An Ingenious Museum Design That Turns Visitors Into Creators In theater, the “fourth wall” is the invisible barricade at the front of the stage, through which the audience observes the action while the players act as though the audience isn’t there. If such a thing exists in museums—and it does, in the form of glass … Continue reading
Tag Archives: American Alliance of Museums
What Happened in Museums This Week? January 4 – 10
Alliance Names 2014 Great American Museum Advocates The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has selected the first two Great American Museum Advocates from nominations submitted by museums of all types and sizes, all across the country. The winners are Simone Batiste, 16 years old from Oakland, CA, nominated by the Chabot Space & Science Center … Continue reading
2014 Looks Promising…
Happy New Year from Museum Minute! You may have noticed that I took a bit of a blogging break. There are a few reasons for this: 1. I was traveling for the holidays. 2. The blog doesn’t get nearly as much traffic from mid-end of December. 3. I’m a part of a team that has … Continue reading
Like Your Favorite AAM Session Proposals
The time has come to start reviewing session proposals submitted for the American Alliance of Museums 2014 Annual Meeting in Seattle (May 18-21, 2014). This means that now through Monday, September 9, if you are a member of AAM, YOU have the opportunity to review all submitted sessions and “like” your favorites. Membership and login … Continue reading
Embracing Mobile
Do you own a cell phone? According to a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, the answer is, more than likely, a resounding “yes.” The research suggests that 91% of the adult population in the U.S. owns a cell phone. Next question: Is your cell phone a smart phone? … Continue reading
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
Changing Expectations + 21C Skills: Are We There Yet?
Close your eyes and think about the museum professionals in your life: your colleagues, your friends and your partners in crime. They’re passionate people, right? And driven. And pretty darn smart. However, passion, drive and smarts aren’t all we need in our professional lives. We need fair compensation, feasible (if still challenging) expectations and opportunities … Continue reading
Meet a Museum Blogger: Gretchen Jennings
Gretchen Jennings is a museum administrator, educator, and exhibition project director. Her B.A. and M.A. are in History from, respectively, St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana and Concordia University, Montreal. From 2005 to 2007 she served as Director of Education for Interpretation and Visitor Experience at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. She has … Continue reading
AASLH 2012 Debrief
As you may have noticed, I started vlogging (video + blogging = vlogging) from Salt Lake City while attending #AASLH2012. Unfortunately, that lasted all of two days. Why? I spoke at four sessions during the conference and was (still sorta am – long story) working on a white paper deadline. Plus, I ran into quite … Continue reading
AAM: What’s in a Name?
If you visited www.aam-us.org last week you may have been surprised by the unannounced soft launch of the new website design. I received several texts and Facebook messages from colleagues regarding the silent update. My initial response was, “wow, the website looks much better” followed by, “what is that logo?” followed by, “is that a new name?” … Continue reading
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