How can museum exhibits foster empathy? This is a long overdue post of our session for the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) Interactivity conference this last year. It’s a topic that is increasingly relevant in a polarized country (and world), where studies show an alarming decline in empathy the last three decades (the “empathy deficit”), and increases in stress and isolation. How can museums respond proactively...

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We’re excited to announce a new prototype we’ve developed: an Augmented Reality application where visitors’ stories become embedded throughout a community. People often ask: “What can you do with stories after you’ve recorded them in exhibits?” We’ve been happy to provide a number of ways that extend the reach of exhibits: 1) share them on the museum’s social media feed, 2) incorporate them in a...

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Happy to share notes from the “Community Storytelling Workshop” (aka, “brainstorming session”) Katie Spencer and I led a few weeks ago at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle. We’re quite primed to be pushing the boundaries of the field with partners like MOHAI, Friends of Waterfront Seattle, and other potential partners who are doing great work connecting with community. 1. Intro. Community Storytelling...

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A pleasure to replay the stories we recorded in mid-September in our popup booth at Pike Place Market, the Salmon Homecoming Festival, and right on a waterfront trail at Olympic Sculpture Park. The goal: to use stories to help Friends of Waterfront Seattle make the central waterfront a public mixing ground where all communities can share cultural, recreational, and civic experiences in a beautiful environment. We asked people questions such as:...

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It’s been a pleasure to further develop our community storytelling model with Friends of Waterfront Seattle, the nonprofit organization interfacing with the public as Seattle undergoes major development along its waterfront. The multi-year project will create new public spaces as the city’s elevated highway is removed. Our mutual mission: to use local residents’ stories as the connector between a diverse range of communities...

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I’m back from the AASLH (American Association for State and Local History) Conference in Austin, reflecting on the energizing keynote presentation by University of Texas history professor Jeremi Suri. The presentation was based on his newly released book, “The Impossible Presidency.” And while I though it would be about the very unlikely outcome that Donald Trump was elected President, it was actually about something more...

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