In response to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, The Maritime Aquarium is offering free general admission to all residents of Newtown, as well as to Newtown educators and Newtown employed first responders and their immediate families (up to 6 people per family), now through all of 2013. “We at The Maritime Aquarium are heartbroken…
I’ll be at the annual conference of the American Alliance of Museums in Baltimore, MD from May 19 through 22. If you are attending, please say hello, especially if we haven’t met before. If you are a regular reader of this blog you may be interested in a couple of sessions that I’ll be chairing:…
Last week I posted a reflection on the varied responses of museums in Boston in the immediate aftermath of the Marathon Bombings–from closing in honor of the victims to free admission in solidarity with the community to direct outreach to the injured children and families.This week I direct you to two thoughtful and heartfelt posts, Our…
Compassion+Systems in Place+Timeliness=Community Impact In the midst of the international outpouring of support and sympathy for the victims of the two bombs that went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15,2013, what role did museums, especially Boston museums, play in their beleaguered community? As readers of Museum Commons know, I…
Dear readers, I’m working hard on an upcoming post, and it’s taking me more time than I anticipated to think this one through. In the meantime, fellow blogger Jamie Glavic has begun a series called “Meet a Museum Blogger” on her Museum Minute blog. She sent a variety of questions to answer, and uses these to create a…
I’m interrupting the series of posts I’d planned on next steps for museum educators to reflect a bit about Superstorm Sandy and museums. A few days after the storm, I saw a notice from the New York Public Library that it was working to re-establish power in all of its branches, and as each one opened,…
Recent posts on Museum Commons have addressed issues of museum empathy and the use of social media to include the visitor voice. In this connection the Education Department of the Levine Museum of the New South contacted me about a new summer program that is using social media to connect more closely with the…
(now the ears of my ears awake and now the eyes of my eyes are opened) –e. e. cummings Recently I have been attending an Episcopal church where there are both men and women priests. This is a new experience for one who has spent a lifetime in a church that is inclusive in many…