Enjoyed the ASTC reception last night at the Bishop Museum — and how could I not? A Hawaiian luau, with food (including the mysterious poi, top notch live music both traditional and contemporary, and a few strong mai tais). But what struck me from a museum perspective is how well the institution as a whole integrates the disparate domains of culture, science, and spirit. The historic building houses the more cultural exhibits (including...
Read MoreWhat are the overarching themes emerging from the AASLH (state and local history) conference? When I was a museum staff member, I would go to sessions to pick up on them. Now that I'm here in the exhibit hall, tied to my booth, I glean them from conversations with people who stop by. (And find it very helpful to follow AASLH on twitter — search for hash tag #aaslh10 — and on the conference blog). A couple themes that pop out:...
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Here we come to the topic that launched me into this fascinating career: uses of technology that encourage compassionate awareness of other cultures. It’s the bridge that carried me from Harvard Ed School to Boston Children’s Museum, through the Teen Tokyo and Kids’ Bridge exhibits.experience is an essential part of the exhibit. This experience, and the stories that come out of it, I think are the link sought after in so many...
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Went to the session “Changing Places: Exhibition as a Catalyst for Community Engagement” yesterday. It’s something many of us feel and more of us are talking about: we want exhibits to change lives. Not just increase understanding or awareness, but actually result in positive changes in the community served by the museum. The Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte is a museum that is doing that.Their IMLS funded exhibit...
Read MoreI've been interested in the rise of the field “positive psychology,” which focuses on what happens when the conditions for human development lead to happy, fulfilling lives. This year's “Great Friend to Kids Award” presented at the Assoc. of Children's Museums conference went to Dr. Peter Benson, President of the Search Institute, who has developed a framework of Developmental Assets for positive development...
Read MoreOne of the key topics I'm interested in: what impact do museum websites have? Do users/visitors do anything as a result of their interactions that has an observable effect in the world? If we were to check in with them a month or two later, would we notice any difference for their interactions? A small group of us broke out for one of the “unconference sessions” to explore the issue. An interesting topic that came up: options...
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