program (MAP) has been assisting small and mid-sized museums in their quest to achieve best practices and national standards. The process begins with an …

Making Professional Development Work for Small Museums

“We had been talking about going to different conferences for years, usually in a joking, musing way, so it is awesome to be able to do it.” When I asked my colleague Mark Riccetti, our …

Collecting Girlhood: Why the new activist museum is virtual

The assumption that museums must be permanent buildings with physical collections is no longer sustainable. With decreased funding, increased competition, and the burden of care, museums …

Creating Engaging Virtual Reality Experiences for Your Museum Collection Might Be Easier Than You Think

May Massee is a literary legend. She was a key player in the development of children’s literature in the United States, establishing the “junior books” division of Doubleday, Page, Inc. in …

Handy Hobbies: Why diverse skillsets are an advantage to every institution

Diversity is a popular buzzword right now: diversity in staff, in teaching methods, and ideas. However, one aspect of diversity I have never heard mentioned is diversity in skillsets. It’s …
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