The Museum Hack Blog

In late 2015, Ricky Jackson took the stage at TEDxMet.  Having served a 39-year prison sentence for a crime he did not commit. Many might have expected Ricky to talk about the justice system.  Instead, Ricky took us on a journey to freedom, a journey that began in his childhood.  His talk reminds us that […]

Social media is one of the most powerful tools museums can use to connect with and inspire their audiences outside of the institution’s walls. While Twitter and Facebook are often the go-to for many cultural institutions, the visual aspects and nature of Pinterest perfectly align with the curation of museum collections. We know what you’re thinking […]

Sometimes, even big companies run into a problem they’re not sure how to solve on their own. Few brands have a name with as much star power and history as Bloomingdale’s. The famous retailer boasts an amazing legacy in New York City and abroad, and the name Bloomingdale’s has become synonymous with incredible, iconic, and […]

One day last month, a man named Narcissus wandered into the bathroom at his girlfriend’s apartment, only to discover that it contained the perfect lighting for mirror selfies. Jealous that she had kept this fact hidden from him for so long, he took photo after photo of himself until his phone’s battery reached zero. Dumbfounded […]

New York City has a reputation for being a tough place where neighbors don’t know neighbors, but one local company is working to change that by cultivating a new sense of community in the concrete jungle with people who are all united by one thing: their love of dogs! BarkBox is a company that’s all […]

Last summer we were shocked to find one of the world’s largest media companies piggy-backing on our small brand. It appeared this company was using the Museum Hack trademark, without permission, to increase traffic to their website. Heads up — today’s article outlines that media company’s continued disregard for good business practice and laws. The […]

Audio tours are a key aspect of museum’s visitor experience.  Done right, audio tours are a unique way to connect with visitors that may not like docent-led tours or prefer the freedom to learn about objects and spaces on their own.  Such tours also provide a cost-effective way for museums to foster deep engagement with […]

Most people don’t go to a zoo or botanical garden expecting to be entertained by wild and  unexpected stories filled with little-known facts their tour guide has dug up. We don’t often expect high-level engagement, like games, activities or great stories. Instead, we simply go, assume we’ll walk around and look at beautiful flowers and […]

Potential visitors avoid museums for several reasons, but it all boils down to one: they don’t think museums are for them.  Ashleigh Hibbins’ blog post, “The Scary Museum: Who’s Afraid to Visit You?”, shared some insights into the driving factor behind this thought: Despite my reassurances to the contrary, they were worried they didn’t have […]

Facebook advertising represents an amazing marketing opportunity for museums and cultural institutions.  The methods by which Facebook can target audiences allows for very focused advertising, which can produce incredible results online and in the museum space. Museum Hack has utilized Facebook advertising to help us reach our goals of expanding and increasing relevance.  We’ve been […]

We asked our followers… The results are interesting.  As renegade tour guides, many people view our tours as purely entertainment.  But they’re not.  Our tours take an entertainment-first approach — with a focus on passionate storytelling as a doorway into successfully engaging museum audiences and providing unforgettable educational experiences. We know that many museum visitors […]

Many museums possess outstanding collections and programs that engage audiences.  But sometimes, their offerings need a refresher — with new perspectives and ideas to re-energize existing audiences and get new ones in the door. The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) was confronted by this problem.  They had lots of great collections, but […]

Ever since we saw Night at the Museum, we’ve dreamt of being able to spend a night in our favorite museums.  And now, we can!  Many museums are experimenting with holding fun sleepovers in their spaces. We’re taking an in-depth look at these innovative museum experiences.  Our Night at the Museum series features interviews with […]

Social media are powerful tools for museums to interact and engage with their visitors.  They also serve as tools to help museums invite and engage with difficult-to-reach audiences before they ever step foot in the museum. Museums and the Web is an annual conference featuring research on—and applications for—digital practices in museums.  This gathering is […]

Ever since we saw Night at the Museum, we’ve dreamt of being able to spend a night in our favorite museums.  And now, we can!  Many museums are experimenting with holding fun sleepovers in their spaces. We’re taking an in-depth look at these innovative museum experiences.  Our 3-part series features interviews with museums holding awesome […]

Museums and the Web is an annual conference featuring research on—and applications for—digital practices in museums.  This gathering is unique in that a lot of conference papers are presented for free online.  One of our favorites from this year’s conference is “The museum as digital storyteller: Collaborative participatory creation of interactive digital experiences” by Maria […]

Stepping into a museum is a transcending experience, and for good reason. In a moment, you can go from the bustling city street to a quiet temple devoted to the richest collection of history we have. On your left are REAL dinosaur bones, fragments of a time we didn’t even know existed until the 1800s. On […]

This past summer, Caroline Perkins was on a mission: to comparatively study art museum adult education programs. She was looking for the best ways that museums can “convey art historical content in an engaging manner.”  What she found are some profound insights into what works — and doesn’t work — in art museum programming. We […]

At the moment, a few of our key team members are hosting a storytelling workshop at the Modern Museum Malmö, in Sweden.  The main focus was how museums can use storytelling about the gallery’s collection to engage visitors.

Watch our TEDx talk to find out more about: How Museum Hack started. How gossip, games and guides make our tours different. Nick’s love for magical gold, an ancient baby Jesus, and sexy jasper lips. Or read below for a transcript of the video.