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 History 29

Museum 2.0

MARCH 28, 2008

Museums aren't the only venues facing this question: news outlets, corporate brands, and educators are also grappling with the question of trust in the participatory age. They reflect individual voices and stories, and the more diverse voices are engaged, the more trustworthy a source is as a true "voice of the people." Be personal.

Participatory 20

Participatory Museum Teen Voice 20

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. Now, as a freelancer, my work combines long-term, creatively challenging participatory exhibit projects with lots of little workshops and brainstorming sessions with institutions around the world.

Museum 52

Museum Participatory Boston Interview 52

Museum 2.0

DECEMBER 14, 2009

What new projects might allow you to better reflect those aspirations? I worked on one project in which the client institution thought they wanted unfettered teen expression. In the end, this generated a substandard product for the client, and disappointment for the teens.

Project 22

Project Museum Teen North Carolina 22

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 25, 2009

When you want visitors to spend a long time reflecting and sharing their thoughts, you need to design spaces for response that are comfortable and minimize distractions. 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.

Design 31

Design Goal Difference Platform 31

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 7, 2008

By understanding what individuals are highlighting about the Exploratorium experience, the museum can craft its own messaging--and programming--to reflect and enhance the elements seen as most valuable. Tags: Book Discussion: Groundswell marketing participatory museum. Or a specific question or idea about how to do it well?

Museum 20

Museum Teen Second Life Discussion 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. Work with communities that relate to your content and reach desired audiences.

Museum 22

Museum Hosting Model Community 22

Museum 2.0

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

I've written before about the difference between participatory processes and products , but this question of frameworks and sensibility is more broadly applicable to community engagement strategies. In fact, I find that participatory products are often more likely to reflect a formal sensibility than their traditional counterparts.

Voice 42

Voice Los Angeles Denver Museum 42