Museum 2.0

JULY 20, 2010

Last week, I gave a talk about participatory museum practice for a group of university students at UCSC. Teenagers are often the target for participatory endeavors, and they definitely have high interest in creative expression, personalizing museum experiences, and using interactive or technological tools as part of their visit.

Teen 49

Teen Social Museum Participatory 49

Museum 2.0

MARCH 28, 2008

In short, it limits museums from being places that are trusted as institutions of public engagement and interaction--the places many museums claim they want to be. Museums aren't the only venues facing this question: news outlets, corporate brands, and educators are also grappling with the question of trust in the participatory age.

Participatory 20

Participatory Museum Teen Voice 20

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 3, 2009

The general public is not a community. This seems a little ungenerous to museums; while institutions may bestow more love upon wealthy, elderly donors than the general visiting public, museums have actively courted mass audiences for years. I'd like to close with a few words from the "About Us" section of El Rio's website.

Community 22

Community Museum San Diego San Francisco 22

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 7, 2008

When I watch the videos teens created at the Exploratorium and post on YouTube, I see the aspects of the exhibits they thought were most important to share with their classmates. What if you sent your members requests for their best and worst visit stories and then posted those stories publicly on your website?

Museum 20

Museum Teen Second Life Discussion 20

Museum 2.0

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

I've written before about the difference between participatory processes and products , but this question of frameworks and sensibility is more broadly applicable to community engagement strategies. For example, consider two independent arts organizations in Los Angeles -- Machine Project and The Public School.

Voice 42

Voice Los Angeles Denver Museum 42