Is a spy still a spy if you know their story?

The countdown continues, one more day!   Today, we went to the International Spy Museum, where Anna Slafer, Director of Exhibitions and Programs and Jackie Eyl, Youth Education Director, took us through the Spy Museum's storytelling process.  Similar to Mount Vernon, Spy is undergoing a major ideological shift along with a major move.  Spy is...

In battle, George Washington rode 14 horses at one time!

Just two more days. Two more days of this seminar and two more days of grad school! This antepenultimate day was celebrated with a field trip to George Washington’s Mount Vernon. I was excited to visit Mount Vernon, but I had no idea what was in store...

Accessibility and The Empathetic Museum

Today was day seven of the Museum Studies seminar.  The morning began with a visit to Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian’s Accessibility office, followed by a visit to the National Museum of Natural History where we met with a few people from the exhibit department, then we went back to the JHU...

Should I Take a Stance?

When thinking about the changing role of the museum in society we see this idea, the museum as a safe place to have tough conversations, emerging as one of the roles of the museum now and into the future.  As we see with Gretchen Jennings and the #museumsrespondtoFerguson initiative, museums can be a place where...

A little time to reflect.

Being the museum nerd that I am, I’ve relished this first week of the Museum Studies seminar and the opportunity to visit museum after museum, focusing on the museum as an institution and the way they tell stories.  How is this different from a typical museum visit?  The actual content is floating around the periphery...

Storytelling at NMAAHC

On Friday we took our long awaited visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.  One important takeaway I have from this visit to NMAAHC, that to tell a powerful story in a museum you do not need to shout every detail of the story.  One particularly powerful exhibit storytelling tool used...

No Creative Title. Too Tired.

Today -- day four -- the National Zoo and the Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens!  Do not let that exclamation mark fool you, today I am exhausted.  Between the 8 AM call time, the sun, and the walking, I 'processed' the day by coming home and taking a nap! Our 8AM zoo tour was well...

Scene, Summary, and Museum Stories

Today was day three of the JHU Museum Studies seminar.  Today we visited two museums, the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) and the National Gallery of Art (NGA).  My recurring thought of the day, scene versus summary, and how museums use, exclude, and emphasize elements to tell the stories they want to tell. This...

What do seashells and aerospace have in common?

Today was the first full day of the JHU storytelling seminar!  The morning began with breakfast and coffee at the JHU Washington, DC campus.  Then Ronnie White, Associate Director of AAP Professional Career Services, joined us and got us thinking about our own professional story.  Your professional story can, and should, have three unique iterations,...

NMAAHC Object

“Before there was Malcom X, before there was Martin Luther King Jr., before even Medgar Evers, there was Harry T. Moore.” Sonya Mallard, Coordinator of the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Memorial Park.