This space was created by the Museum Education Roundtable to expand upon the most recent Journal of Museum Education (JME) issue, reflect on member events, and address timely issues that we face in the field of museum work. Read about how to write for our blog here.
Knowledge in Action ™
From the Field: Re-imagining Docent Engagement
Interview with Jenna S. Green – Student Gallery Guide at the University of Arizona Museum of Art This current issue of the JME “Re-imagining Docent Engagement” looks at the role of docents in museum settings — the history of programs and continuing changes in the field. The articles featured in this issue consider current issues in docent training and re-imagine … Read More
The Big Picture: Balancing Collections Care and Access with Project Design and Student Engagement
Professionals in arts and cultural heritage organizations, whether at large institutions or smaller ones, manage the delicate balance between utilizing collections and meeting their preservation requirements. Academic museum and gallery professionals balance the demands of collections use and care while meaningfully supporting student success. Educators practicing within these spaces call upon a dynamic skillset to engage audiences and foster opportunities … Read More
Let’s Discuss: Transforming Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust
The Journal of Museum Educations issue 49.1, Transforming Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust, shares how museum educators are engaging with the stories and lessons of the Holocaust and how those stories are relevant in different ways today. Both the MER Board and Guest Editor Wolfgang Schmutz have provided context for this issue, and through this suggested dialogue guide, we … Read More
I 💚 Heart Museums 2024 Playlist
To celebrate International Museums Day, MER is revisiting a fan-favorite blog feature: the I 💚 Museums Playlist! We’ve put together another eclectic playlist that captures the wide range of emotions people feel when exploring museums. A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this list, and don’t forget to also check out the OG playlist from 2020! “You’ve … Read More
An Annotated Bibliography: There are Different Suns
Editor’s Note: In Orlando Serrano Jr’s article, There are Different Suns, he shares animating ideas and frameworks shaping the work of making the new Center for Restorative History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The article and Serrano’s lineage of thought are broad and, importantly, shaped by many sources beyond museum or education literature alone. We asked him … Read More
Museum Programming for Civic Engagement on Climate Change with Miranda Massie
Interviewed by Anais Reyes This guest post is authored by The Climate Museum, inspired by the JME issue 45.1, Museums and Public Climate Action. The Climate Museum is the first museum in the US dedicated to climate change. Through exhibitions, public art installations, youth programs, panels and workshops with experts, and more, the Museum uses programming as a way to … Read More
MER Responds
The Museum Education Roundtable stands alongside those protesting violence against Black people in Minneapolis and around the country. Museum educators are bridges to and producers of cultural knowledge. We care for our communities intellectually but also emotionally, socially, and physically. As such, we have a responsibility to address structural injustice, oppression, racism, and abuses of power. Museums are not neutral, … Read More
#DearMuseums, Week One: “Uncertainty”
Welcome to the first week of #DearMuseums! This initiative seeks to document and share stories about how this global crisis is affecting people and their work as museum educators. Tune in to our blog, Facebook, and Twitter every Monday for selected submissions that capture the current climate through museum educator’s eyes. This week’s theme is “Uncertainty.” All entries this week … Read More