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Revisiting the Future of Museums in the New Gilded Age
I recently reread a 2011 post by my former colleague Erik Ledbetter on the effect the “New Gilded Age” may have on museums. He wrote “The decline of the middle class and the reemergence of a true American plutocracy will … -
Futurist Friday: Alt History & Alt Futures
Ever wonder how the present would be different, if some some key event in our past had torqued just enough to propel us into a different sector of the Cone of Plausibility? Exploring such scenarios is the realm of “alternative … -
Questioning Assumptions: The Ideal Employee:Volunteer Ratio
Today’s thought experiment: what if, in the future, museums asked not “how many volunteers do we need” but rather “how can we structure our operations to engage as many volunteers as possible in meaningful work?” Volunteers are already … -
Futures Studies 101: Implications Wheel
What would happen if a space craft full of weak, disoriented insectoid aliens parked itself in orbit over South Africa? The implications of that (highly) improbable event are explored the 2009 film District 9. The director posits humans … -
Futurist Friday: Exploring the Cone of Plausibility
Clarke’s Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. —Arthur C. Clarke, “Profiles of The Future”, 1961 Today’s recommendation: read this interview for Big Think in which Dr. Michio Kaku … -
Futurist Friday: Past Visions of the Future
Meet Matt Novak. Matt is a self-identified “accidental expert” on past visions of the future, and oversees the Paleofuture blog—an online archive of materials related to retro-futurism. Paleofuture explores “the past that never was.” Why … -
Forecasting the Next Educational Era
As I wrote last week one of CFM’s foci in 2011 and 2012 (and probably beyond) will be the future of education. You’ve told us in workshops, correspondence and in feedback to this blog that the trends shaping American education will have a … -
Where Might the Boston PILOT lead us?
When I leading forecasting exercises, helping people to question assumptions and imagine alternate futures, one scenario that participants repeatedly create is one in which museums no longer have nonprofit status. Why does it come up so … -
Future Studies 101: Potential Futures
This is part two in a series of short essays exploring the basics of Futures Studies and how they can be applied to the museum field. Read part one here. Studying the future isn’t all that different from studying history. We start with … -
The Pinky Show Cats’ Report on the Future
“We, three cats from the Pinky Show, went to the future. We brought back notes & stuff.” Read the report . Those of you who attended the AAM annual meeting this spring may have stumbled upon a curious exhibit in MuseumExpo—a set of …
Tag: Cone Of Plausibility
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Latest Stories from AAM
Mining the 2025 Annual National Snapshot of US Museums
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Center for the Future of Museums Blog
How do doctors assess your health? Asking how you feel is important, but objective, …
2025 Annual National Snapshot of United States Museums
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Research and Reports
About the Report The 2025 Annual National Snapshot of United States Museums survey, …
National Survey Reveals Alarming Downturn: Museums Face Worst Financial Outlook Since Pandemic
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Press Release
For Immediate Release Arlington, VA–The American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the only …