The Museum Educator's Manual: Educators Share Successful Techniques (American Association for State and Local History)

The role of education in museums has increasingly become a major professional concern. Engaging, informative, and even entertaining programs can make an enormous difference in a museum's popularity, bringing in visitors of all ages, from the local community and beyond. The proliferation of recent publications on museum education and the promotion of workshops and training seminars for museum staff have reinforced the need for creativity, excellence, and accountability in museum educational programs. The Museum Educator's Manual addresses the role museum educators play in today's museums from an experience-based perspective. Seasoned museum educators author each chapter, emphasizing key programs along with case studies that provide successful examples, and demonstrate a practical foundation for the daily operations of a museum education department_no matter how small. The book covers volunteer management and training; exhibit design; program and event design and implementation; working with families, seniors, and teens; collaborating with schools and other institutions; and funding. With invaluable checklists, schedules, organizational charts, program examples, and other how-to documents included throughout, The Museum Educator's Manual is a 'must have' book for any museum educator.