New Hand to Hand: Communications 2022

The latest issue of Hand to Hand is all about Communications in 2022! Read each article on the ACM blog, and find the full issue PDF in the Hand to Hand Community on ACM Groupsite. This issue explores the different approaches children’s museums take to get their messages out and stay connected to their audiences. […]

New Hand to Hand: Children’s Museums and Climate Change

The latest issue of Hand to Hand, “Children’s Museums and Climate Change” is now available! Read each article here on the ACM blog, and find the full issue PDF in the Hand to Hand Community on ACM Groupsite. This issue delves into how children’s museums are exploring climate-related issues experienced by the communities they serve. […]

New Hand to Hand: Inside the Curve: Business as (Not Quite) Usual

The latest issue of Hand to Hand, “Inside the Curve: Business as (Not Quite) Usual” is now available! Read each article here on the ACM blog, and find the full issue PDF in the Hand to Hand Community on ACM Groupsite. This issue presents stories of what museums have learned since the start of the […]

New Hand to Hand: The Power of We

The latest issue of Hand to Hand, “The Power of We: Local/Regional Support Networks Flourish” is now available! Read each article on the ACM blog, and find the full issue PDF in the Hand to Hand Community on ACM Groupsite. This issue shares stories from local and regional museum groups, ranging from long-running networks to […]

New Issue of Hand to Hand: Forged in Fire – New Models

The latest issue of Hand to Hand, “Forged in Fire: New Models” is now available! Read each article here on the ACM blog. ACM members can find the full issue PDF in the Online Member Resources Library. This issue of Hand to Hand shares stories from sixteen museums that have transformed their “temporary” pandemic responses […]

New Issue of Hand to Hand: Exhibit Planning in 2020

The latest issue of ACM’s quarterly journal, Hand to Hand, “Exhibit Planning in 2020: Thinking Now about Where We Hope to Be in the Future” is now available! Read each article on the ACM blog. ACM members can find the full issue PDF in the Hand to Hand Community on ACM Groupsite. Every aspect of children’s museum operations […]

Hand to Hand: COVID-19: Stories from the Field

The latest issue of Hand to Hand, “COVID-19: Stories from the Field” is now available! You can read individual articles here on the ACM blog. ACM members can also find the full issue PDF in the Hand to Hand Community on ACM Groupsite. With articles written primarily in June and July of this year, this issue […]

Announcing the Operations Issue of Hand to Hand

Announcing the latest issue of Hand to Hand, “Tightening Up: Streamlining Museum Operations”

32 Years and 25 Linear Feet of Hand To Hand

ACM’s quarterly journal, Hand to Hand, was first published in 1986.

Hands On! Studio

A Note from the Editor

An introduction to the “Tightening Up: Streamlining Museum Operations” issue of Hand to Hand.

Spotlight on Satellite Museums: The Children’s Museum of the Upstate

This article, a case study of The Children’s Museum of the Upstate and its satellite museum, TCMU-Spartanburg, appears in the latest issue of Hand to Hand.

The New Nature Movement: An Interview with Richard Louv

Richard Louv talks to Hand to Hand editor Mary Maher about the New Nature Movement.

Does Digital Technology Belong in Children’s Museums?

In a recent article in Hand to Hand, Rebecca Herz and Ari Morris discuss their sometimes aligned, sometimes opposed approaches to digital technology.

ACM Publications

Power of Play October 2023 | Vol. 36 No.3 In this issue, you will discover (or rediscover) the power of play! Children’s museums share their focus on the importance of role-play in problem solving and the shared joy of playful learning across generations. We explore play as it relates to agency in children and school […]

InterActivity—the association’s annual conference and largest gathering of children’s museum professionals in the world—returned to an in-person gathering in 2022 providing live professional development, networking, and exploration! 989 Museums Participating 79 Hub Cities (cities with at least 3 participating museums) 4,790,007 Total M4A Visitors PUBLICATIONS ACM leverages the collective knowledge of children’s museums through sharing […]

ACM Anniversary Blog

On March 1st, the Association of Children’s Museum (ACM) celebrated its 60th anniversary with a reception in Washington, D.C. Held at the Washington Plaza, the event followed Museums Advocacy Day and the ACM board meeting. Guests included member museums, allied associations, public sector collaborators, strategic partners, vendors, and sponsors, as well as current and former board, […]

History of ACM

The history of the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) started in 1962, when a small group of children’s museum leaders decided to begin gathering annually while attending the American Alliance of Museums’ annual meeting. While the first children’s museum, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, was established in 1899, the field grew most prolifically during a 30-year period […]

In Search of Kindness: A Call to Action

This article is part of the “Communications 2022” issue of Hand to Hand. Click here to read other articles in the issue. By Mike Yankovich and Gretchen Kerr, Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus For nearly fifty years, the Children’s Museum of Denver at Marsico Campus has been a gathering place where people in […]

What Is a Communications Plan and Why Do I Need One?

