Museums

Photo by Sharyn Morrow

MY VIEW OF MUSEUM WORK

Some thinkers describe biodiversity as a living museum, an accumulation of evolution's effects over eons. This is the museum where I work. This kind of museum is all around us, and even within us, full of living beings we can listen to and learn with. One does not need to be in a pristine wilderness to encounter, contemplate, and share this kind of museum. Where is this museum for you? A bus stop? A back yard? A park?

Just as museums value and conserve collections, we can cultivate communities who value and conserve biodiversity.

MY LEARNING PRACTICE

Learning most excites me when we collaborate to create new knowledge. Because I have one foot in conservation biology and another in art, I am especially interested in bringing together artists, scientists, and the public to dismantle oppressive systems and generate new, integrative understandings.

GOALS

Connect people to each other through nature
Be part of a team committed to the truth that people are not separate from nature
Work collaboratively and effectively in response to climate change and biodiversity loss
Develop interpretation and programs that welcome and engage all audiences
Support people on their own paths to leadership and caring for the natural world

For an example of what this could look like, see Naturehood.

EDUCATION

MS in Conservation Biology, minor in Museum Studies, University of Minnesota, 2018
BA in Biology and Fine Art, St. Olaf College, 1999

EXPERTISE

Environmentally-engaged and social art practices
Information design, visual information
Education & outreach

MUSEUM EXPERIENCE & PROJECTS

Nature Journeys, a series of map-driven experiences for visitors to the Lakewood arboretum
Team member for partnership projects between University of Minnesota and Franconia Sculpture Park:
- Reframing Our Relations Community Meal and Conversation, October 2, 2022
- BioQuest, September 25, 2021
- Wild parsnip signage & flyer, 2021-2022
Visitor Experience Associate at the Science Museum of Minnesota, March-December 2019
Gallery assistant at the Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition, 2018
Intern at Bell Museum of Natural History, May-October 2016
Education staff at Walker Art Center, September 2008-November 2014

COURSEWORK

University of Minnesota:

Museum History & Philosophy (MST 5011): Term paper examined how citizen science participants construct meaning through doing and social interactions, as well as roles museums can play in this
Museum Practices (MST 5012): Term paper on environmentally-engaged transformative learning
Museum Practicum (MST 5020): Bell Museum Ornithology Collections Assistant, developed messaging for Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas and photographed bird specimens (285 species) for collections digitization
Quest for an Environmental Ethic (EEB 8990): Reviewed literature on childhood development of moral identity as it pertains to the environment, and the importance of safe access to nature