Across the museum field much conversation has centered on the efforts of diversifying collections and the perspectives that they represent. How can these efforts parallel and propel progress in diversifying our museum professional community? How can we break down the perceived and very real barriers to museum career paths for the next generation? 

The reflections of Preeti Gupta, Senior Director for Children, Family and Youth Programs, and Albeliza Perez, Senior Manager of Youth Workforce Development at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City expand upon their recent JME article, “From ‘Let Me Show You Something Cool’ to ‘What Do You Notice?’ Preparing College Interns for Floor Facilitation in a Natural History Museum” (Vol 49. No 4, p. 398-408; click here to read) that embraces and engages with the creative agency and personal lived experience of college interns. AMNH’s Museum Education Experience Program (MEEP) prepares students to facilitate visitor-centered gallery conversations by first acknowledging the history of exclusion, bias, and stereotypes in museums and subsequently building a community built on empathy and understanding. Here Preeti and Abeliza share the possibilities and challenges of expanding this practice outside of Education departments to create a holistic museum approach to cultivating our next generation of museum professionals. 

As leaders of the MEEP program, can you introduce yourself through your own professional journey that led you to a career in museum education? How have events along this journey influenced your perspective on the role of museum education today?

Preeti Gupta: My whole museum career started by being in a similar program to MEEP throughout her high school and college years. So once I became a museum professional, naturally, I understood the transformative power of such programs. Over the last three decades, there is so much evidence that opportunities for youth to work in museums during their most formative years mediates their identity development, career choices, provides them with transferable skills they can not get in school spaces and instill in them a lifelong appreciation for museum spaces.

Albeliza Perez: I benefited from participating in cultural spaces like El Museo del Barrio, International Center of Photography, and ABC No Rio. My early experiences did shape how I viewed museum education today— museums not just as a destination place for learning, but with the potential of being a community space to empower young people, amplify their voices, and challenge dominant narratives through storytelling and dialogue. For me, museum education is about building relationships and multiplying the opportunities for youth to see themselves as changemakers within their communities, and connected to broad conversations that shape the way people engage with learning within museums. 

 

As a long established program (25 years), the goal of the MEEP program has remained the same; to bring diverse youth to the museum and develop workplace skills. How has the implementation of this program evolved to better respond to contemporary contexts? To new visions of the purpose of museums? 

We value the assets young people bring to the Museum and create spaces for them to share. The field has evolved to ensure the next generation feels empowered as contributing members of the museum’s mission. This isn’t just about inviting them in but compensating them for their work and recognizing they, too, bring expertise. For example, when a MEEP intern discusses brightly colored butterflies with a visitor, they might share how Monarch butterflies hold symbolic meaning in their culture and how that reverence has shaped conservation efforts in their ancestral lands. This can spark broader conversations about conservation and deepen engagement with visitors. Interns aren’t just gaining skills—they’re shaping dialogue, shifting attitudes and perceptions, and creating meaningful connections to broader issues. This is valuable work, and reflects how museums are working toward fostering dialogue and diverse perspectives to change the way people learn within them. MEEP embodies reciprocity, acknowledging that interns gain experience and knowledge while also bringing valuable expertise to our space. 

 

A strength of the MEEP program is its dedication of time and space to build community among its participants to challenge perceived barriers of belonging. You describe a few of these barriers, such as feeling unwelcome after being followed by security staff in galleries. Can you expand on what you are hearing from your MEEP participants on what they perceive as other barriers of belonging in museum spaces? How has this feedback influenced the iterative design of the program? What are some identified barriers that have required (or would require) collaboration with museum staff outside of Education?

The community building efforts create a space to discuss the unwritten norms that shape how young people navigate and experience museum spaces. Interns do express uncertainty about what behaviors are considered “acceptable” or share concerns about being perceived as out of place. This conversation comes up after an assignment that asks interns to visit other museums and to observe how behaviors vary depending on the environment. They return with reflections on how actions are subtly influenced and policed (i.e. hard looks, shushing) as a means of social conditioning, and remark on how that dynamic can create anxiety and, ultimately, exclusion. While MEEP provides a space to unpack these experiences, the challenge is that these dialogues aren’t always reflected broadly. Addressing these barriers requires collaboration—for example, doing the same activity with security, volunteer and visitor services to address bias, they are well intended but reinforce expectations, perhaps rooted in bias, regarding what is the “proper” way to experience a Museum. It’s important to ask when and how those behavioral expectations came to be. 

 

A challenge among many museum educators is feeling powerless to make change outside of their departments. Are there instances where MEEP participants and their contributions to AMNH have been able to break down barriers to belonging by inspiring change in other parts of the museum? 

One of the challenges in implementing the learnings from MEEP across the Museum is addressing bias, particularly tackling adultism and expertise bias which is pervasive, even within the education department. These can make it difficult for young people’s insights to be fully valued and included. We’ve seen progress through our collaboration with the exhibitions department, which has been hosting listening sessions with MEEP interns. These sessions provide insights into how visitors engage with content, inspire new  ideas and changes for exhibits. The interns’ interpretive work and feedback have become valuable in shaping how exhibition professionals consider certain decisions, and it supports challenging assumptions about how we think things may resonate. I think this collaboration is an important step toward breaking down barriers of belonging and creating a more inclusive and representative Museum environment.

 

A key aspect of MEEP is its focus on developing skills of empathy, in understanding behaviors of visitors, adapting communication styles, and establishing a safe learning environment. Can you expand on the ways in which you see how empathy combats anxiety in museum spaces for MEEPers? For visitors? What is your advice for museum educators to effectively build trust with their youth/young adult interns?

We come to better understand empathy by modeling. We are their colleagues in the MEEP space and we focus on adaptive management when upholding performance standards. The MEEP interns should feel that we have created a space that is inclusive, understanding while also being challenging. When we reflect on the qualities of what makes this space great for us to exchange, we understand how this quality can be transferred to working on the floor. For visitors, empathetic interactions—such as listening actively and connecting through shared interests—work to build that bridge of trust encouraging open dialogue and meaningful engagement that leads to talking about more complex topics. To build trust with youth interns, museum educators should focus on listening without judgment, valuing their ideas, and being transparent about what your expectations are and why. You’ll know you’re on the right path when the questions they start to ask you get harder to answer. Lean into that. Trust grows when educators model vulnerability, acknowledge their mistakes and when they don’t know something, and treat interns as collaborators and colleagues rather than just learners. Consistent empathy fosters confidence, connection, and builds a greater sense of belonging for everyone. 

 

What advice would you give to museum educators wanting to emulate the MEEP model in their own institutions? 

We encourage everyone to read this article, email us to chat, discuss or problem solve together. If you already have a youth internship program where youth facilitate conversations with the public, and want to address particular aspects of it, we would encourage that conversation. If you are thinking of starting a program, don’t feel alone and that you are starting from scratch. You have a whole support system in the museum field to collaborate with you.