DC Museum Education Roundtable

DC Museum Education Roundtable A local chapter of the Museum Education Roundtable, we host professional development activities in the greater DC area. Our events provide educational experiences for museum educators at any level.

Operating as usual

08/10/2020
Pandemic Programming: Small Cultural Organizations Educate & Raise Revenue

The COVID-19 crisis has severely limited in-person visits to cultural organizations. In its early phases, many organization offered free, virtual programs. As the pandemic continues, low visitation has reduced organizations' revenue. As a result, some are developing mission-focused, socially distant programs that also generate revenue.

Our on-line panel discussion about pandemic programming focused on smaller institutions. Three cultural organizations shared how their socially distant programs fulfilled mission, reached audiences, and supported revenue.

Thank you to our panelists: Amanda Roper from Lee-Fendall House Museum in Alexandria, Virginia (leefendallhouse.org); Heather Sanderson from The Little Theatre of Alexandria in Alexandria, Virginia (thelittletheatre.com); and Peter Schmidt from Profs and Pints (facebook.com/profsandpints)

06/30/2020

As we are planning our next event, we want to hear from you! What innovative programming, events, resources, etc., has your organization used while closed to the public? What organizations have you seen doing interesting, cool, exciting, engaging work?

The director in charge of renovating Ukrainian Holocaust museum has been generating more than his share of controversy. ...
05/12/2020
Victim or Executioner? Let the Computer Decide

The director in charge of renovating Ukrainian Holocaust museum has been generating more than his share of controversy. He proposes extreme immersion.

There is a larger question here about immersion and interactivity in exhibits.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/world/europe/ukraine-holocaust-babyn-yar.amp.html

An interactive plan for a Holocaust museum envisioned sorting visitors into victims, executioners and collaborators. Backlash ensued.

05/10/2020
DC MER Happy Hour: Virtual Museum Programs during COVID-19

Thank you to everyone who joined our first ever virtual happy hour! We chatted with George Washington's Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg to hear how they are woking to continue their educational goals while their sites are closed.

Panalists included Jeremy Ray (Director of Interpretation, Mount Vernon), Elizabeth Keaney (Mount Vernon's "Martha Washington"), and Beth Kelly (Vice President of Education, Colonial Williamsburg). The discussion was lead by Elizabeth Maurer (Curator of Education, Drug Enforcement Administration Museum & Visitor's Center).

Check out what their sites have to offer:
mountvernon.org/forkids
mountvernon.org/onlinelearning

That which was once lost to #history is now being found. A very interesting read about glacier #archaeology .https://www...
05/01/2020
Melting glaciers reveal lost mountain pass and artifacts used by Vikings

That which was once lost to #history is now being found. A very interesting read about glacier #archaeology .

https://www.kctv5.com/melting-glaciers-reveal-lost-mountain-pass-and-artifacts-used-by-vikings/article_b3ec7c3b-1263-57c3-971a-09f0bb30f19c.amp.html?fbclid=IwAR0i_-nS-wUniLT8jbiNuSyFthafWANBsevRS5_2D7ty9CxkDowe7m0ET7I

The retreat of melting glaciers has revealed a lost mountain pass in Norway -- complete with hundreds of Viking artifacts strewn along it, according to a new study.

Here is a stay-at-home activity with a museum theme. (My daughter has been playing non-stop.) "Build a Museum With Anima...
04/10/2020
Build a Museum With Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Here is a stay-at-home activity with a museum theme. (My daughter has been playing non-stop.) "Build a Museum With Animal Crossing: New Horizons" #FunFriday http://ow.ly/KEq730qwS8Q

More than merely letting players visit with other people and frolic outside without fear of infection, the game lets them act as procurers and curators of their own personal museums.

At first seeing the title, I thought how unfair. Then I read it. Does she have a point about people experiencing museums...
01/19/2020
A Museum Is a Terrible Place for a Date

At first seeing the title, I thought how unfair. Then I read it. Does she have a point about people experiencing museums in different ways and varying speeds?

