After the extraordinary pre-conference “reImagining children’s museums” workshop, keynote speaker John Seely Brown (aka “JSB”) confirmed what is becoming apparent: children’s museums are leading the way toward a new relationship with our visitors/participants — a way that integrates our capacities to know, to make, and to play.  He loved this video of the Opal School, a school integrated into the...

Children’s museums are up to something pretty extraordinary, and the day long “reImagining” session before the Association of Children’s Museums annual conference is a sign of how impactful this re-imagining might be.  There’s a theme emerging, that museums are becoming more “pervasive, everywhere, all the time” though a combination of community relationships and technology. This is a theme we’ve...

While I’m on a roll coming up with bulleted lists for the rich experiences at Museums and the Web, thought I’d jot a few thoughts down on the education category for Best of the Web this year.  (I should note that I was a committee member/judge for this category, but these thoughts don’t necessarily reflect those of the committee or any behind the scenes discussions — they’re just thoughts that come to mind as I...

I’ve been keeping busy as I need the last 10 years focusing on visitors’ stories in exhibits (recording them, emailing them, posting to social media, etc).  And it’s all been *exhibit* based. Or, maybe I should say, *but* it’s all been exhibit based.  I’ve come to realize recently that while I’ve been focusing on exhibits, some of the best work in learning and museums has come from programs, those extensions...

Here I sit, end of day 2 of Museums and the Web. I could just say “my brain is fried” and crawl into bed, which would be very satisfying. But here I am, my favorite conference for expanding thinking about our work, and want to at least capture a few phrases and images before they slip away. So, looking through my notes: “Ecosystem”:  the title of the demo from the team at Museum Victoria (congrats on their award) was...

Enjoyed the webcast sponsored by Emerging Museum Professionals at the NEMA conference (and beyond). Futurist Garry Golden presented a range of ideas impacting museums in the hour and half online session. Highlights from my notes include: the social media model has broad impact on museum communications distinct from past broadcast models. (In my mind, the issue becomes: “how do we plant the seeds that people want to communicate...