World Has No Realistic Path to Meet 1.5ºC Warming Target, UN Declares

Health Policy Watch, 9-2-26 [Projection]

The world has failed to meet the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) declared on Wednesday. In a sprawling 141-page report, UNEP found there is no realistic pathway to prevent warming from exceeding the threshold. “The most stringent emission reduction pathways that were available around the time of the Paris Agreement are no longer feasible,” it states. The finding is the first by a UN agency to treat the 1.5ºC target as no longer within reach – and the math doesn’t give its authors much choice. To stay under 1.5ºC, total emissions from 2026 onward cannot exceed 130 billion tonnes of CO2. With current emissions at roughly 40 billion tonnes per year and still rising, that restriction will be breached in just three years. Crossing the 1.5ºC mark would bring an “intensification of extreme weather,” loss of small island states, and growing risks to human health, food and water security.

Museums might: first, don’t succumb to apathy. As this story points out, mitigation can still reduce the maximum level of warming the world will experience. Second, face hard truths: what climate impacts are their buildings communities going to face in coming decades (extreme heat, rising sea levels, severe storms) and what actions will be need to adapt?

About half of Americans say they spend too much time on their smartphone

Pew Research, 9-1-26 [Research]

Between scrolling, notifications, and messages, smartphones can be hard to put down. Just over half of U.S. adults say they spend too much time on their smartphone, according to a Pew Research Center survey from May and June 2026. About a third of adults say their smartphone use is about right, while just 3% say they spend too little time using these devices.  Younger adults stand out for describing their smartphone use as excessive. Seven-in-ten adults under 30 say they spend too much time on it, as do about two-thirds of those ages 30 to 49. Roughly half of those ages 50 to 64 and a quarter of those 65 and older say the same. 45% of U.S. adults say they’ve tried to cut back on their smartphone use over the past 12 months.

Museums might: position themselves as places to go “off screen” through a combination of marketing, signage, phone-free hours, and analog activities such as games and crafts.

Fallingwater’s ‘digital twin’ has roots with Carnegie firm

Triblive, 9-7-26 [Museum Innovation]

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, a modern house tucked into the woods of Fayette County, receives the highest standards of care in the field of historic preservation as a UNESCO World Heritage site. [Now the Carnegie-based architectural science firm CASE Technologies is] assembling the most intricate and exact model of Fallingwater to ever exist, using laser technology to create its “digital twin.” Digital twins are navigable, digital models of objects, places or systems, augmented with real-time data from sensors in the field. The Titanic has a digital twin. So does the Italian city of Venice. A digital twin for the recently restored Notre-Dame in Paris is in the works. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, which has owned Fallingwater since 1963, can use the twin to make remote decisions about when to intervene, if, for example, the flow of the waterfall becomes too strong, or the humidity is too high. In the future, the model also could be used to 3D print exact replicas of damaged structures.

London Science Museum cuts links with BP after decades of partnership

The Guardian, 8-28-26 [Trend]

The London Science Museum has ended its decades-long partnership with the oil and gas company BP in what has been described as a “seismic shift” for the museum. BP’s relationship with the Science Museum, which goes back decades, has come under previous scrutiny, with the company accused by campaigners of having an “insidious influence” over the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) in the UK through its relationship with the museum. In 2024, the museum cut ties with the oil company Equinor over its failure to lower carbon emissions sufficiently to ensure it was aligned with the Paris climate agreement goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C. The academy provides training and resources to teachers, museum practitioners and the Stem industry nationally and internationally.

Go deeper: revisit this exploration of “toxic philanthropy” and the resulting wave of museums reviewing and revising their institutional policies about what kinds of money they will accept, and what kinds of behavior would lead the museum to end a funding relationship.

New coalition fights Trump’s efforts to weaken protections for historic sites

The Washington Post, 8-27-26 [Projections]

A coalition of more than 600 historic preservation groups, architectural associations, tribal governments and other organizations is urging Congress to block President Donald Trump’s efforts to weaken or evade laws intended to protect historic sites. Some members of Congress are also considering similar changes to the review process, which is required under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.  The administration can enact regulatory revisions to Section 106 without congressional approval, but the coalition is asking lawmakers to help oppose such changes. The coalition also wants Congress to block legislation that would separately allow similar revisions to take effect. The coalition says it is particularly concerned that the administration’s rewriting of Section 106 will eliminate the roles of the public and local governments, allowing federal agencies to quickly move forward with changes that could affect historic buildings, neighborhoods and other sites.

Take action: The National Trust for Historic Preservation has provided these 5 Tips on Advocating for Section 106.

