Museum leaders around the country are in the midst of examining and changing their business models in response to new economic realities. Museum educators have an opportunity to play a leading role in this endeavor. To do so educators must understand the relationship between money and mission. For too long there has been a belief that the…

In the autumn of 2009, Peter Sellars addressed the Museum Educators of Southern California and reflected on the importance of museums as places where our spiritual, intellectual, imaginative, emotional and complicated selves can find sustenance, recognition and acceptance. Drawing on his twenty-eight years of work in the arts and his global…

More than any other staff member, museum educators' knowledge and experience working with visitors make them uniquely qualified to take on leadership roles as museums transform themselves into lifelong learning organizations. The article encourages museum educators to initiate discussions about change by offering a fictional scenario of future…

This paper looks at how two art museums are striving to create relevant, dialogic gallery spaces where broader audiences can make meaning. Using the writings of theorist bell hooks as the framework, it proposes museum educators' experiences working from the margins of their museums' hierarchical organizations is fundamental to their work in…

Today museum educators are playing expanded roles that contribute to institutional change. At the heart of museum education are the core values of accessibility, relevancy, and inclusiveness, which are critical for developing the museum's civic engagement endeavors. As educators practice these values in their work and pursue community engagement…

This article presents research relating to how science museum educators perceive their roles, identity, and practice. This qualitative study examines: (1) what brings museum educators to and sustains them in their profession; (2) how museum educators view their roles and work; and (3) what knowledge, skills, and attitudes museum educators identify…

Besides being a content expert, it is critical for today's museum educator to be a marketer, a collaborator, and to understand how people learn best in a museum environment. This article provides a list of six books that the author recommends as essential references for today's museum educator who must wear many hats. (Contains 3 notes.)

Museum educators enter the field from a variety of backgrounds, not all rooted in visitor studies. In this article, the author discusses his experiences making the transition from university academics to the science center arena, and his struggles to define his role as an educator. A turning point for this search was his collaboration with exhibit…