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American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is an organization representing over 35,000 museums, “from art and history museums to science centers and zoos.” AAM supports museums by providing resources and a professional network for those who want to move the field forward in terms of innovation, equity, and inclusion.

The goal of is to “empower cultural institutions to provide accessible and inclusive environments for all of their patrons, including people with disabilities and their families.” The Art Beyond Sight website shares relevant resources—including text, images, audio, and video—for classroom teachers, museum educators, and the general public. Provided they follow user guidelines, site visitors are encouraged to utilize materials and adapt them for their own non-commercial use.

Unfortunately, the designs of some informal learning conversations and other activities do not allow individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to fully participate. There are several strategies your program can follow to avoid this situation. Begin by making sure your promotional materials and correspondence with potential participants explain how individuals can request accommodations, including a sign language interpreter and real-time captioning.

The created kits during the Covid-19 pandemic to provide natural science education through at-home art making. Each kit is designed to inspire young learners to explore the natural world, and each kit has five art lessons with specific themes students can choose from: Animals, Art Around the World, Oceans of Fun, Desert, and Winter.

, originally funded by the National Science Foundation, seeks to transform the way in which museums and other informal learning institutions produce and share digital exhibits. Open Exhibits hosts  that utilize universal design principles in their development. Examples of downloadable exhibits include the following:

 in conjunction with Ohio State University (OSU) and the Ohio State School for the Blind, launched the fully virtual to engage blind and visually impaired 8th to 12th grade students in space and astronomy sciences.

The works with the National Science Foundation’s program to “build and advance the informal STEM education field by providing infrastructure, resources, and connectivity for educators, researchers, evaluators, and other interested stakeholders.”

In a community of practice (CoP), a group often focused on a specific application area, collaborators share perspectives and expertise; identify promoters and inhibitors of change; suggest initiatives and activities; and share problems, solutions, and practices. CoPs within organizations can help prevent information across departments from being siloed. A CoP can also be used to disseminate new information, practices, or projects that might otherwise get overlooked.