A community for museum professionals.
Expert Profile
Caitlin McQuade
Pronouns:
she/her
Availability:
Available
Contractor/Consultant
Position Type:
Boulder
Colorado
United States of America
Years in the field:
26+ Years
Areas of Expertise
Exhibits development
The first exhibit I planned opened in 1985. Since then, I've worked directly for museums and as a freelancer. Employers and clients have included history museums; national, state, and tribal parks departments; historic houses; a botanical garden—even a federal appeals court.
I realized early—as a junior in high school!—that this work involves my skills and interests. Over time I've refined my ability to:
- see and articulate engaging stories that emerge from a collection of facts, artifacts, and images
- steer unerringly toward a project's goals
- work companionably or lead teams with content experts, educators, exhibit designers, media producers, and community members
- channel storylines to target audiences, especially by applying visitor studies
- conceive interactive means to involve people in stories
- research, write, interview, find images, interpret design drawings, incorporate feedback, copy edit, test prototypes
- make time to laugh!
Teaching museum studies has helped me see exhibits in their institutional context and keeps me current with trends in exhibitions, audience research, and curation.
I live in Boulder , Colorado, with a professor of education (from whom I learn a lot about informal learning environments). We love traveling; ask me about the museums I visited in Great Britain, Israel, Dubai, Mexico, and the Netherlands.