Many museums engage youth primarily through school field trips or simple interactive activities. But what happens when young people are invited to participate as creators, collaborators, and community voices within museum spaces? This panel shares case studies from three museums of varied sizes and missions that are intentionally expanding youth engagement beyond traditional education programs. Presenters will highlight strategies that work in both rural museums with limited resources and larger institutions with dedicated youth programming.

This past year saw major exhibitions at the Guam Museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, and the British Museum. Listen to Indigenous curators and community leaders share about some of the most significant museum installations in decades — from the rematriation of CHamoru latte stones, to a showcase of the political relationship between the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and the U.K., to an overview of the complex and nuanced history of the Hawaiian Nation.

How do you engage with others in your field? Are you looking for colleagues doing similar work or help advocating for your museum? Your state museum association provides a framework of connectivity you can tap into. Every western state has an active association with a mission to help your museum thrive. Join us to explore how engaging with your state association benefits you professionally and builds a stronger community. We are stronger together.

Evaluation helps museums strengthen internal practices and remain responsive to their communities. This session introduces practical evaluation approaches that can be integrated into everyday museum work. In the first half, professional evaluators and museum staff share foundational concepts and tools they use in their own roles. The second half is an open forum where participants can ask questions, discuss current projects, and explore strategies for implementing evaluation in their own institutions.

As civic space dwindles and attacks on truth, culture, and fundamental freedoms escalate, this is a clarion call for museums to show up with renewed purpose and moral clarity. How do we protect civic space, nurture public trust, and lead with radical care, courageous truth-telling, and a vision for a more just and connected future? If museums are a core civic infrastructure, how do we fully embrace that responsibility—defending cultural memory and strengthening dialogue across difference?

Inventory is crucial for stewardship, but it can be daunting. Learn to transform your collection inventory from a compliance task into a strategic tool for advocacy, accessibility, and institutional leverage. Four collections stewards from municipal, county, and state organizations will share practical, scalable processes and successful outcomes for initiating or refining your own inventory project.