Join a NEMO webinar on museums’ contribution to community wellbeing

 A group of young people is sitting around a sculpture in a museum space. Another person is standing and holding a piece of paper.

On 29 April 2021 at 17:00 CEST, museum education experts Dr. John Falk and Judith Koke, Institute for Learning Innovation, invite to a conversation about the role museums play in the community’s wellbeing. Registration to the free NEMO webinar has opened.  

The NEMO Webinar will explore other ways than learning that museums can build on to create relevance and relationships with the different communities they serve. Falk and Koke want to inspire museums to start by asking those communities what it is that would support their ability to thrive and prosper.

NEMO invited Johan Falk and Judith Koke to facilitate a webinar to continue the conversation on museums and emotions which was featured in the recent NEMO report Emotions and Learning in Museums. Falk dedicated his chapter to the role of emotions in motivating people to visit museums. Koke contributed with an overview of the conference Connected Audiences, which took place in 2019 and served as one of the corner stones of the report. NEMO was part of co-organising the conference.

John Falk

Dr. John Falk is Director of the Institute for Learning Innovation and Emeritus Sea Grant Professor of Free-Choice Learning at Oregon State University. He is a leading expert on free-choice learning; the learning that occurs when people have significant choice and control over the what, where and when of their learning. Dr. Falk’s current research focuses on understanding the identity/self-related reasons people utilize free-choice learning settings during their leisure time; studying the community impacts of museums, libraries, zoos and aquariums and helping cultural institutions re-think their educational positioning in the 21st century. His awards include the NARST: A worldwide organization for improving science teaching and learning through research Distinguished Career Award ( 2016); Oregon State University, University Outreach and Engagement Vice Provost Award for Excellence, Innovation-Partnerships Award (2016).

Judith Koke

Judith Koke is a dynamic leader in the free-choice learning ecosystem, with a strong track record of creating organizational change through the integration of visitor research into evidence-based decision-making. Over her career, Judith has served in a wide range of leadership roles; in all of these, she has challenged museums to broaden and deepen their relationships with diverse audiences. Her career combines audience and learning research with museum leadership, and she has been invited to work with numerous museum boards to build a better understanding of the changing role of museums today. Judith has published extensively and taught in numerous graduate programs. Her passion for lifelong learning is currently being channeled into researching museum inclusion for individuals with ASD and developing the next generation of truly effective professional learning opportunities.