Green – American Alliance of Museums

The Museum Sector and the Paris Agreement

By Sarah Sutton

Sarah Sutton is principal of Sustainable Museums, a museum consultancy. She is also a member of the PIC-Green Professional Network. The very day President Donald Trump announced that the United States would not sign on to the Paris climate …
When Leaders Won’t Lead: Taking Action on Climate Change

By Elizabeth Merritt

Museums can change the world, especially when they recruit their visitors to take action. When the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site speaks out against mass incarceration, the B.B. King Museum fights for childhood health in …
Futurist Friday: Cognitive Museum Buildings

By Elizabeth Merritt

Here’s a short video from Jonathan Strickland of Forward Thinking on the emergence of “cognitive buildings”: structures that use the internet of things (IoT) to analyze performance and anticipate our needs. …
Futurist Friday: Breakthrough

By Elizabeth Merritt

If you’re a fan of National Geographic specials in general (as I am), you will be psyched to learn they are launching a short futurist series this coming Sunday (November 1, 9/8 Central). Each of the six installments of Breakthrough …
Towards a Green Future: Environment and Resource Sustainability in Museums

By Elizabeth Merritt

One of my stretch goals at CFM is helping to foster “a futurist in every museum.” To that end, I have been pleased to serve as an advisor to the California Association of Museums Leaders of the Future Program. That program has been the …
A Game for (Future) Good: FutureCoast

By Elizabeth Merritt

The first trend CFM tackled, with the help of futurist and games-designer Dr. Jane McGonigal, was the rise of “gaming for good” and the potential for games-design to make museum experiences more compelling and rewarding. Today’s guest post …
Inspiring a New Generation

By Elizabeth Merritt

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 …
A Greener Tomorrow: Museums Take Steps Toward Sustainability

By Stephanie Shapiro

This article originally appeared in the July/August 2012 edition of the Museum magazine. According to AAM’s Code of Ethics for Museums, the common mission of our institutions is their “unique contribution to the public by …
PNC SmartHome: An Inspirational Exhibit of Extreme Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction

By David Beach

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2012 edition of Museum magazine. The term “natural history” often evokes a sense of the past, but increasingly The Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) is showing the way …
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 …