This space was created by the Museum Education Roundtable to expand upon the most recent Journal of Museum Education (JME) issue, reflect on member events, and address timely issues that we face in the field of museum work. Read about how to write for our blog here.
Knowledge in Action ™
From the Field: Re-imagining Docent Engagement
Interview with Jenna S. Green – Student Gallery Guide at the University of Arizona Museum of Art This current issue of the JME “Re-imagining Docent Engagement” looks at the role of docents in museum settings — the history of programs and continuing changes in the field. The articles featured in this issue consider current issues in docent training and re-imagine … Read More
The Big Picture: Balancing Collections Care and Access with Project Design and Student Engagement
Professionals in arts and cultural heritage organizations, whether at large institutions or smaller ones, manage the delicate balance between utilizing collections and meeting their preservation requirements. Academic museum and gallery professionals balance the demands of collections use and care while meaningfully supporting student success. Educators practicing within these spaces call upon a dynamic skillset to engage audiences and foster opportunities … Read More
Let’s Discuss: Transforming Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust
The Journal of Museum Educations issue 49.1, Transforming Teaching and Learning about the Holocaust, shares how museum educators are engaging with the stories and lessons of the Holocaust and how those stories are relevant in different ways today. Both the MER Board and Guest Editor Wolfgang Schmutz have provided context for this issue, and through this suggested dialogue guide, we … Read More
I 💚 Heart Museums 2024 Playlist
To celebrate International Museums Day, MER is revisiting a fan-favorite blog feature: the I 💚 Museums Playlist! We’ve put together another eclectic playlist that captures the wide range of emotions people feel when exploring museums. A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this list, and don’t forget to also check out the OG playlist from 2020! “You’ve … Read More
What You Leave Behind: Museum Education, Disability, and the Holocaust
Educators must be conscious of how misinformation and ableism shape presentations of disability histories. The atrocities of the Holocaust and related instances of prejudice and persecution under the Nazi regime are vital topics within education about disability history. However, the emotive and horrific nature of the subject matter may encourage educators to make generalizations about disability history. Are sensitive histories … Read More
Context and Transformation: Making Visible the Work of the Museum Education Roundtable
The Journal of Museum Education (JME) celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, culminating in the final issue of 2023, Relational. The theme of this issue was the various ways museum educators share, support, and sustain professional praxes and the role the JME plays in making visible the often invisible labor of practitioners. Now, at the start of our 51st year of publishing on … Read More
Interview with Wolfgang Schmutz, Guest Editor of JME 49.1: Transforming Teaching and Learning About the Holocaust
In his introduction to JME 49.1: Transforming Teaching and Learning About the Holocaust, guest editor Wolfgang Schmutz gives a thoughtful and heartfelt reaction to how he believes readers might consider the articles in this issue situated within the ongoing violence in Palestine and Israel (and in many parts of the world) today. I encourage readers to spend time with Wolfgang’s … Read More
An Annotated Bibliography: There are Different Suns
Editor’s Note: In Orlando Serrano Jr’s article, There are Different Suns, he shares animating ideas and frameworks shaping the work of making the new Center for Restorative History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The article and Serrano’s lineage of thought are broad and, importantly, shaped by many sources beyond museum or education literature alone. We asked him … Read More