Http://ow.ly/Sdfm30qa2YJ

Strictly-enforced quiet, bright lighting, and scarce opportunities for eye contact? No thanks.

British museums are facing increasing public pressure to audit their collections for artifacts taken from people and pla...
01/16/2020
The British Government Is Looking for an Expert to Guide Its Restitution Efforts as Pressure Mounts on Museums to Audit Their Collections

British museums are facing increasing public pressure to audit their collections for artifacts taken from people and places during the height of the British Empire. Will Americans museums follow suit?

Http://ow.ly/viX930qa2Tt

The chosen contractor will be tasked with analyzing previous research and consulting with museum leaders and cultural experts across the UK.

What a great way to experience art! Are any of your museums doing something similar?
01/14/2020
D.C. Emerging Museum Professionals

What a great way to experience art! Are any of your museums doing something similar?

The latest museum tech news - so cool! #DCEMP

Virginia Association of Museum's annual conference program is out. VAM is in our backyard this year, hope to see you the...
12/20/2019
It's Here! Learn What's in Store for VAM's 2020 Annual Conference - Virginia Association of Museums

Virginia Association of Museum's annual conference program is out. VAM is in our backyard this year, hope to see you there. #VAM #MuseumNews #VisitAMuseum http://ow.ly/lREe30q2Qov

VAM supports over 2,500 members, including individuals, businesses, and institutions ranging from historic houses to botanical gardens, aquariums and zoos, art museums and galleries, battlefields, military museums, historical societies, and more. #vamuseums

The writer makes a few great points. - Big storehouses of art and artifacts can come across as cold and intimidating pla...
11/22/2019
Philadelphia’s legacy art museums work to attract a woke generation with frank talk and better amenities | Inga Saffron

The writer makes a few great points.

- Big storehouses of art and artifacts can come across as cold and intimidating places, not to mention, relics of a more imperially minded age.
- As old hierarchies crumble, [museums] can no longer claim to serve as the sole, or even dominant, arbiters of taste and history. Meanwhile, there is ever more competition for the public’s leisure time.

Solution: Make awkward, early-20th-century interiors accessible to everyone, and thereby, more democratic.

https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/inga-saffron/philadelphia-art-museum-penn-archaeology-anthropology-inclusion-culture-race-stolen-artifacts-20191114.html

There’s a reason that the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Penn Museum are opening new, more accessible entrances.

Happy #NationalPhilanthropyDay! Support museums because they support you.
11/15/2019

Happy #NationalPhilanthropyDay!

Support museums because they support you.

This story isn’t about museums. But . . . It is about the arrogance institutions and well-meaning nonprofits display tow...
11/08/2019
When People Resist City Tree-Planting, It's Not From a Lack of Awareness

This story isn’t about museums. But . . . It is about the arrogance institutions and well-meaning nonprofits display towards poor communities of color in assuming they know better.

Have you seen something similar in museums?

https://www.citylab.com/environment/2019/01/detroit-tree-planting-programs-white-environmentalism-research/579937/

A new study finds that Detroit residents who rejected "free trees" knew the benefits of the urban tree canopy, but distrusted the city's motives and process.

11/06/2019

Thank you to everyone who joined us yesterday and for the great conversations. Always great to spend time with fellow museum educators.

11/05/2019

Looking forward to seeing everyone this afternoon at Lincoln’s Cottage followed by happy hour at Slash Run.

This is a good news-bad news situation. The good news is that David Rubenstein is again supporting national monuments an...
11/01/2019
Philanthropist Donates $10 Million to Jefferson Memorial Museum

This is a good news-bad news situation. The good news is that David Rubenstein is again supporting national monuments and museums. The bad news is that other people are not.

Why isn't the public more supportive of public monuments?

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/philanthropist-donates-10-million-jefferson-memorial-museum-180973445/

David Rubenstein's donation will fund the creation of a new education center at the D.C. monument

10/31/2019

Sign up for the special tour of President Lincoln's Cottage now. We are super excited that the education team will host our first event.

