Innovation – Page 2 – American Alliance of Museums

Innovation Lab for Museums

By Judy Koke and Ryan Crisp

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2013 edition of Museum magazine. Fourth of A Four-Part Series Following is the final installment in our chronicle of the Alliance’s Innovation Lab for Museums. a grant-funded …
Finding Community: Engaging Diverse Audiences in a Historic House

By Elizabeth Merritt

In April, 2007, a small but influential group of historic house professionals, association and foundation staff gathered at Kykuit, the historic Rockefeller Estate in Pocantico Hills, NY, for the Forum on Historic Site Stewardship in the …
Will You Know Innovation When You See It?

By Elizabeth Merritt

Last week my virtual self gave a brief intro via Skype to Phelan Fretz’s session on Innovation at the NEMA meeting in Burlington, Vermont. Phelan (who is the executive director of the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center in Burlington) …
KidShare: Collecting, Presenting, and Preserving Children’s Culture

By Elizabeth Merritt

The Madison Children’s Museum is one of three participants in the current round of Innovation Lab for Museums, funded by the MetLife Foundation and presented by EmcArts in partnership with the Alliance. In today’s post, Brenda Baker, MCM’s …
Innovation Lab: Second of A Four-Part Series

By Elizabeth Merritt

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2012 edition of Museum magazine. When the AAM Board founded the Center for the Future of Museums in 2008, one of their charges to the staff was to “[e]ncourage museum …
Natural History Museums as Superman’s Crystal Palace

By Elizabeth Merritt

Today, guest blogger Henry McGhie (seen below), Head of Collections and Curator of Zoology at the Manchester Museum, shares his thoughts on how museums can empower visitors to become superheroes, and describes the museum’s unorthodox …
Innovation Lab for Museums, Round 2

By Elizabeth Merritt

MetLife Foundation, EmcArts and AAM issued a press release yesterday, announcing the second round of participants in Innovation Lab for Museums. I’m pleased that these three projects continue the pattern, established in round one, of …
5 Steps for Rapid Prototyping

By Elizabeth Merritt

Today’s guest post is by Charlie Miller and Emily Tarquin, co-curators of Off-Center @ The Jones, a new series of non-traditional theatrical programming at the Denver Center Theatre Company developed through the Innovation Lab for the …
Some Notes on the Future of History Museums: Part II

By Elizabeth Merritt

This is the second installment of Phil Katz’s report from the recent joint meeting of the Organization of American Historians (OAH) and National Council on Public History (NCPH). You can catch up on part one here. While I was at the …
Innovation Lab for Museums: Tips for a Successful Application

By Elizabeth Merritt

Thank you, MetLife Foundation! I did a Snoopy Happy Dance when I got the good news that you are funding a second round of Innovation Lab for Museums. AAM and EmcArts have just released the Request for Proposals. You can read about the Lab …