Cooking Up an Online Community

As museum professionals conceptualize community building, they must now consider the virtual realm. Websites in and of themselves will not generate a community, as it takes sustained communication and interaction by staff to encourage growth. Online communities are complex forces that bring about systematic dualities that in turn stimulate contact, collaboration, and learning. Cooking: The Exhibition Chefs at the Liberty Science Center models six conceptual dualities that resulted in a thriving Community of Practice. This article analyzes Cookings online process using social learning theories to reflect on how people interact with one another in both physical and virtual settings.