This article is part of the “Communications 2022” issue of Hand to Hand. Click here to read other articles in the issue. By Maureen Wolsborn, Hamilton Place Strategies A communications plan is an organizational road map to ensure that your mission and message reach your community. While the initial creation of the plan takes time, […]

Content Front and Center: Minnesota Children’s Museum Talks about Racism

This article is part of the “Communications 2022” issue of Hand to Hand. Click here to read other articles in the issue. By Bob Ingrassia, Minnesota Children’s Museum For more than forty years, kids and parents have appreciated Minnesota Children’s Museum as a playful place for fun, smiles, and laughter. Millions of families have made joyful […]

Responding to Public Reviews: Dos and Don’ts

This article is part of the “Communications 2022” issue of Hand to Hand. Click here to read other articles in the issue. By Kathleen Sandoval, San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum Thanks to cell phones and the internet, we are all connected in ways never before experienced. While the opportunities to engage with your favorite musician, […]

Macro to Micro: Developing a Cohesive Social Media Strategy

This article is part of the “Communications 2022” issue of Hand to Hand. Click here to read other articles in the issue. Q&A with Jenny Holland, Director of Digital Strategy, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis Mary Maher | Interviewer Former reporter turned content marketer Jenny Holland has served as the director of digital strategy for […]

TikTok Talk

This article is part of the “Communications 2022” issue of Hand to Hand. Click here to read other articles in the issue. By Keith Ostfeld and Henry Yau, Children’s Museum Houston For years, Children’s Museum Houston has been using social media to reach our audience for announcements, special deals, silly puzzles, and especially fun videos […]

In Pursuit of an Online Audience: Using Stories to Cultivate a Community

This article is part of the “Communications 2022” issue of Hand to Hand. Click here to read other articles in the issue. By Rebecca Tucker Nall and Molly Noah, Mayborn Museum Complex Children’s museums are in a unique position on social media. Our direct audience is not there. How do we communicate our museum’s value […]

Social Media Communications Today: It’s the Wild West

This article is part of the “Communications 2022” issue of Hand to Hand. Click here to read other articles in the issue. By Amanda Sobczak, Betty Brinn Children’s Museum In the early spring of 2020, it’s likely that we all shared a similar feeling. Unlike many other businesses and institutions, most children’s museums could not […]

Social Media: Successes, Challenges, Surprises, and Questions

This article is part of the “Communications 2022” issue of Hand to Hand. Click here to read other articles in the issue. We posed four basic questions around the use of social media among children’s museums around the U.S.  Responses from the museums listed below left reflect the new and ever-changing territory navigated daily by […]

Talk, Act, Hope: Pushing Together to Save Us from the Effects of Climate Change

This article is part of the “Children’s Museums and Climate Change” issue of Hand to Hand. Click here to read other articles in the issue. A Conversation with Katharine Hayhoe, PhD, along with Jonathan Patz, MD Led by Brenda Baker, Madison Children’s Museum Noted atmospheric scientist, writer, teacher, communicator, and researcher Katharine Hayhoe studies climate change.  […]

Building a Climate of Hope

This article is part of the “Children’s Museums and Climate Change” issue of Hand to Hand. Click here to read other articles in the issue. By Lisa Thompson, Natural History Museum of Utah | University of Utah A Climate of Hope is the working title we’ve adopted for a new exhibit on climate change under development […]

Science from the Past and for the Future: Learning from Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Adaptation

This article is part of the “Children’s Museums and Climate Change” issue of Hand to Hand. Click here to read other articles in the issue. By Lauren Butcher and Rachel Zollinger, Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum How can we equip our children for climate change? One way is to look to long-established knowledge of climate […]