Andrea Jones Andrea Jones

AAM's New Code of Conduct Inspires Conversation About Gender

When I saw Alison Kennedy’s tweet in support of AAM’s new Code of Conduct for meeting attendees, I thought it would make for a good conversation topic. Lots of organizations have anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, but I had never read one that addresses the conduct of members towards marginalized groups - especially gender -  in such a specific way.
This post captures our frank and earnest conversation about gender, life experience, and the importance of talking with people different from ourselves.

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Andrea Jones Andrea Jones

Why I Live-Tweeted the Riots of ‘68 Instead of Celebrating Dr. King

We, with the power to shape museum content, need to do better at “going there” by purposely making past to present connections, being ready to discuss anger, and asking more than telling.

So a week before the 50th anniversary of MLK's assassination, I embraced the challenge to “be the change you want to see in the world,” (in this case the museum world). I live-tweeted the 1968 DC race riots over 4 days, moment-by-moment. I chronicled the burning of my hometown, rather than celebrating peace and harmony.

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Andrea Jones Andrea Jones

Behind the Curtain: How to Build a Meaningful Museum Experience

Meaningful, in-person experiences inspire visitors to feel something -- wonder, togetherness, purpose. I’ve written about why we need more of these in museums, but how do you make them? I have an experience design process that I use and I conduct workshops to teach it to others. But I wanted to find out how other people design. How do they make the magic happen? I reached out to some of my museum experience heroes – the Indiana Historical Society and Second Story Studios.

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Andrea Jones Andrea Jones

Museums, Can We Stop Letting Objects Control the Narrative?

In focusing solely on the experience and the story we wanted to tell, we freed ourselves from the constraints of objects that either didn’t exist or didn’t tell the right story. Hallelujah! It was like a weight had been lifted. Suddenly anything was possible.

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Andrea Jones Andrea Jones

7 Reasons Museums Should Share More Experiences, Less Information

Today’s audiences crave unique EXPERIENCES that have the ability to do much more than inform. Now more than ever, when we decide to leave the house, we want to be surprised, moved, enlightened, and even transformed. Text on giant colorful panels. Text on animated touch screens. An interactive here and there.  I'm not saying that exhibit design can't be dynamic, but I do think we museum people are still too in love with disseminating information. 

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Andrea Jones Andrea Jones

Does Your Historic Site Communicate a Subliminal 'Make American Great Again' Message?

The positive neurological effects of nostalgia could explain why Trump's slogan is so successful. He offers people a kind of brain medicine. So what’s the harm in tapping into nostalgia if it makes people feel good? Well, like any drug, nostalgia can cover-up real issues and stunt our ability to adapt to the present. How can history museums avoid the 'nostalgia trap?'

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