Museum 2.0

FEBRUARY 9, 2010

Recently, I was giving a presentation about participatory techniques at an art museum, when a staff member raised her hand and asked, "Did you have to look really hard to find examples from art museums? For this reason, I see history museums as best-suited for participatory projects that involve story-sharing and crowdsourced collecting (e.g.

Museum 29

Museum Difference Participatory Arts 29

Museum 2.0

JULY 31, 2013

You''re in for a treat, with upcoming posts on creativity, collections management, elitism, science play, permanent participatory galleries, partnering with underserved teens, magic vests, and more. And that got me thinking about why I blog in the first place. I''ve never taken a break from blogging before.

Museum 35

Museum Reflection Participatory Conference 35

Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 7, 2010

At the big one, I worked on a small project with teens to design science exhibits for community centers in their own neighborhoods. The Spy Museum was a dream place for me. While now the blog's a big part of my life, at the time, it just felt like an experiment--a place for me to develop my ideas in a public setting.

Museum 52

Museum Job Ideas Project 52

Museum 2.0

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

Museums and other venues are offering special programs for teens, for hipsters, for people who want a more active or spiritual or participatory experience. If we want to transform museums into place for everyday use that people drop in on for a quick fix of history, a meeting with a friend, or a cup of coffee, what will that require?

Arts 50

Arts Museum Calendar Music 50

Museum 2.0

MARCH 27, 2009

There are stacks of graphics, cut-out reproductions from the real rock posters on display next door, which visitors can place under the transparencies to arrange and remix into poster designs of their own choosing. Side Trip is an inviting art-oriented place for visitors. Projects design participatory museum.

Museum 21

Museum Denver Arts Participatory 21

Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 16, 2007

It's not because the boardwalk is a social place. Sure, it's social, but people stick to their own "pods"--families, teens, adults--and don't diverge or merge. Out on the boardwalk, or at the zoo or a museum, there's a common experience of the sights, sounds, smells, activities of the place. Step 3: a successful "five" is given.

Museum 20

Museum Participatory Interaction Teen 20

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 25, 2009

Placing feedback stations in the open lowers the probability of socially inappropriate behavior, and it also allows parents and teachers to help struggling visitors answer the questions at hand. Tags: Talking to Strangers design participatory museum usercontent interactives. What have you seen work well, and what have you seen fail?

Goal 31

Goal Difference Design Platform 31

Museum 2.0

DECEMBER 14, 2009

Unsurprisingly, some of my favorite museums are small, funky places run by iconoclasts—but that’s not useful to most professionals who work for organizations in which they have little control over size or leadership matters. I worked on one project in which the client institution thought they wanted unfettered teen expression.

Project 22

Project Museum Teen Minnesota 22

Museum 2.0

MARCH 18, 2015

The people were of all ages--moms with babies strapped to their fronts, six year-olds using skillsaws, pre-teens building robots, teenagers doing homework. The design and feel of the place was different than any science center I''d ever experienced. In most cases, they''re not places where kids can go by themselves at all.

Green 20

Green Interview Community Share 20

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 3, 2009

We're always happy for more bodies in the door, but if supporting teens means alienating seniors, there's a problem. It means making some conscious choices that push your institution towards being more of a " third place. " It's a place you can use. We love this place, it's our home. Museums are fatiguing.

Community 22

Community Museum San Diego Participatory 22

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 18, 2008

The unconference got lots of locals "in the door" who otherwise hadn't considered the museum a useful or interesting place. Librarian Aaron Schmidt tells the great story of a game night of Dance, Dance, Revolution at his library in which a teen asked him: “Hey Aaron, can I go upstairs to grab a magazine and book to read?”

Museum 22

Museum Hosting Community Model 22

Museum 2.0

MARCH 30, 2016

Teens advocating for all-gender bathrooms. LOCAL INSTITUTION : Your community is a definable group of people connected by place. DESTINATION INSTITUTION : If your visitors come from all over the world instead of from down the street, defining community strictly by place doesn't work. Printmakers leading workshops.

Community 20

Community Museum Local Culture 20

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 7, 2008

the Exploratorium is a place high school/junior high students go on field trips and make snarky videos at their teachers' behest (source: YouTube ). to make recreation decisions, reading blogs to form an impression, watching videos to get my feel for a place--these Web 2.0 If I'm an engaged spectator in the groundswell--using Yelp!

Museum 20

Museum Teen Community Discussion 20

Museum 2.0

MAY 16, 2007

The recent flurry of restrictions that has sent teens fleeing? I remember how strange it felt after work to be in the grocery store or any other public place, say hi to strangers, and realize they were looking at me suspiciously. Tags: participatory museum visitors. The irritating design? Or is it the stalkers?

Museum 20

Museum Myspace Social Network Interaction 20

Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 18, 2008

In many museums, comment cards are currently the most "participatory" part of the visitor experience. It's the one place where visitors can offer direct, open-ended feedback on the institution's content and services. It may be useful if you want to ask "What kind of teen programs should our museum offer?"

Comment 20

Comment Tools Museum Ideas 20

Museum 2.0

MARCH 28, 2008

And most contemporary museums are not only places for information-seeking. In short, it limits museums from being places that are trusted as institutions of public engagement and interaction--the places many museums claim they want to be. I'm reading a book of essays about how to teach written by teens.

Participatory 20

Participatory Museum Teen Voice 20

Museum 2.0

MAY 21, 2014

When I look back at some recent projects that I''m most excited about (like this teen program ), I realize that I had very little to do with their conception or execution. Participatory work can be very labor-intensive. In the meantime, here are some. THINGS I''M MOST PROUD OF: Making space for distributed leadership.

Museum 49

Museum Director History Culture 49