10/15/2019

Banksy registered his brand. However, in the UK you can lose rights to your brand if you don’t have associated commercial activity. So, Banksy opened a shop that doesn’t sell anything, but protects his usage. And, it was kind of like a pop up exhibit. A pointedly curated exhibit. What do you think?

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3fTMfxHhSr/?igshid=9n01ufjkr8pb

National Council on Public History - NCPH
10/11/2019
National Council on Public History - NCPH

National Council on Public History - NCPH

As an institution older than the nation itself, Princeton University and its history often reflect social and political trends of the broader United States, as well as its patterns of exclusion and erasure. A new digital project, called (In)Visible Princeton, is one step toward confronting some of these historical injustices and helping Princeton reconcile the values of its past with the ones it embodies today. Learn more in Abby Klionsky's [email protected] post: https://ncph.org/history-at-work/project-showcase-invisible-princeton-2/

Here's an interesting juxtaposition of news stories. Two days after the New York Times runs an article about museum boar...
10/04/2019
New Scrutiny of Museum Boards Takes Aim at World of Wealth and Status

Here's an interesting juxtaposition of news stories. Two days after the New York Times runs an article about museum board members influencing through wealth, the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry changes its name to honor a $125 million donor.

The basis of donor wealth is becoming a public issue. How should museums balance the need for funds with the funding sources?

https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/10/03/museum-of-science-and-industry-name-change-donation/

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/arts/design/whitney-art-museums-trustees.html

A recent protest at the Whitney that drummed out a vice chairman exposed the symbiotic, but potentially problematic, relationship that museums have with some trustees.

Framing historical events and movements is not neutral. Terms convey perspective. Some museums are starting to reframe t...
09/27/2019
Amsterdam Museum Will No Longer Use “Golden Age” to Describe Dutch Colonial Past

Framing historical events and movements is not neutral. Terms convey perspective. Some museums are starting to reframe their perspectives. Those choices are not without controversy.

Where is your museum heading?

https://hyperallergic.com/519119/amsterdam-museum-will-no-longer-use-golden-age-to-describe-dutch-colonial-past/

The museum announced that it will no longer use the term to describe 17th century Netherlands, saying it whitewashes its problematic colonial past.

DC Museum Education Roundtable
09/12/2019

DC Museum Education Roundtable

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Videos

Pandemic Programming: Small Cultural Organizations Educate & Raise Revenue
Pandemic Programming: Small Cultural Organizations Educate & Raise Revenue

The COVID-19 crisis has severely limited in-person visits to cultural organizations. In its early phases, many organization offered free, virtual programs. As the pandemic continues, low visitation has reduced organizations' revenue. As a result, some are developing mission-focused, socially distant programs that also generate revenue. Our on-line panel discussion about pandemic programming focused on smaller institutions. Three cultural organizations shared how their socially distant programs fulfilled mission, reached audiences, and supported revenue. Thank you to our panelists: Amanda Roper from Lee-Fendall House Museum in Alexandria, Virginia (leefendallhouse.org); Heather Sanderson from The Little Theatre of Alexandria in Alexandria, Virginia (thelittletheatre.com); and Peter Schmidt from Profs and Pints (facebook.com/profsandpints)

DC MER Happy Hour: Virtual Museum Programs during COVID-19
DC MER Happy Hour: Virtual Museum Programs during COVID-19

Thank you to everyone who joined our first ever virtual happy hour! We chatted with George Washington's Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg to hear how they are woking to continue their educational goals while their sites are closed. Panalists included Jeremy Ray (Director of Interpretation, Mount Vernon), Elizabeth Keaney (Mount Vernon's "Martha Washington"), and Beth Kelly (Vice President of Education, Colonial Williamsburg). The discussion was lead by Elizabeth Maurer (Curator of Education, Drug Enforcement Administration Museum & Visitor's Center). Check out what their sites have to offer: mountvernon.org/forkids mountvernon.org/onlinelearning

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