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Unpacking Admission by Donation

Unpacking Admission by Donation

by columnist Tegan Kehoe You’ve met the rude tourists who come to Boston. Sure, there are good tourists, too, but every city has its own magnets for the bad. These tourists are the ones who think they’re clever by saying, “Pahk ya cah in Hahvahd 

Propose a conference session at NEMA!

Propose a conference session at NEMA!

In 2014, NEMA’s annual conference will be held here in Boston, Cambridge. Submit your proposal for a session by February 3 (one month from today!) The theme for this November is “Picture of Health: Museums, Wellness & Healthy Communities,” celebrating the role museums play in community 

Keeping Things Real, Keeping Your Ideals

Keeping Things Real, Keeping Your Ideals

by columnist Tegan Kehoe

I recently read an older article in The Journal of Museum Education, Partnerships: Hype and Reality (Amy Jared, Winter 1994), that had some thought-provoking things to say on museums engaging with their communities. The author pushed back on the idea that museums’ greatest challenge is to convince the public that they are no longer elitist temples of wisdom: “I would like to suggest that the museum’s greatest challenges is convincing not neighbors and audiences, but ourselves — museum professionals from all levels of management — that the elitist regalia have indeed been shed.” From reading the article, I believe she means that in two ways, convincing ourselves both that elitism is no longer appropriate in museums even on the occasions when it is tempting, and that certain patterns of behavior, such of ways of interacting with community “partners” are holdovers from a more elitist time and need to be shaken up.

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Rethinking the “Remaking” of Museums

Rethinking the “Remaking” of Museums

by columnist Cira Brown A couple of weeks ago I attended the 41st Annual Museum Computer Network Conference in Montreal, Quebec. A strange name, perhaps, but the organization has been in existence way before personal computers… even before the moonlanding! I was very excited to attend, especially 

Perspectives on NEMA 2013

Perspectives on NEMA 2013

by columnist Tegan Kehoe One thing I love about NEMA is the mix of perspectives you get hearing many voices and attending multiple sessions. In a session on partnerships to meet community needs, and another on shared authority in partnerships, I learned as much from 

Feedback Wanted! Rapid Contextual Redesign of Mammal Skull Mystery Exhibit at the Museum of Science

Feedback Wanted! Rapid Contextual Redesign of Mammal Skull Mystery Exhibit at the Museum of Science

by columnist Catherine Sigmond

Lately I’ve been working on a project to evaluate and rapidly redesign the Mammal Skull Mystery exhibit at the Museum of Science. After weeks of evaluating how people use the exhibit (read: stalking visitors and then awkwardly trying to talk to them about it) and reflecting on those observations, we’re now in the storyboarding phase of the design process.

As we prepare to start discussing our high-level vision for the new exhibit with stakeholders at the museum, I thought that I would share where we are so far and a little bit about what’s influenced our designs.

Here’s what the exhibit looks like now:

Screen Shot 2013-11-20 at 10.27.17 AM

Continue reading Feedback Wanted! Rapid Contextual Redesign of Mammal Skull Mystery Exhibit at the Museum of Science