Innovation – Page 4 – American Alliance of Museums

Using Your Audience as Exhibit Designers

By Elizabeth Merritt

Last week, Barbara Stauffer shared with us the challenges of orchestrating a participatory design experience in an institution with well-established organizational procedures and hierarchies. For her, inviting the input of over 800 …
Museums & the Spectrum of Control: Part I

By Elizabeth Merritt

This week’s guest post is by Barbara Stauffer, chief of temporary exhibitions at the National Museum of Natural History. This is the first in a series of posts exploring how museums are adapting to people’s desire to contribute, share, …
Some Great Museums Ready to Move

By Elizabeth Merritt

How can we make sure museums are recognized for all the good things they do for their communities? Kudos from the White House would be one great thing, wouldn’t it? That’s why AAM is partnering with ACM and APGA to launch a “Let’s Move …
By Elizabeth Merritt

Andrew Masich is the director of the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, and a member of the AAM Accreditation Commission. Andy’s narrative illustrates the recent research by Reach Advisors, exploring how childhood memories influence …
Saving the Historic House—While Saving the World

By Elizabeth Merritt

This week’s guest post is by Laurie Ossman, director of Woodlawn, a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. As I pointed out in an earlier profile of an historic house, museums can use food to build community and tackle …
A Call for Creativity! With Prizes…

By Elizabeth Merritt

What do these creative, mind-blowing, reality-warping museum projects have in common? • An “Amazing Race”-type game that sends teams scampering through the city to explore their communities • Museum staff hanging out in bars, using beer …
The Short Term Future—CFM 2011

By Elizabeth Merritt

I’m going to use this first blog post of the New Year to share a preview of the themes CFM will focus on in 2011. Based on the trends we monitor through Dispatches from the Future of Museums, your feedback on our forecasting reports, …
Culture Kettle, my new R&D organization — What’s in it for museums?

By Elizabeth Merritt

This week’s guest blogger is Peter Linett, Partner in Slover Linett Strategies, Inc., and member of the CFM Council. Elizabeth Merritt was kind enough to give Culture Kettle a shout-out in this blog when I announced its founding back in …
Challenging Assumptions: Who says “Entrepreneurial” = “for-profit?”

By Elizabeth Merritt

I want to spread the word about the Startup Open, a challenge issued in conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week (November 15-21). The Kauffman Foundation has announced it will select the “50 most promising startups” launched during …
Help Build the Collections of The Universal Museum of Creative Matter!

By Elizabeth Merritt

If you got up right now and walked around your workplace/house/campus/neighborhood, what evidence would you find of small, mundane, creative acts? Why do I ask? I never thought I’d say this, but I am starting a museum. About …