“Planet Word Installs Chat Benches to Invite Strangers into Conversation”

PopVille, 8-25-26 [Museum Innovation]

Planet Word, the nation’s only museum of words and language, has installed two chat benches inviting visitors to sit down and start a conversation. The benches are open to the public and join a broader effort across Washington and the country to use designated spaces to reduce isolation and encourage human connection. The chat bench concept originated in the United Kingdom as a grassroots response to loneliness and has since spread to communities across the United States. D.C. has become a particular hub of this kind of work: Friendship Bench DC, a program run by HelpAge USA, pairs trained older adult volunteers with community members seeking conversation and support at sites across the city. For Planet Word, its own chat benches are a natural and literal extension of its mission to renew and inspire a love of words and language.

Be inspired: this is a lovely example of a museum stepping up to combat the “loneliness epidemic.” Explore what your museum might do to help as well.

Beyond Burnout: Determinants and Consequences of Sustainable Nonprofit Leadership

Sage Journals, 8-18-26 [Research]

Much of the scholarship on leadership wellbeing and effectiveness has focused on ways to avoid burnout, rather than explaining how leaders actively sustain wellbeing and effectiveness over time. This [research used] multiple methods to identify both the determinants and downstream consequences of sustainable leadership in nonprofit organizations. Interviews with nonprofit CEOs and their spouses reveal that mission focus, relationship mastery, and regular self-care consistently differentiated sustainable from unsustainable CEOs.  [The study] shows that leadership style, wellbeing practices, and relationship mastery shape leadership wellbeing, which in turn supports leadership effectiveness. IRS Form 990 data further indicate that higher leadership effectiveness is associated with stronger nonprofit organizational performance. [The results] demonstrate that leaders who prioritize their wellbeing are more effective over time.

Go deeper: read this research paper to explore the findings about leadership style, wellbeing practices, emotional intelligence, effectiveness, and organizational performance. Fascinating.

Doomscrolling at work can cost you later

Futurity, 8-18-26 [Research]

Employees who obsessively consume negative news during the workday are more likely to get stuck thinking about what they just read. As those thoughts linger, engagement with work tends to suffer. Two studies involving workers in the United States and United Kingdom found a consistent pattern: employees who doomscroll at work are more likely to ruminate on the negative information they encounter, and that rumination contributes to lower work engagement. While doomscrolling is often dismissed as a productivity issue, the researchers found the consequences extend beyond the time spent looking at a screen. Doomscrolling can be a surprisingly difficult habit to shake as people often turn to social media not because they enjoy feeling distressed, but because they are trying to make sense of uncertainty.

Recommended resource: this essay from CFM offers advice on healthy habits for news consumption, in order to stay informed while avoiding the negative effects of doomscrolling.

Eye-tracking research explores art appreciation at the Dalí Museum

University of South Florida, 8-19-26 [Research]

A project at the Salvador Dalí Museum led by University of South Florida St. Petersburg psychology faculty uses eye tracking technology to explore how different curated experiences affect how people experience and appreciate art. Participants sit in front of an eye-tracking device that looks like a small camera attached to a computer screen, [and] the technology tracks where and how long participants look as they view paintings. Some participants will then receive information about the painting, others biographical content about Dalí and others no information at all. They then look at the painting a second time. Afterward, participants fill out a survey on their demographics and how the artwork made them feel.  The goal is to discern how various content impacts art appreciation, which can inform the curation of future exhibitions. Researchers also hope to better understand relationships between demographics, gaze patterns and emotional responses to discern what factors shape someone’s overall museum experience.

PTO Is in ‘A Complicated Place.’ What Should HR Do?

SHRM, 8-10-26 [Tools for the Future]

[Nearly a quarter] of employees didn’t take a single vacation day in the past year; more than 1 in 4 employed Americans worry taking vacation could make them appear more replaceable because AI can continue performing work while they’re away; and 59% of employees feel anxious about leaving because of work piling up, missing opportunities, and seeming as though they are less committed to their work than those still in the office. Employees being resistant to taking time off can lead to burnout, which can result in lower engagement, reduced productivity, and higher turnover rates. HR can help by making PTO easier to take [by] helping managers plan for time off early, build clear coverage plans, encourage realistic handoffs, and set expectations around disconnecting. Managers also play an important role in removing guilt from the conversation, so HR and company leaders need to make sure managers are adequately trained and communicate with their reports on the value of taking PTO.

