Museum educators are responsible for developing enriching and engaging opportunities for visitors of all ages to connect with the objects and exhibitions in our institutions. Unlike other learning environments, museums offer a unique experience in which we interact with authentic objects and ideas in ways that allow us to consider the past in the context of issues of the present.

One of the greatest challenges for museums today is meeting the ever-evolving needs and expectations of varied audiences, while maintaining our intellectual integrity and remaining true to our institutional mission. The spectrum that these audience needs and expectations occupy is wide. Many museum-goers are savvy cultural consumers who expect to benefit from the museum’s expertise. But in our user-generated world, they also want to be actively engaged and to be given the freedom to organize their own experience. Many others find museums to be intimidating places and a visit can be daunting, overwhelming, and frustrating if they are not provided with basic orientation and safe entry points to begin to make meaning of objects and exhibitions.

Museum educators have the opportunity to contribute to the vitality of our community and institutions by connecting cultural heritage with contemporary issues relevant to our visitors. In working with varied audiences—school children and teachers, teens, families, adults, docents, museum members, tourists—we then craft programs that meet the individual needs of each.

The articles in this issue of New England Museums Now dig into topics of access in both specific and broad terms. Each of the articles illuminates the shift in our field towards truly being audience-focused and learner-centered. How can museums design engaging programs for adult visitors that combine content with participation, while honoring the experience and knowledge these visitors bring to the program? How are museums responding to the changing landscape of K-12 education in which standards seem to be in constant flux? How can we make our museums accessible to anyone who may be inclined to want to explore with us?

Once called “the uncertain profession,” museum education has become central to our institutions’ mission-driven work. Writer David Carr has been quoted as saying, “Museums aren’t for everyone. But they should be for anyone.” As frontline advocates for our visitors, our work is to make museums places where everyone feels welcome, valued, and represented.

(Photo credit: Boston Children's Museum: Girl with Magnifying Glass–© Paul Specht)