HST 485 History in the Wild

For this discussion board, I would like you to reflect on the following questions:

Share with your colleagues an experience you’ve had at a museum that either inspired or disappointed you.  This can be a history museum, art museum, children’s museum – any place you’ve gone that has illicited a response from you.

Now, thinking about Nina Simon’s Tedx talk and readings from the book The Participatory Museum, brainstorm at least 2 ways the experience you have might have been improved or changed by incorporating some of Simon’s ideas about opening up museums and giving guests the “right tools” to interact with the museum exhibit.  If you were inspired by a museum experience, reflect on the ways Simon’s ideas were incorporated into your experience.

Next, drawing on your readings from Wallace’s book and your experiences, describe how museums became places of exclusion and pretension?   Was this their original purpose?  How and why has this changed?

Finally, round out your discussion by sharing with the class 2 or 3 cultural institutions you’re considering for your final project, where you will be designing your own museum education/outreach program.  What attracts you to these places?  Is there are specific collection you’re interested in working with?  (You can use any local, state, or national institution that has collections and exhibits available in an online format!)