Cynthia Robinson
Director of Museum Studies

• M.S. (Museum Education), Bank Street College of Education
• B.A., Hampshire College

Cynthia Robinson spent 25 years working in museums before coming to Tufts.  She has extensive experience in developing museum programs, curricula and exhibitions, as well as in museum management and administration.  She directed a professional museum organization for 10 years, held management positions at three museums, and has been active in the Museum Education Roundtable, including serving on the board and editing their online newsletter, Network.

Cynthia is involved in helping museums solve a wide range of issues, including training the next generation of leaders, helping history museums become more relevant to modern audiences, and improving interpretation strategies to reach broader and more diverse audiences.

Cynthia published the book, Going Public: Community Program and Project Ideas for Historical Organizations (1999, co-authored with Gretchen Sorin), and has created many exhibitions and curricula.  Exhibitions include Where in the World Does Boston Come From?, which traced how Boston took shape over time; The Boston Massacre, a sound-and-light exhibition; and The Price of Freedom: Anthony Burns and the Fugitive Slave Act, a traveling exhibition installed at the Moakley Federal Courthouse and Suffolk University.  Cynthia also coordinated the development of Why Concord?, which traced one town's role in shaping American history, and wrote the interpretive text for an entire new nature museum in Missouri.  Curricula include Lexington in 1775, an eight-lesson unit used in Lexington's third-grade classrooms; Enterprising Women: 250 Years of American Business Teacher's Guide (for grades 3 – 6); and Abolition in Lynn, an award winning curriculum unit for 11^th and 12^th graders.