Museum 2.0

APRIL 7, 2009

Which of these descriptions exemplifies participatory museum practice? But the difference between the two examples teases out a problem in differentiating "participatory design" from "design for participation." In the first case, you are making the design process participatory. In the second, you make the product participatory.

Participatory 27

Participatory Design Difference Museum 27

Museum 2.0

JANUARY 16, 2013

This past weekend, in conjunction with our exhibition about Ze Frank's current participatory project, A Show , we hosted " Ze Frank Weekend "--a quickie summer camp of workshops, activities, presentations, and lots of hugging. It was pretty freaking amazing. To get lots of participation, always celebrate the human quality of the work.

Reflection 43

Reflection Community Museum Participatory 43

Museum 2.0

APRIL 18, 2012

A group in their late teens/early 20s were wandering through the museumwide exhibition on love. At the adjacent table, my colleague Stacey Garcia was meeting with a local artist, Kyle Lane-McKinley, to talk about an upcoming project. When I walked by the first time, the teens were collaging and Kyle and Stacey were talking.

Community 42

Community Teen Build Social 42

Museum 2.0

MAY 8, 2013

What started as a series of experiments and happy accidents is now embedded in how we develop and evaluate projects. Single-speaker lectures languish while lightning talks featuring teen photographers, phD anthropologists, and professional dancers are packed.

Museum 55

Museum Social Arts History 55

Museum 2.0

MARCH 4, 2015

This week marks five years since the book The Participatory Museum was first released. I thought the pinnacle of participatory practice was an exhibit that could inspire collective visitor action without facilitation. Since 2010 I have seen, again and again and again, how valuable human facilitation is to the participatory process.

Participatory 20

Participatory Museum Empowerment Facilitation 20

Museum 2.0

DECEMBER 14, 2009

For this reason, I spoke specifically about how to make dream projects possible at real institutions. Pick apart your mission statement, and look for the words and phrases you can connect your project to. What new projects might allow you to better reflect those aspirations? Or you can read this condensed version of the talk.

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Project Museum Teen North Carolina 22

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.

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Museum Difference Participatory History 29

Museum 2.0

JULY 23, 2013

School programs fall within this landscape, and our goal is not to see them as completely separate from the other work we do with youth—Kid Happy Hour, family festivals, teen program—but on a continuum. How can we develop programming that encourages students to make connections with kids of other ages or from other parts of our County?

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Program Museum Work History 39

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. We''re investing a lot in a public plaza project outside of the museum. In the meantime, here are some.

Museum 49

Museum Director Teen History 49

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. I tried to master the administrative work as quickly as possible so I could keep volunteering for other creative projects. It was going to be developed by contractors and overseen by Anna.

Museum 52

Museum Participatory Boston Interview 52

Museum 2.0

DECEMBER 1, 2006

Ready to turn your institution into a site of participatory engagement? Want to bring the spirit of this blog to your colleagues and projects? I am available for consulting and strategic development, and creative design and leadership of exhibition, technology, and museum planning projects.

Museum 21

Museum Professional Service Participatory 21

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. Thank you to everyone who recommended a favorite post from the past or who helped out with a guest post. To me, Museum 2.0

Museum 35

Museum Participatory Reflection Conference 35

Museum 2.0

MARCH 27, 2009

I saw teens and adults who sat and did this activity for 45 minutes and wasn’t surprised to hear that some people spend over an hour on it. A large wall featured a slowly undulating, multi-colored projection passing by, like the visual aftermath of an accident in a lava lamp factory. Projects design participatory museum.

Denver 21

Denver Museum Arts Remix 21

Museum 2.0

MAY 5, 2009

Visitor Co-Created Museum Experiences This session was a dream for me, one that brought together instigators of three participatory exhibit projects: MN150 (Kate Roberts), Click! This spanned all the projects. how do you set clear criteria for participation when the project is experimental and ever-changing?

Slides 20

Slides Participatory Museum Children 20

Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 16, 2007

Sure, it's social, but people stick to their own "pods"--families, teens, adults--and don't diverge or merge. Ideas participatory museum Unusual Projects and Influences visitors. Step 3: a successful "five" is given. Why does this happen? It's not because the boardwalk is a social place. But I'm not so sure of this.

Museum 20

Museum Participatory Teen Game 20

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 25, 2009

This technique was used in the Slavery in New York exhibition at the New-York Historical Society and continues in the popular StoryCorps project. There was a wonderful example at the Ontario Science Center in their Hot Zone area, which features several voting and commenting kiosks popular with teens.

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Design Goal Difference Platform 31

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. Most Workshops also run a wide range of additional programs - supplemental school day programs, afterschool programs, mobile units that go to housing projects.

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Green Interview Share Community 20

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 7, 2008

Surveys, interviews, tracking studies, and exhibit evaluations are often isolated events, and the information gleaned is specific to particular projects. When I watch the videos teens created at the Exploratorium and post on YouTube, I see the aspects of the exhibits they thought were most important to share with their classmates.

Museum 20

Museum Teen Second Life Discussion 20

Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

They were there for project brainstorming. It encourages process-driven performances and art projects. They live their mission, working in questions and projects rather than exhibitions and programs. This makes Temple Contemporary excel at responsive, relevant projects. They were there for artist talks.

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Process Share Philadelphia Arts 20

Museum 2.0

NOVEMBER 18, 2008

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

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Comment Tools Museum Conversation 20

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 18, 2008

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?” Projects participatory museum. If not, consider whether this is the right partner and where better friendships might be found.

Museum 22

Museum Hosting Model Community 22

Museum 2.0

SEPTEMBER 26, 2008

Now, onto the links: If you have a great idea for a participatory learning project that uses digital tools, the MacArthur Foundation wants to give you money. I'm currently doing a project in Canada, and in my hunt for international social media statistics, I came upon this amazing Social Media Tracker report.

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Fund Teen Museum Philadelphia 20

Museum 2.0

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

I was talking this week with Mark Allen, the founder of Machine Project (an alternative arts space in LA), about different models for community engagement in cultural institutions. For example, consider two independent arts organizations in Los Angeles -- Machine Project and The Public School.

Voice 42

Voice Los Angeles Denver Museum 42

Museum 2.0

MARCH 30, 2016

Teens advocating for all-gender bathrooms. That means offering clear, visible, appealing participatory experiences that enhance the destination experience. This can happen through committees, summits, or long-term projects in which a group puts on a show builds something together. Printmakers leading workshops. You get the idea.

Community 20

Community Museum Local Participatory 20