Education
These resources offer ideas and information for education activities. They can be used by museums, historical societies, living history exhibits, or applied to a variety of organizations. These examples illustrate a call to action. Click the images to review each resource.
Diversity & Inclusion: A Blueprint for Museum Educators
Article
This article offers practical suggestions for implementing equity between visitors and staff. They relate the present social realities as a link to the past, but also utilize these as a bridge to connect various groups of people.
Evaluation: Education is the key to social change. This article builds a strong foundation for this point and offers suggestions for instituting activities that aid with doing this. It calls to mind the necessity to reflect upon patronage—who are the visitors and how you can relate to them in ways that are meaningful. It brings up other suggestions such as hiring diverse staff, incorporating community outreach within the community, and programs targeted to specific groups as ways to develop diversity. This is a practical article because not only does it offer suggestions but it gives two individual reflection activities and a group exercise that make excellent tools.
Local History Can Heal Wounds
Article
This article was written by a recent graduate who now works as the Education and Admissions Assistant at a Mexican and Mexican American Museum called La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in Los Angeles, California. It was written to reflect on her experiences at the Western Museums Association’s annual conference.
Evaluation: This is an interesting perspective because it is written by a recent graduate who is attending the conference for the first time. Readers gain a sense of the author’s excitement for new ideas presented at the conference, which is written in detail. It makes a strong case for the value in local history, meaning that the stories we keep within families or communities are often more truthful than the formal history we are taught because of gaps that exist.
Reinvention at the Museum
Article, Case Study
This article features the Cincinnati Museum Center and details an exhibit and related activities about racial justice protests. The author is director of the National Museum of African Music and has held numerous museum positions, including a prior role at the Cincinnati Museum Center as Vice President of Museums.
Evaluation: The article was written recently but looks back on events in 2001. The author reflects on development of a 2001 exhibition on the protests during his time there. It was unique in being the first in that city to address issues of racial justice and also in incorporating community dialogue and activities to make people think. He relates this to current issues and addresses the need for museums to be agents of change, offering space for the community to heal.