Hosted since 1968, the Annual Conference is MCN’s marquee event and draws over 600 cultural heritage professionals from museums, historic sites and visitor attractions in North America and beyond. Attendees come from all areas of practice, from IT to digital outreach and visitor engagement, to collections, conservation, archival, libraries, curatorial, education, marketing, and more.
2023 Conference
Penn Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
November 8–10, 2023
We’re thrilled to host our first in-person conference since 2019! This year, we’re testing some new models while recalling our past. We hope you join us for conference sessions, networking, and open spaces for conversation and collaboration.
Past Conferences
Every MCN Conference is an opportunity to grow your network and get inspired. We explore new ideas in a variety of sessions formats from lightning talks to workshops and panel discussions. Topics are wide-ranging; Hear about approaches to digital workflow, the role of digital in our evolving understanding of audience engagement in museums, and more. Whether the ideas are new or new-to-you, it’s always an opportunity to learn and reframe your thinking, build your skillset, and connect with other museum professionals to expand your digital capacity and develop brave ideas that will transform the sector.
Links to program and select recordings of past conferences
For access to all past conference recordings and more, check out the new MCN Resources feature.

MCN 2021 VIRTUAL
What is Digital Now?
Program | Ignite MCN



MCN 2020 VIRTUAL
Interface: Communities + Museums
Program | Ignite MCN
What’s Emerging in the Field (Scholars’ Publication)



MCN 2019: San Diego, CA
Interface: Communities + Museums
Session Recordings



MCN 2018 – Denver, CO
Humanizing the digital
Ignite MCN
Humanizing the Digital: Unproceedings from the MCN 2018 Conference



MCN 2017 – Pittsburgh, PA
MCN 50 – Looking Back, thinking forward, taking action
Session Recordings | Ignite MCN



MCN 2016 – New Orleans, LA
The Human-Centered Museum
Session Recordings | Ignite MCN



MCN 2015 – Minneapolis, MN
The Invisible Architectures of Connected Museums
Session Recordings | Ignite MCN



MCN 2014 – Dallas, TX
Think Big, Start Small, Create
Session Recordings | Ignite MCN



MCN 2013 – Montreal, Canada
Re:Making The Museum
Session Recordings | Ignite MCN



MCN 2012 – Seattle, WA
The Museum Unbound: Shifting Perspectives, Evolving Spaces, Disruptive Technologies
Session Recordings | Ignite MCN



MCN 2011 – Atlanta, GA
Hacking the Museum: Innovation, Agility & Collaboration
Session Recordings



MCN 2009 – Portland, OR
Museum Information, Museum Efficiency: Doing More with Less!



MCN 2007 – Chicago, IL
Building Content, Building Community: 40 Years of Museum Information and Technology



MCN 2006 – Pasadena, CA
Access to Assets: Return on Investment



MCN 2005 – Boston, MA
DIGITS FUGIT!: Preserving Knowledge Into the Future



MCN 2000 – Las Vegas, NV
The Name of the Game is Change



MCN 1999 – Philadelphia, PA
Access for All: Integrating Cultural Heritage, Media and Technology



MCN 1997 – St. Louis, MO
Communication within the museum, with the museum and its community, within the community of museums



MCN 1996 – Ottawa, ON
Reaching Museum Audiences Using New Technology



MCN 1995 – San Diego, CA



MCN 1994 – Washington, D.C.
Cultures Connected: Automating Museums in the Americas and Beyond



MCN 1992 – Pittsburgh, PA
25th Anniversary MCN Conference



MCN 1988 – Santa Monica, CA

















MCN 1987 – Boston, MA

















MCN 1986 – New Orleans, LA
Conference on Computer Applications in Museums

















MCN 1985 – Mexico City, Mexico

















MCN 1984 – Ottawa, ON, Canada

















MCN 1983 – Rochester, NY

















MCN 1982 – San Francisco, CA

















MCN 1981 – Detroit, MI

















MCN 1980 – Albany, NY

















MCN 1979 – Washington, D.C.

















MCN 1978 – New Haven, CT

















MCN 1977

















MCN 1976

















MCN 1975

















MCN 1974 – Stony Brook, NY

















MCN 1973



MCN 1968 – New York, NY
A Conference on Computers and their Potential Applications in Museums