Thinking Museum Blog

June 2022

How to Create Wow Moments with Mitch Bach

HOW TO CREATE WOW MOMENTS WITH MITCH BACH INTRODUCTION Today I’m so happy to be talking to Mitch Bach about what makes a great guided experience and how you can create wow moments in your programmes. Mitch is one of those people you meet and instantly get on with. He’s warm, witty and whip-smart. We met in New York a few years ago and have been friends ever since. We share the same passions about making guided experiences interactive, participative, memorable and even, transformative. Mitch is the co-founder of TripSchool, a

Bitesize: How to End Well – Creating a Strong Conclusion for your Programmes

BITESIZE: HOW TO END WELL - CREATING A STRONG CONCLUSION FOR YOUR PROGRAMMES It’s time for another bitesize episode - a short and snappy episode that will give you a quick win or something to think about in less than 10 mins. Today I’m talking about why endings are important and sharing with you a 3 part framework for planning your strong conclusion. If the introduction is setting the scene for what’s to come, then the conclusion is most definitely when you wrap everything up, tie up any loose ends and leave

Learning to Love ‘Boring’ Objects through Slow Looking

LEARNING TO LOVE 'BORING' OBJECTS THROUGH SLOW LOOKING In today’s solo episode, I’m talking about ways to work with objects that you might find 'boring' or uninspiring. I’m sharing how we can use slow looking to learn to love objects that we might otherwise overlook or reject. And how we can get our visitors and participants excited by these types of objects too. INTRODUCTION I had a chat recently with a fellow educator about how we can work with objects that we don’t instantly feel attracted to, objects

Cultivating the conditions for inquiry with Jess Vance

Tags: book, curiosity, curious, educators, facilitating, inquiry, leaders, learners, listeners, listening, playful, questions, reflect, thinking|

CULTIVATING THE CONDITIONS FOR INQUIRY WITH JESS VANCE INTRODUCTION Today I’m delighted to be talking to educator, facilitator and newly published author Jess Vance about her work. We’re talking about how questions are her superpower and how we can cultivate the conditions for inquiry to thrive. Jess and I met on Instagram a while back when we were discussing the importance of the question ‘what makes you say that’. Since then we’ve chatted regularly and I’ve watched her journey to becoming a published author with loads of interest. I was honoured

May 2022

Pictures of Practice with Elisa Mosele

PICTURES OF PRACTICE WITH ELISA MOSELE INTRODUCTION Here is another 'picture of practice' episode. In these episodes, I'm really interested is in finding out how other museum educators around the world engage their audiences with art and objects. What are some of the practices that are really important to them? How might they use thinking routines, or slow looking, questioning or facilitation? Today I’m delighted to be talking to Elisa Mosele about her work. Elisa is an English language teacher and an art facilitator. She currently collaborates with the Verona Minor Hierusalem Foundation . We’re talking all

Bitesize: How to Define your Personal Facilitator Style

BITESIZE: HOW TO DEFINE YOUR PERSONAL FACILITATOR STYLE I’ve recently taught a course in my membership programme about developing your personal facilitation style. We’ve had 4 classes over the last 4 months and we’ve covered a range of subjects in our time together. In the very first classes we explored what our personal facilitation style is and how we might define it. BUT, before I share the exercise with you, let's look at what a personal facilitation style is and why it's important. WHAT IS A PERSONAL FACILITATION

From Good to Great: Personal Growth & Development for Museum Educators

FROM GOOD TO GREAT: PERSONAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT FOR MUSEUM EDUCATORS A willingness to continue growing and developing is at the heart of our practice as museum educators, teachers and guides. We are never ‘done’ with learning. There is always a strong desire to keep honing our craft. Personal development keeps us motivated and pushes us out of our comfort zone. It helps us to keep innovating, experimenting and being creative. But, what are the best ways that we can grow and develop personally? Today I'm sharing 8 different ways museum educators

What is Visible Thinking in the Museum?

Tags: art, developing, discussion, educators, engagement, inquiry, interactive, lead, museum, museum education, objects, participants, pedagogy, practice, questions, taster session, thinking, thinking routines, visible thinking in the museum, VTM|

WHAT IS VISIBLE THINKING IN THE MUSEUM (AND HOW CAN IT HELP ME TO ENGAGE MY AUDIENCE?) Way back in 2011, I discovered the magic of thinking routines and Visible Thinking whilst working at a museum in Amsterdam. It was at this point that I started developing a new approach for educators, what became Visible Thinking in the Museum or VTM for short. Visible Thinking in the Museum is an easy-to-follow method that allows educators like you to confidently design and lead engaging inquiry-led sessions with art, objects and ideas for any

April 2022

Pictures of Practice with Gabrielle Grime

PICTURES OF PRACTICE WITH GABRIELLE GRIME INTRODUCTION Today on our 50th episode, I'm launching a new series of episodes all about 'pictures of practice'. I'm really interested is in finding out how other museum educators around the world engage their audiences with art and objects. What are some of the practices that are really important to them? How might they use thinking routines, or slow looking, questioning or facilitation? For our very first Pictures of Practice, I'm talking today to Gabrielle Grime is a Heritage Education Officer at Wanneroo Regional Museum in Australia. Gabrielle read about the

Inspiring Creative Writing through Art with Mary Hall Surface

Tags: art, artist, called, Docent, edward hopper, encourage, imagine, inspired, national gallery, offer, painting, people, programme, prompts, routines, thinking, wonderful, workshop, world, writing|

INSPIRING CREATIVE WRITING THROUGH ART WITH MARY HALL SURFACE INTRODUCTION Today I’m delighted to be talking to playwright, theatre director, teaching artist and museum educator Mary Hall Surface about her work. We’re talking all things creative and reflective writing through art. As a museum educator, Mary Hall uses both theatre and creative writing to expand perspective, uncover complexity and deepen understanding. She is the founding instructor of National Gallery of Art’s Writing Salon in Washington DC, and a six-summer faculty member of Harvard’s Project Zero Classroom. Her plays have been produced at major professional theatres, museums, and

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