‘Bubble’ Debate Plans For Smithsonian Museum ‘Bubble’ May Have Burst Call it the Smithsonian’s bubble problem. One of the Smithsonian museums — the Hirshhorn museum for contemporary art — came up with an ambitious new design to add more space: Why not build a giant, inflatable structure that would be big enough for people to walk around in? But … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: May 2013
The Power of Story (via Data, Collections & Social Media)
As our nation commemorates the bicentennial of the War of 1812, the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, and the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights movement, “The Power of Story” seems a timely theme for this year’s American Alliance of Museums Annual Conference, held in Baltimore, Maryland last week. I’ve returned from the “Greatest City in America” refreshed, reenergized, full … Continue reading
Meet a Museum Blogger: Ashley Martin
Ashley G. Martin began her museum career in a museum gift shop in the heart of downtown Boston. After receiving her BA in Art History, she was promoted and steadily worked her way up at The Bostonian Society. Currently, she is the Administrative Manager and Social Media Specialist and is a Chair for the New … Continue reading
What Happened in Museums This Week? May 18 – 24
900 Artifacts Recovered National Museum Unveils Haul of ‘Looted’ Artefacts The National Museum of Ireland today unveiled a recently recovered collection of some 900 artefacts which it said had been looted from historical sites around Ireland by “treasure hunters” using metal detectors. Many of the artefacts were found by police in England following a tip-off … Continue reading
Meet a Museum Blogger: Lorie Pierce
After careers in urban planning, health care and medical research, Lorie Pierce made a conscious choice to work somewhere beautiful, engaging and always thought provoking: the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Starting as a volunteer in 2005, she now balances her volunteer roles in Outreach children’s programming with a part-time staff position in the Education … Continue reading
What Happened in Museums This Week? May 11 – 17
Barbie Museum Protest Protests Mar Barbie Museum Opening The opening of a museum in Berlin celebrating Barbie dolls was disrupted Thursday by protesters who say the popular doll distorts girl’s image of their own bodies. “Fewer and fewer girls feel comfortable in their own skin, with eating disorders having increased drastically because of figures like … Continue reading
Copyright and the Digital Generation
Last week I attended a Fair Use and Digitization workshop at Bowling Green State University. We learned a lot about copyright (does that make you cringe? I did, just a little.) and Fair Use. The workshop provided some excellent food for thought regarding Fair Use (you can read the ARL Code of Fair Use Best … Continue reading
Meet a Museum Blogger: Paolo Viscardi
As a child, Paolo Viscardi had a morbid fascination with death and a penchant for skulls, offering a limited range of vocations for his future. After discounting a career in a death metal band (no musical talent) or a job as an assassin (a saturated market in the early 90’s) he opted to train as … Continue reading
What Happened in Museums This Week? May 4 – 10
Admission Debate 9/11 Museum will Charge Admission Fee of $20 or More When it Opens in 2014, Officials Say Faced with hefty operating costs, the foundation building the 9/11 museum at the World Trade Center has decided to charge an admission fee of $20 to $25 when the site opens next year. To read more, … Continue reading
The Cost of Memory: The 9/11 Museum Admission Debate
Last week officials at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum announced that admission to the museum will cost between $20-$25 when it opens in 2014. The memorial plaza, which opened in 2011, will continue to be free (there is a $2 service fee for online ticket reservations). Not surprisingly, this announcement has turned out to … Continue reading
Museum Minute 