Graduate Student, Museum and Field Studies

University of Colorado Museum of Natural History 

Among several of the sessions that I had attended during the 2011 CWAM conference in Durango one stood out the most. It was Expedition Health: The Creation of a Show-Stopping Exhibition presented by Laureen Trainer, manager of Visitor Research and Program Evaluation at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The session highlighted the evaluation work that was done as part of the exhibit planning. As I am hoping to work in the field of visitor studies and museum evaluation I found this session particularly interesting and relevant to my studies.

To someone who is not connected to world of museum and other cultural institutions, it may seem that such words as educational programming and assessment are the new "trendy" phrases in the field because they pop up in great many conversations. To museum professionals however, these words denote a very important shift in how museums perceive themselves and how they relate to their visitors.

I would suspect that many museum professionals still feel uncomfortable when they hear words evaluation and assessment. They may agree that it needs to be done, but at the same time there is this perception that museums can get by without it. I believe that this attitude is a remnant of the times when the museums operated under assumption that all they had to do to attract visitors is to open their doors. People would come and get "enlightened" just by virtue of being inside the museums' walls. Even after such attitudes began to change and museum programs and exhibits were being developed with greater emphasis on visitors, consistent evaluation remains in the realm of "it would be nice, but..." Add the frequent scarcity of the resources, both financial and in terms of personnel, and many museums do not do it at all.

One of the reasons why I liked the presentation by Laureen Trainer is that she demonstrated very well that good evaluation can be done even with limited resources. I thought that the example that she gave of how one of the computer-based, interactive components in the exhibit was evaluated using a white sheet of paper and a bunch of colored-paper cut-outs was excellent. It clearly showed that often, successful evaluation is very simple and straightforward and does not require specialized knowledge or tools.

I also liked that Laureen was very open about the challenges that they faced while working on the project. As much as many people may agree on the potential value of doing evaluation, it is not an established practice even in many major museums. Because of that, many museum professionals can get discouraged from doing evaluation if they feel that the results of their work have no impact. I think that this session showed just how important it is to not only continue doing evaluation, but to make it an integral part of museum world.

Sam Houston

Curatorial Intern

National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, Leadville, CO

As a scholarship recipient, I found the opportunity to attend the annual CWAM conference to be a great chance to learn about a variety of museum topics.  All of the sessions I was present for were great; however the one session that caught my eye was the pre-conference session "Thinking Big and Building Exhibits on a Small Budget."  Since beginning work at the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum in Leadville, I have discovered a passion for designing displays.  The presenter, Jack Townes, was extremely knowledgeable about designing and building displays and exhibits and was happy to share that information with the group.  By attending this session, I gained a new appreciation for creating displays, both large and small, and the work that goes into doing them in-house.

With museum budgets being so tight these days, I felt this session would be of great benefit to me, in that I would be learning creative ways to save money for any organization I might work at in the future, as well as my current professional endeavor.  I was not disappointed in the least.  There were a number of inventive ideas to save on design costs, such as shopping for materials on sites such as Craigslist and Ebay.  This can be a cheap way to obtain various materials for mounting, such as wood or tubing, in addition to material for building large display cases.  A further way to cut costs, brought up by Mr. Townes, is to search around at stores not usually associated with museum work.  This would include searching plumbing stores to make custom mounts, or signage shops to obtain archival quality coroplast sheets for object storage and mounts.  These are just a few of the ideas that came up during the session, and I came out of it with a plethora of knowledge, some of which I have already put into use while finishing up a display for the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum.

Furthermore, while increasing one's knowledge is an important reason for attending any conference, it is also an opportunity to network with other museum professionals.  While I was at the CWAM meeting, I ran into some of the people I met at last year's MPMA conference, met new people and had many wonderful conversations.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone I spoke with for making the conference an exceptional experience for me.

Frisco Historic Park & Museum, Frisco, CO

The first part of this presentation was given by Jan Postler, Curator of Collections and Registrar at the Animas Museum in Durango, CO.  Ms. Postler presented ways in which a small museum can position itself to compete for funding and raise the standard of care for its collections. Small museums in historic buildings can use strategic and conservation planning to raise funds, obtain grants, and design and install custom collections storage in limited space and within constraints of historic structures.  Ms. Postler presented a case study of how the Animas Museum created a state of the art storage facility in the Museum's attic as part of the re-building of this floor.  The original attic had burned in the distant past and was replaced by a flat roof on the building.  A desire and plan to re-build the roof to look like it had when the building was new provided the perfect opportunity to utilize the newly created space for collections storage.           

