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In the wake of myriad museum closures/reclosures, it is more important than ever for museums and cultural attractions to explore new ways to reach audiences. Online collections, virtual reality, 360-degree video, and live streams have the potential to play critical roles in engaging the public. In this section, find this information plus examples of what other museums are doing to remain connected to their audiences and support their communities.

Resources

• This Airtable lists what a lot of museums are doing or what resources they have available.
• 4 Ways Museums Can Successfully Leverage Digital Content and Channels during Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• From the Alliance and the Center for the Future of Museums:
  • Curatorial Dreaming in the Age of COVID-19
  • Digital Tools for Pandemic Times
  • Distance Learning Database (EdCom)
  • Fact Sheet: Museums and COVID-19 Vaccinations
  • How Creative Aging Programs Are Carrying on through COVID-19
  • How Your Museum Can Use Social Media During COVID-19
  • Tips for Maintaining Accessibility During and After COVID-19
• ArcheoAnalytics has published several blog posts on Medium that are helpful in understanding how going virtual is affecting museums:
  • Virtual Museums in the Time of COVID-19: Exploring Museum Collections on Web and Social Media
  • The Money List: How Museums Are Producing Digital Revenue
• The Association of Children’s Museums shares Museums in a Pandemic: Audience Experiences.
• The Association of Independent Museums (UK) has published this Success Guide on Understanding Your Audiences which discusses the context including evaluation and research of audiences and sets up a helpful process for determining how best to build your audience.
• Cuseum is conducting weekly webinars and publishing articles about keeping audiences engaged during this time:
  • How to Captivate, Connect, and Communicate with Your Audience during Coronavirus (Recorded Webinar)
  • How To Keep Your Audience Engaged, Entertained, and Inspired in the Age of Coronavirus.
  • How To Keep Your Audience Engaged, Entertained, and Inspired in the Age of Coronavirus (Recorded Webinar)
  • New Revenue Streams for Museums in the Digital Age
  • Video Live Streams as an Engagement Tool for Museums
• The Deaf/Hard of Hearing Technology Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center shares Accessibility Tips for a Better Zoom/Virtual Meeting Experience
• GoTo Meeting is offering its remote work tools free for three months
• Harvard Business Review shares How to Keep Your Team Motivated, Remotely
• The History News Network is tracking how historic houses are turning to technology
• The International Association of Children in Museums has created this free guide for children about the coronavirus called “A curious guide for courageous kids“. It contains the story of the virus that is understandable to children.
• Membership Consultants share Membership & Development: How to Prepare for When Your Institution Reopens Webinar.
• #MuseumFromHome Strategies
  • The National Gallery of Art’s Social Media Gallery Tours
  • The Akron Art Museum’s Collaborative Crosswords
  • Albright-Knox’s Artwork Showdowns
  • The Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s #MuseumFromHome Strategy: Funny TikToks
• The Museum Computer Network (MCN) has the Ultimate Guide to Virtual Museum Resources, E-Learning, and Online Collections.
• The Ohio Museums Association has posted a running list of OH Museums offering virtual programming.
• The Traveling Exhibits Network, a Professional Network of the Alliance, has created a LinkedIn group to help museums compile resources related to their traveling exhibitions, as well as having conducted a webinar on Traveling Exhibition Planning Through a Pandemic.
• From the Smithsonian:
  • Inclusive Digital Interactives (Smithsonian along with the Institute for Human Centered Design, and MuseWeb)
  • Smithsonian Learning Lab Office Hours
  • Virtual Tours and Gamification, China’s Museums Pivot Content for Coronavirus
• Wilkening Consulting has been conducting research of general museum-goers to determine when people feel they will be ready to return to museums.

Museums supporting communities

Even as museums are experiencing closures and significant losses in revenue, they are meeting increased demand for their services and safeguarding and supporting their communities. They are contributing to the ongoing education of our country’s children by providing lesson plans, online learning opportunities, and drop-off learning kits to teachers and families. They are using their outdoor spaces to grow and donate produce to area food banks; and maintaining these spaces for individuals to safely relax, enjoy nature, and recover from the mental health impacts of social isolation. They are donating their PPE and scientific equipment to fight COVID-19, and providing access to child care and meals to families of health care workers and first responders. In the midst of financial distress, they are even raising funds for community relief. Museums are community anchors, and are pivotal to our nation’s ability to manage through the pandemic and recover. Here are some examples of this work:

• The Education Committee (EdCom) a Professional Network of the Alliance has compiled a list of what museums are providing via distance learning for learners of all levels.
• The Association of Academic Museums and Galleries created this GoogleDoc for Academic Museum Responses to COVID-19.
• Crystal Bridges Museum plans to display artwork outside hospitals and senior living facilities.
• The Cuseum has prepared a Coronavirus Preparedness Community Document for museums to share information on their planning for Coronavirus.
• For a list of various resources and museum closures see Museum Responses – COVID-19.
• Sandro Debono published this blog post on Medium titled The Empty Museum: and a post-pandemic museum landscape, the last quarter is a list of what museums are doing during this uncertain time.
• For the latest on how museums are responding, check out the Museum Junction discussion on Coronavirus Considerations.
• The Network of European Museum Organizations (NEMA) conducted a survey of member institutions to inquire about how they are managing during the crisis.
• New Jersey State Museum’s executive director wrote A Special Note From New Jersey State Museum’s Executive Director