Guest Post – American Alliance of Museums

Unlocking Teen Genius: A New Toolkit for Museums Designing the Future

By Tess Benoit

When the Center for the Future of Museums imagines the cultural institution of tomorrow, we often point to a world where museums are not just repositories of history, but engines for human possibility, civic imagination, and the skills …
Teaching with Museum Collections in the Age of AI

By Sarah Anne Carter

I started writing about artificial intelligence and the implications for museums back in 2017. In the ensuing years, the technology has gone from “on the horizon” to a major disruptor of work, jobs, parenting, dating, and, …
Supporting JANM and Unlocking the Future

By Ann Burroughs

It is a truth universally acknowledged that it is easier to raise capital for bricks-and-mortar than for projects that are less tangible, but may be more closely aligned with a museum’s mission and a community’s needs. How can …
The Sounds of Change

By Meeghan Kane

I have an enduring interest in multi-sensory museum experiences, especially when they bring in outside experts to expand a museum’s sensory impact. My collection of favorites include the Brooklyn Museum appointing a Cellist in …
The Formula for Relevance

By Alex Fraioli

I love finding examples of museums that use their resources to boost the fortunes of makers, craftspeople and local businesses. The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center fostering Native-led food start-ups, the Empowerment Hub at …
What’s your wish for U.S.? turns history museums into future-imagining incubators

By Caroline Klibanoff and Adam Rozan

In 2021, history museums across the nation, working in collaboration with one another and with Gen Z-ers through Made By Us, generated an idea to link together Juneteenth and the Fourth of July in a new tradition – Civic Season. Civic …
Staying True to Mission: Why JANM Spoke Out

By Ann Burroughs

As my colleagues and I catalogue the damage being done to our sector, we take heart from a small but growing cadre of museums taking principled positions in the face of attacks on their institutions and the communities they serve. In 2019, …
CAMPing Out: Making Museums More LGBTQ-friendly with Chicagoland Alliance of Museums with PRIDE

By Katie Slivovsky and David Carrasquillo

Part 1: Katie Slivovsky, Exhibit Development Director, LGBTQ Access & Inclusion Chair, Chicago Children’s Museum Something wonderful is brewing in Chicago—and I don’t mean craft beer. I’m talking about the 80-plus staff from over 25 …
Keeping History Above Water

By Elizabeth Merritt

One of the themes we explored in TrendsWatch2015 was how rising sea levels and increased storm frequency are threatening museums and heritage sites. Over the past year we’ve invited guest authors from museums with a vested interest …
Coming Soon—the Smithsonian Learning Lab

By Elizabeth Merritt

Many museums are retooling their digital resources to create more meaningful experiences for visitors—both local as well as virtual. Earlier this year we highlighted one example—the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh’s Innovation Studio. …