The project that the Animas Museum undertook was the result of careful planning, education of staff and community and a series of grants that enabled the Museum to target solutions to their needs and develop policies to reinforce collection preservation.  The project began with the building of resources.  Educating staff was the first step, including learning from other colleagues and library and museum commercial vendors on what is possible and what is available.  This resource building continued with building institutional support among all staff and board and creating an atmosphere of ownership of the collection among volunteers and members.  The next step was to build community support by educating and broadening the Museum's audience, because collections care is generally not visible to the public.

The Museum needed to build support among funders and granting agencies such as foundations, businesses and corporations and philanthropic individuals.  This level of support building benefited greatly by taking advantage of a series of various grant funded surveys to identify collections care needs, suggest solutions and begin training.  These surveys began with a MAP 1 survey.  This Museum Assessment Program survey focuses on a general institutional assessment and is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services- IMLS and supported by the American Association of Museums.  This was followed by a CAP survey.  This Collections Assessment Program survey gives a general assessment of collection condition and is supported by Heritage Preservation, part of the National Institute for Conservation, and also funded by IMLS.  The third survey recommended was a MAP II survey.  A Museum Assessment Program II survey focuses on collections management.  It looks at policies and procedures and how they support collections preservation goals and makes suggestions to enhance these goals.

Once these surveys had been completed the Animas Museum was in a much stronger position to apply for some implementation grants.  Some available grants are an NEH-PAG, a National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance Grant to fund basic needs for small to mid-size museums.  Another is the NEH-PARD, a National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation and Access Research and Development grant. This grant is for preventive conservation and to develop digital preservation strategies for recorded sound and moving image collections.  A third grant is the IMLS- CPS, an Institute for Museums and Library Services Conservation Project Support grant.  This grant is used to establish conservation priorities and to insure the safekeeping of collections.

The Home for History, as the collections re-housing and move project was called, began with documenting the need and creating a detailed and comprehensive plan.  This plan incorporated a collections management policy, a long-range conservation plan, an integrated pest management plan, a disaster preparedness plan, a collections re-housing and move plan and a strategic improvement plan, to demonstrate that the project was a top institutional priority and that the museum was capable of completing it successfully. Registrars and collections managers are usually willing to share policies, procedures and even grant proposals with other institutions.The next step was to design and build the space maximizing every available space, planning storage and work space, assembling a re-housing team and training them.  A registration office and custom-designed storage space utilizing compacting storage system and cabinets were included. Next came preparing the collection, packing, moving and unpacking in the new space,  putting things away and documenting location changes.

The Museum has evaluated the project and is ready to set new priorities, determine what to accomplish next and decide what grants to apply for. The Home for History project was a two-year, $350,000 project accomplished with an IMLS Conservation Project Support grant of $150,000 and matching cash and inkind contributions. A permanent collection of 35,000 items was completely rehoused. The museum won the Colorado Governor's Award for Historic Preservation and an American Association for State and Local History Award of Merit as a result of the combined roof and collections move project.

The next speaker was David Ryan, Registrar for the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum.  Mr. Ryan focused on basic considerations for storing collections in historic structures.  The most basic consideration is where in the building to locate storage.  Attics and basements are not the best place for storage but are often the most logical ones.  The problems associated with attics include often being hot in summer, cold in winter, unventilated, uninsulated and prone to fire.  Solutions to these problems are to insulate, ventilate and make them electrically safe.

Basements are often damp, prone to flooding and cold in winter.  Solutions include de-humidifying, insulating and to prepare for the eventuality of flooding.  This preparation may include building or purchasing devices to capture and divert water and to place all items and shelving at least 4" above floor level.

Closets are another obvious choice for storage.  However they are often in public areas.  They should be secured with locks and disguised if in the middle of an exhibit.  They should be accessed when the museum is closed to the public.  Other storage locations could be part of an exhibition area but dedicated storage space is the best solution.

