From an Elementary School Field Trip, a Core Memory
I remember my first museum field trip. It was in elementary school, and we went to the local university art gallery. We were all given clipboards and taken to sit in front of an enormous painting. (I’m sure it wouldn’t look so enormous if I went back today.) The docent told us to write a story inspired by what we saw. It wasn’t a particularly amazing destination or assignment, but it’s a moment that turned into a “core memory.” (Thanks to Inside Out for giving us that shared vocabulary!) It sparked something.
In college, I wound up studying children’s museums for my senior thesis. I spent hours digging up old newspaper and magazine articles about the first “touchable” natural history collections for children in the late 1800s, and how the self-expression movements of the 1960s spread to a belief that children needed spaces to express themselves, as well. I conducted ethnographic studies at two modern-day children’s museums to better understand the role they played for their communities.
Unpacking the Magic of Museums
Years passed, and I just kept circling back to museums in one way or another, eventually landing a job with the sadly defunct Newseum in Washington, D.C. I worked as a content strategist and curriculum developer, creating materials about developing a growth mindset and critical thinking skills, and I later branched into a career as a user experience (UX) strategist and department leader at a digital agency. But museums kept calling to me, and not just because of my own interest and experiences.
As a mom to two school-aged boys, I also became interested in understanding how children learn – not just how to teach a specific subject, but how brains actually grow and master new things – and I wanted to provide them with experiences that would expand their horizons. I’d also come across research into the importance of making memories and building stories as a family. But with our busy schedules and finite resources, taking on new experiences was often easier said than done.
I started thinking about ways to make it even simpler for our family – and all families – to take advantage of museums as spaces to mix up our usual weekend routines and deepen our bonds. I began devising ways to make the most of even small museums, to make repeat visits feel fresh and fun, and to keep the fun and learning rolling after leaving.
Where It Came Together: The Discovery Deck
The idea for the Discovery Deck crystalized during a family visit to an immersive art exhibit, where I was determined to get the full bang for our admission bucks. I started inventing challenges for the boys to keep them engaged past their initial five-minute walkthrough of the space. As we played these impromptu games and challenged each other to see things differently, I realized that different threads in my life were all braiding together. Wouldn’t it be great if I didn’t have to come up with these ideas on the spot? If I could pull out ideas as easily as picking a card from a deck? If I could share these ideas with other families who’ve had the same, “Oh no, we paid $60 and now they’re done in 10 minutes” museum panic moment?
Wouldn’t that be … Museumazing?
From a Passion to a Purpose: Museums Can Be More for Everyone!
I started working on the concept that very day, quickly realizing that there was something fundamental about museums that I wanted to put in place as our foundation, to capture the way they challenge and shift our brains, even when they’re just steps away from our regular routines. In time, by thinking across all of my museum experiences, the curriculum I’d developed, and the goals I envisioned for my own family, I distilled that brain-bending magic into the four lenses of the Museumazing Mindset.
Ultimately, I want Museumazing to be a celebration of museums that can build on everything they offer … and make it more resonant and accessible than ever. Museumazing is built on my passionate belief that museums are more than just the sum of the stuff inside and that museum-y thinking can bring benefits in many areas of life.
I see museums as a shortcut to inspiration and growth that can benefit everyone. Museumazing is about using the skills I’ve gained from working in museum education, UX, and content strategy to make that vision a reality. It’s a way to turn my lifelong passion into a purpose-driven company that I hope can help seed some new core memories and foster the next generation of museum lovers.