Case Study – Page 3 – American Alliance of Museums

Using Your Audience as Exhibit Designers

By Elizabeth Merritt

Last week, Barbara Stauffer shared with us the challenges of orchestrating a participatory design experience in an institution with well-established organizational procedures and hierarchies. For her, inviting the input of over 800 …
Museums & the Spectrum of Control: Part I

By Elizabeth Merritt

This week’s guest post is by Barbara Stauffer, chief of temporary exhibitions at the National Museum of Natural History. This is the first in a series of posts exploring how museums are adapting to people’s desire to contribute, share, …
Some Great Museums Ready to Move

By Elizabeth Merritt

How can we make sure museums are recognized for all the good things they do for their communities? Kudos from the White House would be one great thing, wouldn’t it? That’s why AAM is partnering with ACM and APGA to launch a “Let’s Move …
Saving the Historic House—While Saving the World

By Elizabeth Merritt

This week’s guest post is by Laurie Ossman, director of Woodlawn, a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. As I pointed out in an earlier profile of an historic house, museums can use food to build community and tackle …
The Path to Sustainability—Working Together

By Elizabeth Merritt

This is part two of an essay by Sarah S. Brophy, co-chair of AAM’s PIC Green. You can read part one here.For the museum field, the way to close the distance between activities like Seafood Watch and our present-day reality is to take the …
A Hard Look at Sustainability, Part I: How Pretty Good is the Enemy of Good Enough

By Elizabeth Merritt

Since CFM first gleamed in AAM’s eye, I have had fascinating discussions with members of the Association’s Green Professional Interest Committee (PIC Green). After all, if we don’t figure out how to live sustainably, the future looks …
Natural History Specimens as Social Media Celebrities

By Elizabeth Merritt

The rise of social media is transforming the landscape of communication for all organizations, including museums. There are myriad new ways to connect directly with the public, and new spokespeople have stepped forth to fill these niches. …
Using History to Build Community

By Elizabeth Merritt

This week’s guest post is by Dr. Tom Hanchett, staff historian at the Levine Museum of the New South, one of the museums profiled in AAM’s recent report on the challenge museums’ face in coming decades to serve an …
Update on Empowering New Immigrants through Art

By Elizabeth Merritt

This week’s guest post is by Patricia Lannes, director of education at the Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn Harbor, N.Y. Demographic Transformation and the Future of Museums briefly profiles NCMA’s work with new immigrants. Patricia …
Engaging and Empowering New Immigrants through Art

By Elizabeth Merritt

AAM’s recently released forecasting report Demographic Transformation and the Future of Museums highlights the gap between current museum audiences and the majority minority future of American society. The sobering statistics are leavened …