From Writer’s Block to Building Blocks: Educators as Authors
Thursday, February 26, 2015
How to Get Started: Read for Inspiration
Art Museum Teaching: : A Forum for Reflecting on Practice
(http://artmuseumteaching.com/about/) is a collaborative online forum for reflecting on issues of
teaching, learning, and experimental practice in the field of art museum education.
Center for the Future of Museums (futureofmuseums.blogspot.com), the American Alliance of
Museums (AAM) blog, is a great resource for trending issues in the field.
Edgital: Talk at the Edge of Museum Education and Digital Media (www.edgital.org) explores ways
in which technology can either be a tool for museum education or the lesson itself.
The Incluseum (incluseum.com) is a blog dedicated to encouraging conversations about social
inclusion in museums and expanding access to a network of resources and current research related
to social inclusion.
JME40 Blog (http://museumeducation.info/jme40) is a new blogging project of the Museum
Education roundtable in honor of its 40 volume.
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Museum Minute (museumminute.wordpress.com) is a blog about museum bloggers. Read it to find
other professionals sharing their specializations, contribute to evolving communities, and
potentially be featured yourself as a blogger.
Share via Blogging
Start your own personal blog inspired by the many museum educators and professionals who are
sharing their strategies, tools, insights, and musings. Below are some personal blogs that have
developed a following in recent years:
Cabinet of Curiosities (adriannerussell.wordpress.com) is a blog written by Adrianne Russell with
reflections and critiques from her experience in the museum world.
Museum 2.0 (museumtwo.blogspot.com), Nina Simon’s blog on participatory museum experiences,
is a great example of professional writing that the author used to build her career.
Museum Commons (www.museumcommons.com) reflects on Gretchen Jennings’ diverse
professional experiences as well as current events in the museum field.
Museum Questions: Reflections on Museums, Programs and Visitors (museumquestions.com) is a
blog written by Rachel Shulman Herz that poses questions and investigates areas or research
connected to museum education and visitorship.
The Uncataloged Museum (uncatalogedmuseum.blogspot.com) follows Linda Norris on her US and
international experiences in museums.
Or, start an institutional education blog at the museum where you work to capture the creative,
exciting work you dare and to act as a platform for both your department and yourself. Look for
inspiration at education blogs at other institutions:
Whitney Museum of American Art’s (whitney.org/Education/EducationBlog)
Rubin Museum of Art’s (education.rma2.org)
Where to Submit: Guest Blogging
Guest blogging can be a great way to begin a writing practice. A number of the resources listed
below accept submissions for guest bloggers:
Art Museum Teaching (artmuseumteaching.com/about) has developed a community of
contributors engaged in teaching art through experimentation and non-traditional strategies.
The Incluseum (incluseum.com/guest-blogging) solicits contributors reflecting on their own work or
reviewing others’ on topics related to social inclusion in museums.
Museum Minute (museumminute.wordpress.com) invites professionals to comment, write a guest
post, or get profiled in their “Meet a Museum Blogger” series.
Where to Submit: Journals, Magazines and More!
American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has two publications to which you can submit including
Museum Magazine (http://www.aam-us.org/resources/publications/museummagazine/submission-and-ethics-guidelines), with articles that often feature professionalization in
the museum field across disciplines; National Association for Museum Exhibition’s (NAME)
Exhibitionist (http://name-aam.org/resources/exhibitionist), focused on innovative exhibition
theory and practice.
Museum Education Roundtable’s Journal of Museum Education (JME)
(http://museumeducation.info/jme/new-jme-guidelines-for-submitting) is the premier peerreviewed publication focused on museum education theory, training, and practice. Museum
educators are able to submit articles as well as proposals to guest edit themed sections.
Curator: The Museum Journal (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)21516952/homepage/ForAuthors.html) published through the California Academy of Sciences,
addresses practices and policies across the museum field including education.
Museums Journal (http://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/16072013editorial-values-and-submissions), published by Museums Association and largely made up of UK
museum community members, does address issues within the museum field internationally, though
with a focus in European practice and policy.
Museums & Social Issues (http://www.maneyonline.com/loi/msi#about) focuses on the interaction
between social issues and the way museums respond to, influence, or become engaged with them.