3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

This course explores how museums of all types (art, archaeology, design, history, natural history, science, etc.) around the world are seeking ways to incorporate innovation in their missions, practices, and displays. The current coronavirus pandemic has made innovative solutions all the more urgent. Topics to be addressed include theory and practice of museum innovation; tension between innovation and tradition; historical roots of museum innovation; nurturing an innovative culture; and the power of play. Guest presenters include experts on exhibit design and museum architecture from both conceptual and practical viewpoints. The course also looks to the future. It explores how “virtual museums” and cutting-edge digital technologies, including 3-D imaging and replication, will transform the presentation of as well as public access to artifact collections. Students will be urged to model innovation in discussion forums and in weekly planning exercises, culminating in a term project in which they develop their own original concept for an innovative museum.