Ask not what your museum can do for you; ask what you can do for your museum

 

 

1. Become a member of your favorite museum

2. Visit your favorite museum as often as you can

3. Establish contact with your local museum by writing encouraging letters or emails

4. Write stories of why museums matter & share them with us

5. Work with state-wide media to highlight your favorite museum's activities 

6. Ask your local newspaper to run a series of articles where people share memories of visits to museums

7. Ask local media to help promote your favorite museum in your community

8. Partner with your local public television station to create & promote museum-related cultural and educational programming

9. Work with local officials to pass favorable cultural resolutions for your city, town, or state

10. Support your favorite local museum by patronizing their shop

11. Invite friends to join you on your next museum visit

12. Work with local schools and introduce them to your favorite museum

13. Organize a special event to celebrate your favorite museum

14. Invite schoolchildren to create their own favorite museum mural in school

15. Create a community cultural-museological newsletter in print or email forms

16. Become involved in your favorite museum's collaborative partnerships with other institutions

17. Form an art & museum bookclub

18. Invite local book clubs to meet & discuss art &  museum-related books

19. Ask your local bookstores to carry more books & journals on visual culture and museums; be an advisor to them

20. Find creative ways to help the public to learn more about museums and the contributions they make to society

21. Keep a journal of your thoughts about the future of your favorite museum

22. Flaunt your museum logo with pride

23. List 10 ways your museum serves its community & share them with us!

24. List 10 ways you can serve your favorite museum & share them with us!

25. Create a list of 10 things parents can do with their children at a museum & share it with us!

26. Create a photo essay about your favorite museum(s)’s & share it with us!

27. Write an article about your favorite museum(s)’s & share it with us!

28. Invite 10 friends to join your favorite museum(s)

29. Help raise funds for your local museum : smallest amounts...really add up! And, you won't believe how much your museum will appreciate this!!

30. Throw your very own fundraising party for your favorite museum(s), and present it with your donations

31. Volunteer your time at your favorite museum

32. If you are a business owner, SPONSOR a local community institution -- School, Nursing Home, etc -- for a visit to your local museum (find out how you can make it tax-deductible for your business)

33. Add a "favorite museum" section to your website

34. Add a "favorite museum" section to your business or personal newsletter

35. Support your favorite museum by renting one of its galleries for your office party

36. Support your favorite museum by purchasing gifts from its shop

37. Support your favorite museum by giving gifts of membership to friends and employees

38. Support your favorite museum by holding business lunches in its cafe

39. Display your favorite museum's sticker; you can brag about this one without apologies! 

40. Ask a local business to sponsor your favorite museum

41. Invite your [business] competition to match your donation to your favorite museum

42. Sponsor an essay writing contest for students to share why they like to visit museums

43. Sponsor a lecture (series) at or about your favorite museum  

44. Request a special behind-the-scenes tour of your favorite museum

45. Join and become an active advocate in your state museum association

46. Donate however amount you can to your favorite museum

47. Make a list of fiction or nonfiction books/movies/TV shows about museums & share it with us!

48. Poll your friends and compile a list of their favorite museum & share it with us!

49. Invite your friends to tell their favorite museum stories & share them with us!

50. Put together your own list of museums to visit  in your lifetime & share it with us!