Museum Case Studies

Museums housed within a university campus have big pros and big cons. When it comes to having a diverse audience, it can be both. This was the case for the Art Museum on Arizona State University’s (ASU) campus. First and foremost, ASU wanted to attract students and young post-grads from the Tempe area to come to […]

We believe that great storytelling is the backbone of successful museum tours. As we’ve discussed in previous case studies, the right story can transcend someone’s preconceived notions of what a museum experience can be. Engaging storytelling has the potential to transform your visitors from museum skeptics into lifelong patrons.  

Have your museum’s programs become stagnant?  Are you struggling to find new ways to engage audiences and get your staff on board? Peel Art Gallery, Museum, and Archives (“PAMA”) explores the rich history of the Region of Peel in Canada.  Having recently completed a large expansion, PAMA was looking to revitalize their current programming in […]

Audio tours are a key aspect of museum’s visitor experience.  Done right, audio tours are a unique way to connect with visitors that may not like docent-led tours or prefer the freedom to learn about objects and spaces on their own.  Such tours also provide a cost-effective way for museums to foster deep engagement with […]

Most people don’t go to a zoo or botanical garden expecting to be entertained by wild and  unexpected stories filled with little-known facts their tour guide has dug up. We don’t often expect high-level engagement, like games, activities or great stories. Instead, we simply go, assume we’ll walk around and look at beautiful flowers and […]

Many museums possess outstanding collections and programs that engage audiences.  But sometimes, their offerings need a refresher — with new perspectives and ideas to re-energize existing audiences and get new ones in the door. The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) was confronted by this problem.  They had lots of great collections, but […]

Stepping into a museum is a transcending experience, and for good reason. In a moment, you can go from the bustling city street to a quiet temple devoted to the richest collection of history we have. On your left are REAL dinosaur bones, fragments of a time we didn’t even know existed until the 1800s. On […]

This past summer, Caroline Perkins was on a mission: to comparatively study art museum adult education programs. She was looking for the best ways that museums can “convey art historical content in an engaging manner.”  What she found are some profound insights into what works — and doesn’t work — in art museum programming. We […]

At the moment, a few of our key team members are hosting a storytelling workshop at the Modern Museum Malmö, in Sweden.  The main focus was how museums can use storytelling about the gallery’s collection to engage visitors.