CFM Lectures – American Alliance of Museums

Catching up with: Gregory Rodriguez, 2009 CFM Lecturer

By Elizabeth Merritt

On Dec. 9, 2009, over 150 people trudged through a chill evening to the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., to hear LA Times columnist Gregory Rodriguez speak on “the new mainstream”—the growing Latino population of the U.S. which, as …
How a Cookbook Can Help Your Museum Engage with Food

By Elizabeth Merritt

I hope you’re planning to join us for the free Feeding the Spirit webinar, Friday, Feb. 17, 1:45-5 p.m. (ET). To help you plan your discussions before, during or after the webcast (as well as your menu for your potluck) we’ve assembled the …
Food: A Recipe for Successful Museums

By Elizabeth Merritt

I hope you’re planning to get together with colleagues to share “Feeding the Spirit: Museums, Food & Community,” CFM’s free webinar on Feb. 17, and explore food literacy, values-based food service and community building. If you’re …
Museum Food Services: Serving up our Missions and Eating our Words

By Elizabeth Merritt

What do visitors eat, when they come to your museum, and what messages do they take away from the experience? We’ve devoted many posts on this blog, over the past year, to celebrating how museums can help their communities improve their …
Don’t Just Stir It, Shake It!

By Elizabeth Merritt

Today’s guest post is by Richard V. Piacentini, executive director of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Richard previews one of the themes we will explore next month at Feeding the Spirit: Museums, Food & Community—how …
Food: the Universal Communicator

By Elizabeth Merritt

Today’s guest post is by Jennifer Rothman, associate vice president for children’s and public education at the New York Botanical Garden. Jennifer contributes to our ongoing exploration of museums, food and community. Interested? Join …
Big Food: Health, Culture and the Evolution of Eating

By Elizabeth Merritt

Ella Mitchell, an intern in AAM’s Government Relations and Advocacy department, reports on an innovative collaboration between the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, and CARE—Community Alliance …
Help Choose the Next CFM Lecturer!

By Elizabeth Merritt

When I gave you an early peek of CFM’s plans for the year, I dropped a hint about the topic of the 2011 CFM lecture. Now I will spill the beans. We are going to address museums and…food! “Wait,” you may say. “Gaming (Dr. Jane McGonigal) I …
A (not so secret) Conspiracy for Good

By Elizabeth Merritt

My tweet and Fbook post earlier this week about an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) based in London generated some interest, so here are more details. Conspiracy For Good is an “entertainment pilot” set up by creator of “Heroes” …
Report from the Future: The Cultural Museum 2.0

By Elizabeth Merritt

It’s a good thing about the future is unequally distributed (cf William Gibson)–that way your museum can learn from pioneer organizations that are adapting to trends that will affect you in five, ten or twenty years. Where do you …