Pinterest as a Museum Tool

I LOVE Pinterest! I have my own personal account (with over 5,000 pins!) and I maintain the Columbus Emerging Museum Professionals account on Pinterest. Pinterest is an online bulletin board where you can bookmark your favorite recipes, books, fashion tips, anything online that has a photo can be “pinned” or saved to your account. It’s much more aesthetically pleasing than your bookmarks toolbar and as a visual person, I find it’s easier to use too! You can also interact with other users by re-pinning their content or liking one of their pins.

How can museums use Pinterest?

Museums and other cultural sites can use Pinterest as a way to connect with visitors in a similar way that they use Facebook and Twitter. They can use Pinterest to share information related to their collections or mission. Pinterest can also be used by educators or public programs staff to research and develop classes and other programs.

The National Women’s History Museum in Washington, D.C. has a board called Foodie Fridays which contains pins about food history and women’s history: “everything from strange mid-19th century fad diets to the most famous female chefs of the 20th century.” They also have boards focusing on women and girls who are making history today. Another board, “Help Preserve Women’s History!”, shares tips on how to document and record stories of the women in your life. Other boards focus on women and their roles in art, education, film, music, writing, politics and science. They also have fun boards like “Halloween Costume Ideas” and “Wo-Memes.”

The International Spy Museum (also in D.C.) has a lot of fun with their Pinterest boards! The board “Spy Cocktails” has recipes for the original James Bond martini and the Dark and Stormy cocktail. “Party like a Spy” has spy costume ideas and great ideas for hosting your own spy themed party and “Secret Spy Crafts” is full of cute, top-secret crafts and activities for kids.

Museums and other cultural institutions in Columbus have been ‘pinspired’ to create their own boards. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has 23 boards, the topics range from cute baby animals, to animal themed snack ideas to to “Columbus Zoo Memes.”

If you’re still unsure about how your cultural institution can use Pinterest, I’ve gathered a few articles that delve into very specific reasons to get on ‘board’ with this social media tool.