MCN 2020 VIRTUAL

During the earlier days of the pandemic and while death rates reached their peaks, museums and cultural organizations shuttered their doors. While institutions turned their focus to engaging with audiences virtually, some museums created campaigns to offer a reprieve from a bleak news cycle. These institutions elicited unexpected joy, humor, and moments of kindness—sorely needed by online communities. Join staff from the New-York Historical Society, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, and Smithsonian’s National Zoo to explore four digital storytelling campaigns that reached record audiences during the pandemic.

The New-York Historical Society and Hirshhorn Museum combined forces to send virtual flowers from their collections to museum colleagues around the globe for #MuseumBouquet, and followed the campaign by shedding virtual sunshine before Earth Day with sunny works for #MuseumSunshine.

The Shedd Aquarium let their penguins roam free through their exhibits to the delight of online audiences. News of the penguins went viral on social media and in the press. The jaunts of one penguin named Wellington earned himself the hashtag #WheresWellingtonWednesday. The penguins interacted with wildlife elsewhere in the space that they would never encounter in nature.

In response to the Shedd’s penguins, the Field Museum rolled out a series of “unSUEpervised” videos wherein an inflatable SUE the T. rex ran amok through empty exhibitions and office spaces. SUE’s visit to the Hall of Birds was covered by E! News and CNN, and the series of videos has been watched over 1.69 million times.

In efforts to “bring the zoo to you,” the National Zoo’s Cub Cam offered a real-time view of four, fuzzy cheetah cubs born April 8 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. Online audiences tuned in for the birth, were invited to vote on names for the cubs, and are following their growth through #CheetahCubdates and #NatZooZen on social media.

These cultural organizations span living collections, natural history, American history, and contemporary art. Although each of these institutions have a different mission and focus, each tapped into the public’s need for joy during a turbulent time.