Image: Hillary Olson comes to Hagley Museum and Library with nearly 30 years of experience working in natural and cultural history museums, science centers and planetariums. Photos courtesy of Hagley Museum and Library and image created using AI on 8/17/26
Museum innovator Hillary Olson plans to invite employees, visitors, educators and the wider community to help shape Hagley ’s future
WILMINGTON — For Hillary Olson, Hagley Museum and Library is more than a place to study what inventors and business leaders accomplished in the past. It is a place where a child, family or researcher can begin imagining what might be possible in the future.
Olson, who became Hagley ’s CEO in July, wants to build on that sense of inspiration and discovery as the museum prepares for its next era.
Hagley is now in the fifth and final year of its current five-year strategic plan, which will conclude at the end of 2026. In 2027, Hagley will begin developing its next strategic plan through a collaborative process involving employees, volunteers, board members, visitors, educators, community organizations and other stakeholders…