AAM 2025 Recap: Insights from the Museum Sector’s Biggest Gathering

Cuseum was proud to participate in this year’s American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo, held in Los Angeles earlier this month. As the largest and most influential museum conference in the United States, AAM 2025 brought thousands of professionals together to explore the latest ideas shaping the future of the field.

Our time at AAM was focused on what we value most: building knowledge, strengthening the cultural sector, creating bonds with different institutions, and advancing innovation.

One powerful takeaway? According to research presented by IMPACTS Experience, museums are the second-most trusted type of entity in the U.S. - just behind family and friends. This level of public trust is both a responsibility and an opportunity, and it reinforces the importance of meaningful, tech-supported engagement.

Learning from Leaders & Expanding Our Vision

Attending sessions across themes like digital strategy, accessibility, and operational resilience gave our team the chance to explore the most pressing challenges and innovations shaping the sector. From visitor journey mapping and XR/AI applications to multilingual access and mobile first experiences, the ideas shared throughout the conference reflected the evolving needs of institutions, and the ways digital tools can meet them.

We also took part in sessions led by respected thought leaders like Colleen Dilenschneider and the IMPACTS Experience team, whose research continues to shape strategic thinking in museums. These insights will help us refine our solutions to better support the missions of cultural institutions across every touchpoint.

Community, Collaboration & Connection

One of the most valuable aspects of AAM 2025 was the chance to connect face to face with museum professionals from across the country and beyond. At our booth (#1215) in the MuseumExpo, our team had countless conversations with leaders in membership, visitor engagement, cultural preservation, and digital transformation.

A recurring topic? Accessibility and intuitive wayfinding, especially for multilingual, multi generational audiences. Attendees shared that their visitors increasingly want to explore their museums independently, without relying on staff direction. Our mobile platform’s wayfinding and self-guided tour features align directly with these common needs and goals. 

For Cuseum, being part of this community goes beyond the exhibit floor. We will always strive to shape the future of digital tools with the people who use them, grounded in collaboration and real world impact.

🎤 Presenting: Loyalty in Focus

We were thrilled to host a featured session at the conference, titled:“Empowering Visitor Engagement: The Role of Loyalty Programs in Museums.”

Led by Cuseum’s own Tatiana Villate, the session explored how cultural institutions can take advantage of loyalty programs to drive repeat attendance and reward audience engagement. We broke down real-world examples, highlighted Cuseum’s own platform capabilities, explained the importance of offering rewards, and also outlined a strategy forward approach to loyalty rooted in accessibility and data.

We left  energized thanks to the crowd and follow-up conversations, and beyond excited to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in visitor loyalty and digital membership.

What’s Next?

We left AAM 2025 with new ideas, new relationships, a refreshed understanding of the cultural landscape of museums in the US, and a renewed commitment to helping cultural organizations thrive in an increasingly digital world.

To everyone who stopped by our booth, joined our session, or just chatted with us in the halls or social gatherings: thank you. Your work and passion continue to inspire us, and we look forward to seeing you again next year!

Want to learn more about how Cuseum supports museums with digital membership, mobile engagement, loyalty programs, and more?

 👉 Want to explore our solutions or schedule a demo? Let’s chat!