Between 1989 and 1995, museum educators throughout the United States created interpretive programs for exhibits marking the fiftieth anniversary of World War II. Lessons learned from these educational initiatives can be applied as new programs and exhibits are developed on this important part of history. There is public support for …
When the Dayton Art Institute announced in 1995 that its galleries would be closing for an 18 month period to accommodate an ambitious renovation and expansion, docents and teachers alike wondered what would happen to this worthwhile experience. What could have been a problem became a wonderful opportunity for our …
Twenty or less. Docents and educators across the country consider this the optimum size for school group tours in museums. That’s why we were both excited and a little nervous when the Education Department of the Chrysler Museum of Art invited us to craft and conduct tours for groups of …
We all tackle controversial art, objects, or subjects at our institutions, intentionally or unintentionally. In fact, entire exhibits have the potential to bring an institution to a screeching halt. As a curator, I may select the topic for the exhibit, devise an organizing principle, write labels that clearly explain to …
Your audience is a small sea of upturned, eager faces with ancient eyes that bespeak an origin in some far away area of Southeast Asia, and your subject is Victorian English Sporting Prints. How can you excite this exotic assembly with such a seemingly irrelevant topic? Here are some suggestions …
Did you know there are more historic house museums than any other kind of museum in the United States? Of the approximately 8,000 museums in America there are over 3,000 historic properties. Most towns have at least one stately home open to the public. The common thread running through these …
It can be tough and tricky. You’ve ask visitors a question in order to get them involved and thinking, and then, one of them responds with an answer so “incongruous” that it nearly steals your breath away. What could that person be thinking of? Or, perhaps someone responds to your …
On Wednesday, December 8, 1993, docents from five museums came together to examine the question, “Art that offends; does it belong in our museums?” Docents representing the Corcoran Gallery, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, National Gallery of Art, National Museum of American Art, and the Phillips Collection looked to a …
As zoos have evolved from places of recreation to institutions whose primary mission is wildlife conservation, the role of interpreters teaching within zoos has expanded. Today, docents and other educators are frequently called upon to interpret more challenging and complex issues as they share this new vision of the zoo …
It might be the tell-tale giggles you hear rippling through the class as you travel from one point to another on your tour. It could be their quiet gasps as students round a comer and come face-to-face with a Rodin sculpture. Or, you may get a direct question from ;m …
Twenty years ago, Title IX of the Education Amendments made sex discrimination in education illegal. Although Title IX has improved educational equity for women and girls, recent studies report that gender bias still exists and still limits choices for half of the school population. While not the primary educational institution …
What do “Animal Rights,” “Bigfoot,” “Cannibalism Controversy,” “Genetic Engineering,” “Infanticide,” “Nazis, Evolutionary Program of,” “Social Darwinism,” and “Spiritualism” have in common? They are all entries in The Encyclopedia of Evolution by Richard Milner (New York: Facts on File, hic, 1990. p. 481). When people associate so many varied and inflammatory …
In preparing to write about I the interpretation of A slavery in museums, I came across a news clipping entitled, “Slavery: Museums Reveal Uncomfortable Truth of the Past.” The title alone struck several familiar chords associated with my own experience and that of the Museum’s staff in interpreting the sensitive …
To avoid controversy in education is to avoid active, meaningful learning; it reduces education to propaganda or indoctrination. The process of coming to terms with tough issues allows youth to drop assumptions and look beneath the surface of things. Practice in making choices and forming reasoned opinions allows youth to …
Tough topics lie in wait. They are an inherent and ever-present risk when teaching with any institutional collection. Some can be anticipated; others just happen ╤ a combustible combination of issues, personalities, and happenstance. Tough topics by their very nature can prompt visitor reactions ranging from mild discomfort to outright …