As we exit 2021, I’m reflecting back on where I began the year, when I noted that “in 2020, the museum field as a whole showed itself to be out of step with society. . . [and] irrelevant.” At that time, I had begun having regular conversations with Emlyn Koster, a thought leader with three decades of experience as a nature and science museum CEO.

In her new Centering the Museum anthology, Elaine Gurian recalls our joint 2003 article that began: “Consider a world in which every museum, as either an extension of its mission or as its raison d’être, is geared to respond to contemporary events and issues” Imagining the future of museums has never been a more pressing need.

Using data collected from museum educators, Stephanie and Amanda document and contextualize what they consider incongruous, detrimental impacts on museum education due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emlyn recalls how Liberty Science Center, located across the lower Hudson from Manhattan and where he was President & CEO from 1996-2011, assisted the next-of-kin and surrounding community in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on and after September 11, 2001.

A discussion between SLAM’s Chief Diversity Officer and Fellowship Director, Renée Brummell Franklin, and Kera Collective Founder Stephanie Downey.

Spurred by the art-dominated sections on Museums in The New York Times, Emlyn reflects on this sector’s pressing need for a balanced profile between people/society and non-human life/nature.

Whether or not public programs are again canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Earth Day each April 22 warrants the engagement of the museum sector. Emlyn Koster explains why.

Emlyn Koster urges the museum sector to combine operational recovery efforts with strategic pathways towards a more holistic societal and environmental future.

Emlyn Koster, PhD, delves into why museums should illuminate the environmental and societal impacts of climate change.

While there is some agreement on what a museum does—collect, preserve, educate—there is not consensus on the museum’s purpose. From our theoretical perspective, purpose is the impact a museum has on people.

This case study contains insights and considerations for museums interested in starting and sustaining a diversity-focused fellowship program.

This article explores how the National Museum of Natural History and Kera Collective analyzed 10 years of museum evaluation to build the institution’s accumulated knowledge by identifying and understanding trends over time.