SPRING 2018 VIRTUAL SPECIAL ISSUE
Guest Editors: Brooke DiGiovanni Evans and Meg Winikates

Readers of, and writers for, the Journal of Museum Education come from all over the world. In some countries, the case for state support for museums and related organizations is understood.  In others, it requires repeated efforts, clear arguments, and stories that stand out from the crowds of other advocates and their causes. In the United States, where national politics especially seems ever more divisive, museums have the advantage of being a topic on which nearly everyone agrees, regardless of party lines. Culture, heritage, and education are topics everyone says they support, whether or not they’re willing to fund them.

Museum professionals are comparatively new to the world of advocacy, and many avoid it for fear of running afoul of the rules governing lobbyists or from concern that they might threaten their organizations’ non-profit status. Fortunately, the majority of what you are likely to want to do: presenting your case with supporting evidence about a cause you care about, is considered advocacy. Only saying “and therefore we want you to vote this way” is lobbying, and saying it about a few bills in the course of a meeting or two over a year is not going to run afoul of the limits on lobbying placed on non-profits. The shorthand rule is that causes are safe, people are not. As long as you do not campaign for (or against) a particular candidate using your organization’s resources, your non-profit status is safe. Even once committed to doing advocacy, it can be daunting to think about where to start and how to make your case. This collection of articles from recent issues of the Journal of Museum Education is designed to help.

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Making Your Case

Year	Article Title	Authors
2010	What is Your Museum’s Economic Footprint	Laureen Trainer
2014	Why Creativity: Articulating and Championing a Museums Social Mission	Cindy Meyers Foley
2015	Don’t Let Your Message Die on Delivery!	Laureen Trainer

Schools and Families

Year	Article Title	Authors
2016	Museum-University Partnerships Transform Teenagers’ Futures	Sarah W. Rose
2014	Museums, Universities and Pre-Service Teachers	Susan K. Nichols
2015	Building Connections: Strategies to Address Rurality and Accessibility Challenges	Sara Hartman & Jennifer Hines-Bergmeier

Health and Wellness

Year	Article Title	Authors
2016	Health and Wellness in our Communities: The Impact of Museums	Brooke DiGiovanni Evans, Heather Serrill Johnson & Carole Krucoff
2014	Museum Education and Art Therapy: Promoting Wellness in Older Adults	Brooke Rosenblatt
2016	Museums and Health: A Case Study of Research and Practice at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan	Andrew Ackerman

Veterans and Military

Year	Article Title	Authors
2016	Healing and Empowering Veterans in a Botanic Garden	Barbara Kreski

Accessibility

Year	Article Title	Authors
2016	Engaging Children with Autism at Historic Sites: Developing an Audience Appropriate Curriculum	Ansel Lurio
2016	Accommodating Blind Learners Helps All Learners	Mary Ann Wojton, Joe Heimlich & Natalie Shaheen
2017	Supporting Transitions: Cultural Connections for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders	Aliza Greenberg & Sheri Levinsky-Raskin

Climate and Environment

Year	Article Title	Authors
2016	Green History: Reframing Our Past to Save the Planet	Andrew K. Jones
2014	Connecting Students Around the World Through a Collaborative Museum Education Program	Katie L. Gillespie & Leah M. Melber

Race and Inclusion

Year	Article Title	Authors
2017	Doing the Work: A Discussion of Visioning and Realizing Racial Equality in Museums	Radiah Harper & Keonna Hendrick
2017	Early Childhood Racial Identity: The Powerful Potential Role for Museum Programming	Anna Forgerson Hindley & Julie Olsen Edwards