Museum Hack

What’s better than two hours of high-energy, snark-filled museum gossip? Literally nothing. As a tour guide for Museum Hack, I bounced around the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and museums all over North America to tell outrageous (and totally true) stories about daring expeditions, creatures that weigh as much as the entire NFL, and the essential qualities of dinosaurs. It was my job and my pleasure to show off each museum’s highlights and, well… low lights, all while playing games designed to get people to really look and think about the museum displays. Why, you ask? Because museums (especially AMNH) are f***ing awesome, and I want to the whole world to know it.

In addition to giving regular tours of AMNH and other nyc sites, I also traveled throughout the US and Canada giving workshops to museums about Museum Hack methods. During those workshops, I would typically have 24-48 hours to create a tour of the institution. I would then give the tour to the people who worked there (not nerve wracking at all!) and teach them how to do what I did. It was tons of work and tons of fun.

A Few Stops From my AMNH Tour:

  • Thank a Stromatolite for Sex

  • Thank a (Giant) Sloth for Avocados

  • Are You or Someone You Love A Dinosaur? A Flow Chart

  • Whales Had Legs and Other Things to Think in the Night

  • The Many Deaths and Inventions of Carl Akeley

  • Hoof Print or Vulva?

  • Roy Chapman Andrews, Problematic Museum Boyfriend

  • Correct T. Rex Arms and Etiquette

  • I’ll Meteorite There

  • Fossils vs Casts (aka it would be easier if we could lick these objects on display)

Some Classic Museum Games:

  • Dinosaur Scavenger Hunt: find the fossil that corresponds to a tiny toy dinosaur and learn one fact about the dino to tell the group

  • Emoji Matching: print large emojis on index cards, hand them out in a sculpture gallery, and watch the chaos ensue

  • Bird Hunt!: count the number of birds in the painting/diorama/wall paper; no actual hunting necessary

  • Plan a Gem Heist: what are you taking from this gems gallery and how are you going to get it? PS don’t really steal from museums, it’s rude

  • Yes!/No!: Find one object that you would love to take home with you, find another object that you think is so ugly/base/vile that it should be taken off display forever

  • You Belong in a Museum: find the portrait/animal/sculpture/spoon that looks just like you or represents some essential quality of yours

  • Party Planning: take a picture of a cool place to have a party, take a picture of a few “guests” you’re inviting, find something fun to bring (music, food, etc)