Magical Machinery? What AI can do for museums
When people hear I work with artificial intelligence, they often imagine that I create software that does magical things. Their minds go to humanistic androids or programs that predict distant future events. But the reality of AI is much …
How We Maximized Our Museum Building’s Impact on Human and Environmental Health
Abundant research demonstrates the efficacy of a building’s design to enhance and support human and environmental health. Peer-reviewed professional studies in journals such as Indoor and Built Environment, Journal of the Illuminating …
Four Things I Learned When I Started Thinking about Museum Accessibility
I first started working with the Disabilities community in 2011. Over the years, I’ve worked with individuals of all ages in their homes, at their jobs, and in their communities. The state I live in, Rhode Island, has had to …
From a Teacher: How to make your museum field trips ones to remember for students and staff
“That was an awesome field trip!” “That place was so much fun.” These are the statements you want to hear from students after a field trip. As an eighteen-year veteran teacher who has escorted young people on dozens of field trips, I can …
The Spaceship Solution: How museums can use experimental technology to solve problems
Picture this: children and adults alike standing on the grounds of a museum on an early winter morning, sipping hot cocoa. Their eyes reach upward as they watch a three-foot spaceman created by the hands of an artist for this sole mission, …
A New Way to See: Looking at museums through the eyes of the blind
Let’s talk about accessibility. In the twenty-first century era of inclusivity, museums are working towards making the visitor experience a more positive and unique one, as part of efforts to increase the number of visitors to museums. In …
New Directions in Interactive Media for Museums
The challenges of integrating interactive media into the museum experience are manifold. New technologies can engage but also potentially alienate museum visitors who have different cultural backgrounds and varying degrees of knowledge …
Say Cheese! 3 Ways Museums Can Compete with Instagrammable Pop-Ups
This article is loosely based on a session panel that I facilitated at the 2018 New England Museum Association (NEMA) conference titled, “Let Me Take a Selfie: The Power of Photo Ops and ‘Instagrammable’ Moments in Museums.” Panelists …
CAMPing Out: Making Museums More LGBTQ-friendly with Chicagoland Alliance of Museums with PRIDE
Part 1: Katie Slivovsky, Exhibit Development Director, LGBTQ Access & Inclusion Chair, Chicago Children’s Museum Something wonderful is brewing in Chicago—and I don’t mean craft beer. I’m talking about the 80-plus staff from over 25 …
Museopunks Episode 22: Human Behavior
Museums that want to impact their visitors are often concerned with changing their behaviors. However, before any kind of change can take place, it’s important to understand visitors and the behaviors that they bring into the museum …
