Museum Visions: A Blog Space

The topic of the current and future status of museum docent and guide programs (volunteer and paid) is a frequent conversation among colleagues in U. S. museums. How can we have a corps of educators that are representative of our country’s demographics with our current volunteer-based models? How are we ensuring learner-centered teaching and dialogue in museum tours? How can … Read More

As everyone begins to put their final touches on their holiday wish lists, consider adding some books that will help inspire, recharge, and re-imagine your museum work in the new year. The Museum Education Roundtable Board of Directors have shared some of the books that they have found valuable and wish list worthy, including: Bone Rooms: from Scientific Racism to … Read More

Whew! What a year! I  know what you’re thinking. Rest assured, this post isn’t about politics. Each August, the MER Board of Directors convenes for its annual retreat. Since many of our board members work in amazing museums, our retreat venues are guaranteed to be unique and inspiring. This year was no different. We were fortunate to be warmly hosted … Read More

Recently I found myself in a series of intense meetings at the Wien Museum where I work, discussing the curation of a small, temporary exhibition culled from our permanent collection.  Made necessary by a large special exhibition that will occupy the entire first floor of the museum, the gallery will showcase highlights from the museum’s seventeenth- and eighteenth- century collections, … Read More

In June, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in two European museum conferences. Communicating the Museum (CTM): The Power of Education was held in Paris from June 19-22nd. CTM is “the world’s leading arts communication conference encourages dialogue between museums, drives innovation, inspires new ideas, explores trends in communication strategies and fosters lasting relationships among worldwide institutions.” … Read More

“REPRESENT.”   It was an unhesitating one-word answer given during an in-community consultation. This past week, we conducted this consultation at the regional Korean-American Community Center to solicit feedback on the early concepts of an interpretive plan for a new installation of the Korean art collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The Korean project is part of a larger … Read More

Our colleague Jon Carfagno candidly outlines in his May blog post, “Retelling the Story of Museum Education Roundtable,” the process we at the Museum Education Roundtable (MER) recently embarked towards an exciting organization-wide transformation. We reflected on our purpose, our audiences and our future to redefine our brand, mission, vision and role. Throughout this process of reflection and change, we … Read More

“Sharing, teaching, listening, guiding, forecasting – an ongoing organizational quest to inform, engage and inspire through compelling educational experiences. We are Knowledge in Action. “ These words form the conclusion of Museum Education Roundtable’s recently redefined brand story. More importantly, they mark the culmination of a multi-year project intended to chart a course for our future. Origins and Background During … Read More