Category Archives: Critiques

This is where I talk about programs, products, digital tools and more produced by museums.

2023: A Year At Work and Play

Mark Twain once said: “Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” Twain, clearly, never worked with me! My favorite part of running my own consultancy is … Continue reading

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I co-edited the new Well Played Journal on esports

I am delighted to announce that this week the latest issue of the Well Played Journal was published, which I co-edited with Stan Altman and Nick Fortugno. It focuses on esports and community, based on the series of events I … Continue reading

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When Worlds Collide: Is Digital Design Denigrating or Saving Museums?

Yesterday, I spent an hour with five African-American and Latinx boys from West Harlem. All gamers. Over Zoom, we chatted about the role games played in their lives, how it helps them to be who they want to be in … Continue reading

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What We’re Learning about 360 Videos in Museums

Last November at the Museums and Computer Network conference, I was frustrated by the many times we found ourselves conflating different emerging media, as if they offered the same set of affordances. At the same time, I was amazed by … Continue reading

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Using VR to Frame Furniture at the Jewish Museum

Can virtual reality in a museum be used to enhance the visitor experience, to strengthen appreciation for the collections? At the same time, can VR assist families and friends to have meaningful conversations about the objects? Or will this all … Continue reading

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Dancing with WONDER at the Renwick Gallery

When I think about “interactivity” in the design of museum experiences – something I desire as both a patron and as an educator – I tend to think about my desire to interact by touching or manipulating in some way … Continue reading

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Digital Engagement at the Postal Museum

Yes, that’s right – I’m talking about the postal museum, a museum about those places we hate to go, with those long lines, to weigh boxes and ship them back to Amazon or something, whose name has turned into a … Continue reading

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Revisiting Past Practices through a Contemporary Digital Lens: NYPL’s Public Eye

If you’ve never been to the main branch of New York City’s Public Library, on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in a magnificent Beaux-Arts landmark building, you might not realized it also houses lovely exhibit spaces (free for all to … Continue reading

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Has the @CooperHewitt Pen Turned Museums into Libraries? A Visit to the Renovated Cooper-Hewitt Museum

If you haven’t heard about the new Pen at the renovated Cooper-Hewitt, it’s all the buzz in the museum world. It’s the tool that changed a traditional museum into a leading model for the digital age. As it turns out, … Continue reading

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Revisiting Digital Engagement at the Field Museum

I was in Chicago recently for the Museums and the Web conference. Two years ago, in town for a different conference, I wrote about my visit to the Field Museum to learn how they were deploying digital media to engage … Continue reading

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