Review: A Peek Behind the Curtain

As I mentioned, I am doing an analysis on my last blog post A Peek Behind the Curtain. If you missed it, take a look. But it’s not necessary, I will be going over the benefits of museum workers participating in question & answers (Q&A’s) with visitors and the general public.

My premise was this: Many people don’t know much about how museums work, so why not see if I can answer the questions they have? Even though I am still in the process of learning about how museums work and am by no means an expert, I have gone over things theoretically in my classes. I added links as well so that the reader can look deeper if they so pleased.

Screenshot of the question I posted on Facebook along with the questions I received.

I received three questions, on Facebook from my personal friends, with one question coming in after I posted the blog. I posted the question on Facebook and Tumblr, but had no response on Tumblr. In my next try I will post the question on Twitter as well. I will also make the question more specific to try to get the audience thinking. And if I can come up with a hashtag that is appropriate and not in use, I will employ that tactic.

As we have learned from a young age, the best way to learn is to ask questions. The popular Twitter event, #AskACurator, allows for the public to pick the brains of museum workers from several museums but the Twitter character limit is very difficult to adhere to, especially for questions that are complicated to answer. But many museums have blogs already, why not use them to answer questions? The public can ask questions through social media platforms or through email and the designated museum worker can answer questions with no immediate pressure for a quick response.

Transparency, being honest about the practices of your museum, is something all museums should strive for to provide evidence that your museum is trustworthy. You can read more about transparency here.

The questions asked by the public increases interaction with your audience, which could provide the audience with a positive view of the museum, a museum that cares enough to listen.

I also had a great time answering the questions. So if it’s at all possible, I would suggest you and/or your institution give it a shot!