When It Comes to Cities’ Arts Recovery, Municipal Support Really Matters

Next City, 8-11-26 [Research]

Across 10 U.S. cities, the healthiest nonprofit arts sectors post-Covid have something in common: a local government that consistently invests in the arts. In most of these cities, municipal dollars cover only about 5% of an arts organization’s budget, not enough to prop up the sector. And yet the pattern is clear. A new study by SMU DataArts of more than 4,400 nonprofit arts organizations in 10 localities from 2019 through 2024 finds that a city’s arts funding is one of the strongest indicators of whether its cultural sector has recovered from the pandemic and is thriving. The report also explores how unevenly the pressures of the past several years have fallen within an individual city [by size, discipline, and location.] Smaller organizations proved the most agile, able to scale down quickly and scale back up as financial pressures shifted. Organizations in downtown cores saw steeper declines than those elsewhere in their cities.

The Met Launches AI-Driven ‘Talking’ Statues

Ocula, 7-23-26 [Museum Innovations]

At New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art visitors can now chat with four centuries-old sculptures the museum has brought to life through a collaboration with technology company Ask Mona. Museum-goers can scan QR codes to “talk” to statues of Mary Magdalene, Saint Augustine, Saint Savina of Troyes and Balthazar by voice or text. The bespoke model underpinning the experience, Town Square AI, was trained on input from curators, conservators and provenance experts from the museum’s Medieval Art department. The Met described the project as “a complementary interpretation tool, in the service of curiosity, close observation, and access to the museum’s knowledge”. The experience is available in four languages, including Spanish and Chinese. Marion Carré, co-founder and chief executive of Ask Mona, has also prompted concerns that the technology could eventually replace human guides. She disagrees. “I think the best experience possible in the museum is to do it with a guide, but you can’t have a guide for every visitor.”

The Center for the Future of Museums Blog shares musings on the future of museums and society, where you’ll read posts authored by CFM director Elizabeth Merritt and guest author posts. If you have a story to share, email us at futureofmuseums [at] aam-us [dot] org.

Explore more resources from the Center for the Future of Museums in the AAM Resource Library.

The new annual TrendsWatch report has been released as the January/February 2026 issue of Museum magazine for AAM members and subscribers. Get a free preview here. It will be available as a free PDF report later this spring.

Dispatches shares summaries of recent news stories illuminating trends and events shaping society, technology, economics, the environment, and policy today. Fuel your museum’s strategic foresight by thinking about the implications of these “signals,” and the kinds of future they might create.

The most frequent categories that you’ll see articles filed under include: Tools for the Future, Museum Innovations, Projects, Trends, and Research.

The Dispatches roundup published as a webpage began in January 2026 and will contain the most recent 5 weeks of news roundups.

In February, we made available an archive of contents older than 5 weeks (from January 2026 onward).

From October 2009 through December 2025, Dispatches was sent as a weekly newsletter from our Center for the Future of Museums. In that time, it grew to be an invaluable resource for over 40,000 subscribers!

In recent years, AAM has also sent other in-depth weekly newsletters: Aviso with news and opportunities to AAM members, and Field Notes, a newsletter we began several years ago with stories and insights for museum people which was free to subscribe.

Readers told us they wanted to receive fewer weekly newsletters from AAM. By consolidating content and moving Dispatches stories to the web, we can ensure that just one weekly newsletter hits your inbox.

Join Museum Junction’s Center for the Future of Museums Community, where you can join in the conversation about Dispatches and other future of museums topics!

It’s free to join. If you already have a membership or an AAM profile, you can use that to log in to Museum Junction without creating a new profile.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Log in here with your existing AAM profile.
   • If you have forgotten your password or need assistance with your login information, contact us at membership@aam-us.org.
   • If you don’t have an AAM profile, create a profile and return here to log in to Museum Junction.
2. Head to the CFM community! If you haven’t already joined it before, click the Join button.

By joining the community, you can also choose to receive automatic email digests with updates, such as posts from CFM director Elizabeth Merritt with new Dispatches contents. See the next question on how to edit your Museum Junction digest settings.

If you haven’t already, join the Center for the Future of Museums Community on AAM’s free online forum, Museum Junction! See previous question.

To check that you are receiving automatic email digests from the CFM community, or edit your settings:

Visit your Community Notifications (also found under “My Profile” > under “My Account Tab” > “Community Notifications”). Here you can choose to designate an “override” email address if you want your digest emails to another inbox other than your default email. The Communities you have joined are listed there, under Notification Settings.

For each Community, you have the following email digest delivery options:

• Real Time: sends an e-mail every time a new message is posted
• Daily Digest: sends one e-mail to you each day, consolidating all of the posts from the previous day
• No E-mail: allows you to be part of the group without having e-mails sent to you. You can still post and read others’ messages by logging in to Museum Junction.

You cat edit your general Museum Junction opt-in/out email preferences here.