REVIEWBlunden


Public History Review 
Vol 16 (2009): 131–133 
© UTSePress and the author 
 

THE MUSEUM EDUCATOR’S MANUAL: EDUCATORS SHARE SUCCESSFUL 
TECHNIQUES, Anna Johnson, Kimberley Huber, Nancy Cutler, Melissa 
Bingmann, Tim Grove.

Plymouth: Altamira Press, 2009; 250 pp; photographs, notes, bibliography, 
sample forms, index; paperbound $36.95. 
 
 

ince the 1980s, education programs and staff have become an increasingly 
significant part of museums. Thirty years on, the authors of this practical 

manual believe that there remains a strong need for creativity, excellence and 
accountability in museum education programs. This manual aims to contribute 
to this need by offering an ‘all-in-one’, experience-based perspective on the 
basics of the field and practice of museum education. 

The authors bring together a great deal of expertise, which they share with 
readers in a very personal and friendly way. Each author introduces 
themselves and how they came to the museum education field through a 
‘personal story’ box: Anna Johnson, who has worked as a curator, educator, 
director and consultant mostly in history museums; Kimberly Huber, who, 
from background in anthropology and teaching has been a museum volunteer, 
intern, educator, curator, consultant, administrator, consultant and board 
member; Nancy Cutler comes from a background in interpretation and 
education in botanic gardens; Melissa Bingmann, assistant professor of history 
at Indiana University, teaches public history and museum studies; and finally 
Tim Grove, an education specialist from the Smithsonian’s National Air and 
Space Museum.  

The manual is structured into four main parts. Part 1 ‘Training and 
Management’ includes chapters on the role of the museum educator, working 
with volunteers and training guides and docents. Part 2 ‘Programs and 
Outreach’ contains chapters on professional development for teachers, family 
programs (intergenerational learning), planning and managing programs and 
special events, evaluation and online education. The third section looks at 
‘Working with Others’ both within the museum (as part of an exhibition team) 
and outside through partnerships and collaborations with schools, libraries 
and other museums, community groups and sponsors. The final section 
comprises a very significant appendix containing more that 100 pages of 
sample forms, checklists, charts and programs – a basic strategic plan table, 

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volunteer application form and timesheet, sample lesson plans, evaluation 
forms, event planning timeline, and more – some perhaps more useful than 
others. 

The book is friendly, chatty and easy to read, although at times borders on 
the patronising (‘Let’s do a little exercise to help recognise some of the features 
of a volunteer’). Similarly, its fondness for citing dictionary definitions of 
everyday words (such ‘guide’, ‘volunteer’ and ‘reservation’, as in making a 
booking) can become a little irritating. More helpful are the boxes and 
‘sidebars’ which provide case studies from outside the authors’ experience, 
checklists and summaries. 

The chapters cover all the fundamentals and give a clear understanding of 
what it means to be a museum educator. The standout chapters in terms of 
moving beyond the basics to a deeper level of discussion that can inform 
action are Tim Grove’s chapter on online education and Nancy Cutler’s on 
evaluation. My favourite is Anna Johnson’s chapter ‘Taming Wild Docents’, 
directed at dealing with docents who put ‘too much spice’ in their tours, 
although really it’s a chapter about structuring and leading guided tours. 
Perhaps the most unexpected aspect of the book is the focus on ‘homeschool’ 
teachers and students, suggesting a trend that is obviously far stronger in 
America (or at in least Arizona) than in Australia. 

What’s missing? The manual would benefit from including examples and 
case studies from a broader range of museum types to support its claim of 
being useful for those working in or with museums of all kinds, from zoos and 
botanical gardens to art museums and heritage sites. It would also benefit from 
an ‘experience-based’ listing of key references and sources of further 
information as a framework for building a professional library and for taking 
readers from this general introductory volume and connecting them to more 
specialised avenues of support. 
  The manual claims to be ideally suited for educators and volunteers 
working within a broad range of museums, for school teachers as a 
preparation for museum excursions and for students and teachers of museum 
studies and museum education. While students, volunteers, beginner 
educators and those working in small museums or without formal training 
may find this manual helpful and reassuring, those with even relatively little 
experience would probably find it of limited value. Nonetheless, this is a book 
that delivers exactly what the title promises – it’s a practical manual where the 
authors share with readers the methods and experiences that have worked 



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well for them – and delivers them with passion, enthusiasm and great 
generosity. 
 
JENNIFER BLUNDEN 
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY