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The Limits of Neutrality: A Message From The Natural History Museum
Today’s guest post, from the team at The Natural History Museum (including director Beka Economopoulos), illustrates one of the trends I discuss in TrendsWatch 2015, and touches upon another. In the chapter on “Ethical Everything,” on the … -
What Do Ethical Consumers Expect of Museums?
An open letter released today calls on natural history and science museums to “cut all ties with the fossil fuel industry and funders of climate change obfuscation.” The letter, signed by scientists and by one former museum trustee & … -
Museums in a Dangerous Time
The Alliance has announced that the theme of our 2015 Annual Meeting will be The Social Value of Museums: Inspiring Change. Believing, as I do that Museums Can Change the World (CFM’s motto), I look forward to the year leading up to the … -
Inspiring a New Generation
Author Neal Stephenson recently launched the Hieroglyph project, to rally writers to reintroduce optimism into science fiction. That is pretty ironic, considering some of the dystopian visions he has painted of our future. But, as he … -
Choosing Roles: Can we advance action AND enhance experience?
In the course of my ongoing quest for stories of how museums make the world a better place, I met Douglas Meyer, a consultant who’s worked with a variety of nonprofits in the U.S. and internationally. For example, teaming with the firm of … -
Monday Musings: What Could Disappear?
I’ve blogged beforeabout the importance of factoring climate trends into long term planning and risk assessment. Continued news of museums in New York and New Jersey coping with the aftermath of Frankenstorm Sandy, and the UK suffering … -
The Future of the Campus Art Museum: Join the Conversation
The Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago just released “Campus Art Museums in the 21st Century: a Conversation.” If you work at or with campus art museums, or art museums, or non-art campus museums, you should read it. Oh … -
One from each Category: Part 2
Time for a brain stretch. This is part two of a quick review of recent scanning hits in five STEEP categories of forecasting—this one covers economic, environmental and political developments. (You can read part one, on social and … -
A Rising Tide: The Changing Landscape of Risk Assessment
In my time heading the Excellence Programs at AAM (including MAP and Accreditation) it was always a challenge to coax, cajole or even gently bully museums into producing well-tailored risk management plans. AAM staff tried disseminating … -
Choosing Roles: Facilitator or Advocate?
Would you rather be loved, or would you rather save the world? You can’t necessarily have both. I pondered this choice, as it applies to museums, yesterday morning at the last half day of the 21st Century Learning in Natural History …
Tag: climate change
Latest Stories from AAM
Social Experiences and Museums, Part One: A 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers Data Story
Category:
Alliance Blog
This visual Data Story is based on findings from the 2025 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers, …
The Promise and Peril of AI: A Q&A with Marion Carré
Category:
Alliance Blog
In 2023, I found myself on a list of museum “influencers”—thank you, …
October Monthly Advocacy Alert: Government Shutdown, Save the Date for Museums Advocacy Day, and more
Advocacy Alert – October 17, 2025 In this Alliance Advocacy Alert: Government …