Hello all, I'm on yet another research quest, this time looking for stories of museums that have used their resources to assist their communities during disasters: extreme heat or cold events; floods, fires; storms; earthquakes, etc.
Some examples I've found so far: the
International Museum of Art and Science in McAllen, Texas, throwing open its doors to the community as a warming center during last spring's ice storm;
The Louisiana Children's Museum taking making itself available as classroom space to students whose school was damaged by Hurricane Ida;
Philbrook Museum teamed up with Sand Springs Community Services to collect and distribute essential items for people affected by flooding in 2019. (And many great stories of museums acting as vaccine sites, lending scientific equipment for coronavirus testing and distributing food and supplies during the pandemic) More of all these, please!
Still searching for examples of museums that make themselves available as safe spaces to the community as cooling centers during heat waves, or as safe evacuation spaces in the event of flooding, fire, earthquakes etc. And especially interested in museums that have integrated their resources into local/regional plans for emergency response in terms of providing for the safety of the public.
Welcome stories about your museums, and also links to any articles/news you have found online.
Reply on this thread, or email me at emerritt (at) aam-us.org. Thank you very much!
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Elizabeth Merritt
VP Strategic Foresight & Founding Director, CFM
American Alliance of Museums
Arlington VA
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