Posts
Education & Interpretation
Language/Arts: How the Verbal and Visual Intersect in Museums
A picture is worth a thousand words. Or so the aphorism tells us. What, then, is the value of a single word? That is the question I have explored time and again as an educator in an art …
Learning from the Double Diamond: How Divergent and Convergent Thinking Can Improve Collaboration and Problem-Solving in Museums
Have you ever been in a meeting and thrown out an idea, only to have a colleague start listing all the reasons it won’t work? Or maybe you’ve thought of one in your head, only to …
Identity, Choice, and Emotion: New Approaches to Touring
As Learning staff at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), we regularly assess our tour offerings to understand what’s working well or where we may need to find new approaches. Over the …
Want to Teach Diversity and Inclusion? Go Outside!
“The fresh air, sounds, and sunshine [are] peaceful.” “I can sit differently, and that helps me focus.” “We can see what we are learning about.” “[It’s] easier to reset with nature sounds.” …
Climate Action Heroes: How National Children’s Museum Is Empowering the Next Generation of Climate Innovators
African American students walking out of school to march for equal rights in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963. Eight-year-old activist Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins climbing out of her wheelchair …
Publications
The National Park Service’s (NPS) Museum Handbook (PDF) has a chapter that reviews issues related to using museum collections in publications, including film, multimedia, sound …
What Do Students Get from K-12 Arts Field Trip Interventions?
This easy to read brochure from the National Endowment for the Arts and the University of Arkansas about their new research “An Experimental Evaluation of Arts Field Trips” on …
Teaching with Historic Places
The National Park Service (NPS) offers resources to help museums create lesson plans for teaching with histo…
A Journey of Healing: Creating Co-Stewardship with Tribal Communities
What’s in a name? The language we use tells us who is speaking, from what perspective, and (implicitly), who controls the narrative. Names, in short, have power. Today on the blog, Caitlin …
Meeting an Educational Need at the William King Museum of Art
To reach rural schools, staff at the William King Museum of Art get in the Va…
Point of View: Leading from the Front Lines
As museums focus on community engagement, museum educators are more important…
Transcending Dogma at the High Museum of Art
The High Museum of Art considers polarization, values, and civic good in its art educatio…