Creating the Visitor-centered Museum

Peter Samis is Associate Curator of Interpretation at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He has a BA from Columbia University and an M.A. in art history from U.C. Berkeley. Samis served as art historian/content expert for 'American Visions,' the first CD-ROM on modern art (1993-94), and then spearheaded development of SFMOMA’s award-winning Interactive Educational Technology programs. He has served as Adjunct Professor in the international graduate program for Technology-Enhanced Communication for Cultural Heritage (TEC-CH) at Switzerland's University of Lugano and on the advisory boards of numerous museum organizations and collaborative software initiatives. Mimi Michaelson is an education and museum consultant. She has a doctorate in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University, where she studied creativity, youth activism, and cognitive development. As a former Project Zero manager, she has broad research experience, including as Senior Project Manager of Harvard’s GoodWork project. She co-edited the New Directions volume, Supportive Frameworks for Youth Engagement.

Preface Introduction Part 1: Moving Toward the Visitor-Centered Museum Chapter 1: Considering the Visitor Chapter 2: Contours of Change Chapter 3: Creating Change Part 2: Spaces of Engagement Chapter 6: City Museum, St. Louis, MO Chapter 7: Minnesota History Center, St. Paul, MN Chapter 8: Ruhr Museum, Essen, Germany Chapter 9: Detroit Institute of Arts Chapter 10: Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, U.K. Chapter 11: Oakland Museum of California Chapter 12: Denver Art Museum Chapter 13: Columbus Museum of Art Chapter 14: Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven, NL Chapter 15: Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver Part 3: Lessons Learned Chapter 16: Complexities, Outcomes and Aftermaths Chapter 17: Conclusion: Lessons Learned Notes References Index About the Authors