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From Theory to Practice: Applying Futures Studies
A guest post contributed by Joe Cavanaugh, museum director of the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. Joe was one of Elizabeth Merritt’s classmates in the University of Houston Future Studies Program’s certificate … -
Some Projections to End the Year
Contributed by Phil Katz, AAM’s Assistant Director for Research. Most anecdotal evidence has pointed to shrinking museum staffs in 2009. However, new projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest that the demand for museum … -
The Museum of the Future—your vision reflected here?
A friend who works with, but not in, museums has asked me for predictions regarding characteristics of the museum of the future. He is working on an interesting project to create a prototype of the “future museum” in order to generate … -
Meet Me in Houston, and Let’s Aim for the Stars!
Want be a pioneer in the ranks of museum futurists? Read on. CFM has on its to-do list starting a Museum Forecasting Network. The Network will draw on the experience of a diverse group of museum practitioners to preview trends within … -
Tomorrow’s News, Today: Museums without Walls
One of the assumptions that CFM questioned early on is that museums are necessarily tied to a particular place. I’ve speculated about whether and when a museum might want to migrate to a new city or community. On a more local scale, why … -
Economic Change and the Future of American Museums
Guest blog by James Chung and Susie Wilkening, Reach Advisors Over the summer, James was asked to speak at the International Council of Museums meeting about the current economic turmoil and the impact on American museums. Primed by our … -
Building a Self-Study Course in Futurism
One of CFM’s major goals is to encourage museum practitioners to think and plan for a longer time frame (longer, that is, than the usual one to three-year plan.) In our rapidly changing, uber-connected world a plan that looks good in the … -
Blog to keep an eye on: MuseumDesignLab
This blog documents the work of 18 students at the Parsons School of Design who will spend the next semester forecasting the future of 6 NYC-based museums: The American Museum of Natural History, The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, … -
Questioning Assumptions: the Future of Education
The recent CFM posts about museum studies (here and here) have spun off in all sorts of interesting directions, including discussions at New Curator and MJ Writes. People propose that graduate programs should guarantee jobs for graduates, … -
The Next Generations
Eric Meade, on the Authentic Futures Blog, has forecast the coming generations. Applying Strauss and Howe’s theory of a cycle of four “types” of generations, Meade looks forward the next 50 years to forecast what he dubs the Globals …
Tag: Forecasting
Upcoming Events
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Reimagining the Historic House Museum in Nashville
Event Date:Presented by: American Association for State and Local History (AASLH)Nasvhille, TN -
Digital Collections Summit
Event Date:Presented by: MuseumNext -
Creative Museums Summit
Event Date:Presented by: MuseumNext -
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When Business Partners Become Advocates: Event Network at Museum Advocacy Day 2026
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Digital Innovations in Collections Stewardship and Access at Jewish Museums
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