Glenstone Museum

Hey, students! Looking to get curious this summer? Take advantage of Glenstone’s Guaranteed Entry policy: students over the age of 12 can come at any time with one additional guest. (If you’re under 18, that additional guest needs to be an adult.) This benefit is also available for educators, active duty military, veterans, and museum professionals! Just show your student ID or other verification of your status, and you can visit Glenstone—without booking tickets in advance. Please note: Guaranteed Entry does not include entry to Glenstone’s Summer Music Series, which is separately ticketed. 🎨: Andy Goldsworthy, “Clay Houses (Boulder-Room-Holes)”, 2007

Earlier this month Brendan Robinson, our director of facilities joined the Nexus Labs podcast to discuss how Glenstone Museum is pursuing one of the lowest energy use intensities of any art museum in the world—without compromising the strict environmental conditions required to preserve artwork. Brendan shares how the facilities team reduced the museum’s EUI from 85 to 42 through HVAC sequence optimization, floating setpoints, water-side efficiency improvements, and deep operational discipline. The conversation also dives into fault detection, advanced supervisory control, and why empowering multiple team members to edit BAS sequences has been critical to their success. Along the way, they reveal how energy efficiency and occupant/art preservation can work together instead of competing priorities. It’s a fascinating look at what’s possible when operational excellence, controls expertise, and sustainability goals all align. Listen to the full episode here: https://lnkd.in/eRiQRbPf

🌺 "Split-Rocker" season is upon us! 🌺 Every year, Glenstone staff completes the monumental task of planting 24,000 flowers in the surface of Jeff Koons’s “Split-Rocker” (2000). Between flower selection, mixing, and planting, the entire process takes months to plan and execute. Planting kicked off on Monday and will continue all week. This year, we’re inviting visitors behind the scenes for a special look at how staff bring "Split-Rocker" to life. Catch a glimpse of the Glenstone team planting Split-Rocker from Thursday, May 7 through Sunday, May 10. Reserve tickets in advance or take advantage of our guaranteed entry program. Full details at: https://lnkd.in/eNtGcE_a 🎨: Jeff Koons, “Split-Rocker”, 2000. © Jeff Koons

🗓️ Mark your calendars for May 7-10: Glenstone’s Annual Educator Appreciation Week is less than two weeks away! 🍎 During Educator Appreciation Week, educators receive special bonuses at Glenstone: ✏️ Our usual guaranteed entry program is expanded for those four days: educators can bring up to 3 additional guests (age 12 and older) from May 7-10, and do not need to book in advance. 👨🏫Every educator that visits during appreciation week will enjoy a special 10% discount off all dining and bookstore purchases, just show your 🪪educator ID. And yes, 📚 librarians are educators! Montgomery County Public Schools, Prince George's County Public Schools, District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), Arlington Public Schools, Fairfax County Public Schools, Frederick County Public Schools, Frederick County Public Schools - Virginia, Howard County Public School System, Anne Arundel County Public Schools, CHARLES COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CALVERT COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, St. Mary's County Public Schools, Carroll County Schools, Baltimore County Public Schools, Harford County Public Schools, Queen Anne's County Public Schools, KENT COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, Washington County Public Schools Maryland

We have been buzzing with environmentally focused activities for visitors and staff alike to mark Earth Day over the past week. Glenstone staff participated in a campus arbor day that included a trash collection walk, vine cutting on trees, and invasive species management. Over the weekend we co-hosted "Naturally Connected" in partnership with the KID Museum and Springsong Museum welcoming visitors to Glenstone for free guided nature hikes and activities, to KID Museum for family-friendly robotics and nature activities, and to the future Springsong Museum site for self-guided observation hikes. And today, Glenstone staff gathered at Winding Creek Park for a trash pick as part of Glenstone Gives, the museum's ongoing paid volunteering program for staff.

Get the next generation excited about nature and join us for Naturally Connected, an Earth Day celebration! In collaboration with KID Museum and Springsong Museum, we’re hosting activities across three locations April 18 and 19. Check out activities at our partner museums glst.one/earth.

🎶 Summer nights at Glenstone feel even more enchanting with live music. We are excited to announce the expansion of our Summer Music Series to include 16 unique performances every Saturday night from May 23 - Sept. 5, 2026. In collaboration with composer Alistair Coleman, the series lineup of musicians bridges a wide range of musical traditions in America. Inspired by Glenstone's exhibition Ties of our common kindred, which commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Summer Music Series will include performances ranging from jazz, folk, and bluegrass to Chinese dulcimer, electro-acoustic strings, steelpan, Indian classical music, and much more. Full details on the expanded series can be found here: https://lnkd.in/e6VMQZ4q

Glenstone is excited to participate in Nature Forward’s #NaturallyLatinos Conference, tomorrow through Saturday! Themed Fortaleciendo comunidades y ecosistemas (Strengthening Communities and Ecosystems), join virtual and in-person conversations with fellow environmental professionals, educators, advocates, and nature enthusiasts.   Glenstone se complace en participar la conferencia #NaturallyLatinos de Nature Forward, que se realizará del 26 al 28 de marzo. Fortaleciendo comunidades y ecosistemas, es nuestro tema. Únete a conversaciones virtuales y presenciales con otros profesionales del medio ambiente, educadores, activistas y amantes de la naturaleza.

👀 New on view: Andrea Bowers   Now open in the Pavilions, Room 2 features over 40 multidisciplinary works spanning artist Andrea Bowers’s career.   Over nearly three decades, Bowers has produced work that amplifies and archives the work of activists. Bowers embeds herself in allyship with front-line activists, earning trust through collaboration and long-running engagement. Through film, sculpture, neon, drawing, and beyond, Bowers’s practice bridges fine art with direct action.   Plan your visit at https://lnkd.in/eNtGcE_a. Glenstone is open Thursday - Sunday, 10 a.m. - 5p.m. Admission is always free. Tickets are required. See our guaranteed entry policy on our website for educators, students, members of the military (active and retired), museum professionals, and Ride On bus (Route 301) passengers.

Earlier this month, our co-founder Mitchell Rales spoke with Dr. Jason Wingard for his latest Forbes piece, "When Slow Growth Wins: Knowing When Not To Scale." They discuss Glenstone's approach to balancing attendance demand with maintaining a serene, contemplative experience for visitors. Wingard writes, "When growth is optional, discipline becomes leadership. When leaders design those limits deliberately, growth stops being a reflex and becomes an operating decision. Few institutions embody that discipline more clearly than Glenstone under the leadership of co-founders Mitchell Rales and Emily Wei Rales." Read the full piece here: https://lnkd.in/eV2nJuKr 📸Iwan Baan, Cy Twombly (installation view). Ron Amstutz, Tacita Dean (2020 installation view).