Making the Most of Museum Conferences

In-person museum conferences are finally back! But, after a two-year hibernation, many of us are struggling to remember how to take advantage of these professional development and networking opportunities. This year I attended 2 museum conferences with other members of the Luci Creative team: the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) Annual Conference and...

Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion: How Change Starts

Can a ragtag group of exhibit people inspire Chicago museums to become more diverse, equitable, accessible, and inclusive?

Chicago Museums’ Digital Engagement During COVID-19

Museums are physical locations where we make face-to-face connections with each other, objects, and exhibits. But, in this time of social distancing, how can museums support our communities? As the Chicago Museum Exhibitors Group (CMEG) pivoted our own programming for the museum community from in-person to online, we hosted a webinar that explored how diverse Chicagoland...

Spilling the Tea on Designing Museum Spaces for Teens

Discover five ways to build engaging exhibits for teens based on neuroscientific and psychological research.

Location = Magic

The Chicago Museum Exhibitors Group (CMEG) Fall 2019 Meeting There is a dynamic relationship between the design of a museum space and the content presented in it. When an exhibit’s space changes, the presentation of the content has to adapt to fit its new environment. At the fall 2019 Chicago Museum Exhibitor’s Group Meeting, we...

Everyone Evaluate!

Chicago Museum Exhibitors Group Meeting on Audience Research In developing her framework for judging exhibitions, Beverly Serrell, one of the founders of the field of audience research, said that she and her colleagues, "went from judging exhibitions, to judging ourselves." When we conduct audience research, we not only determine whether our exhibits are visitor-centered, but...

Networking as Community Building

This article was originally published on the National Emerging Museum Professionals blog. As soon as I graduated from my master’s program, I started avidly networking in order to find a job in the museum sector. However, as the months wore on and a year passed by, I felt extremely frustrated that my efforts had not...

Pop-up Museums

Review of the most recent Chicago Museum Exhibitors Group Meeting From the wndr instagrammable experience to the Art Institute’s pop up bar, Dear Carmencita, institutions of all shapes and sizes have been popping up in new forms and locations. Left to right: Tanner Woodford, Kendall Bruns, Kevin Grady The most recent Chicago Museum Exhibitors Group...

The Five Components of a Great Museum Volunteer Program

Interview with Fran Mast, Research & Evaluation Associate at Shedd Aquarium As a museum professional, I’m always looking for opportunities to expand my horizons and I’ve found that volunteering is a great way to gain experience outside of my job. One of my volunteer gigs is at the Shedd Aquarium, where I collect and analyze...

Making Museums Welcoming, Inclusive, Accessible

Have you ever overheard a museum professional make a statement like, “while I know it's important to make sure wheelchair users can get around, the wide aisles really interrupt the flow of the space.” However well-intentioned, statements like these miss the power and importance of making museums welcoming, inclusive, and accessible. At the most recent...