Floor load capacities are a major consideration in historic structures, particularly in attic spaces.  Typical floor load capacities in attics are very low compared to a structure that is designed for dedicated storage.  Floor load capacities can be determined with existing documentation or via a structural engineer's tests and calculations.  There are methods to spread loads over a wider area and thus increase weights that can be accommodated but compactor storage may be out of the question.

Besides location there are many other factors that need to be considered for collections storage.  Lighting should be adequate and incandescent if possible.  Fluorescent lighting should be filtered for UV.  Lighting for storage should be separately switched if part of an exhibit gallery or work room.  Windows should be darkened so that no one can see in from the outside.  They should be secured with wire glass, bars and sash locks.  Plumbing should be re-located if possible.  Consideration should be given to trays under pipes for additional protection.  HVAC is another major consideration.  Systems should maintain constant temperature and humidity.  Monitoring should take place and corrective action taken if necessary.  Security is another area of concern.  Doors should be made of a secure enough material with adequate locks.  Windows should have wire glass or bars.  Keys should be controlled, monitored and all access documented.

Fire protection is a must.  Ideally a sprinkler system should protect the area.  Although dry pipe systems were state-of-the art a decade ago, most museum collections people now prefer the traditional wet pipe system.  The best and most costly system utilizes a gas like carbon dioxide to smother the fire.  At the very least, portable extinguishers should be readily available.  Pest monitoring should be undertaken in the space using sticky traps and problems identified and addressed promptly.

Mr. Ryan finished his presentation by offering examples of various types of storage furniture available including open shelving, drawers, bins, compactor units and hanging systems for rolled textiles and hanging clothing.

The third and final presenter was Meghan McGinnes, Curator and Program Coordinator at the Hiwan Homestead Museum in Evergreen, Colorado.  Ms. McGinnes gave a brief introduction to Hiwan Homestead.  It consists of a rambling log homestead with many rooms and little dedicated storage.  Her presentation was a case study of how every available space has been utilized and how some creative solutions have been developed.

The Hiwan Homestead Museum has many small built-in spaces that were used to store household items when occupied as a residence.  These consist of unlocked cabinets, closets and storage beneath built-in window seats.  The staff continues to use these small spaces for storage of non-collection items which have a much lower standard of security than collection items.  The house has many bathrooms that are not currently used, nor interpreted.  These spaces have been creatively outfitted with shelves to utilize every square inch of space, including the space within bathtubs.

The main storage space for the Museum had been the house's attic until recently.  A new central HVAC system was installed in this space that took up much of what had previously been storage.  After this installation, staff went back in and created shelves and racks that utilize every bit of additional space on both side of the equipment and back into the eaves under the roof rafters.

Much of the available space within the house is not suitable for collections storage because of the nature of the storage furniture.  Acidic wood shelving has been used but only for storage of items that are contained in acid-free boxes.  Some metal cabinets and shelving have been purchased for collection items that are more suitably stored on open shelving rather than boxes such as Native American ceramics and basketry.  Metal map drawer units have been purchased to store prints and drawings.

Unavoidable physical limitations such as winding steep staircases have to be considered in the overall storage picture.  Items that are too long or awkward to be negotiated on these stairs are stored elsewhere.  Overall, staff has been able to carve out an impressive amount of storage space within the house by being creative and thinking outside the box.

Kathryn Young

Graduate Student

University of Denver

First off, I would like to express my appreciation for having the opportunity to attend CWAM (for the first time!) this year in Durango, CO. The venue was especially appealing with historic buildings abounding, scenic landscapes in every direction, and a variety of museums to explore in the local area. While at CWAM, I attended a number of outstanding sessions. One very notable session was "Why Here? Why There?," presented by Kathleen Tinworth and Betsy Martinson, which outlined John Falk's identity-related typology assessment in Denver area museum institutions.

In the session, Kathleen Tinworth provided an overview of Falk's typology from his book, Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience. This unconventional approach to evaluation breaks down museum-goers into five different "Types" including explorer, facilitator, experience seeker, professional/hobbyist, and re-charger. In categorizing visitors based on the experiences they aim to have at a museum, Falk's typology overlooks traditional demographic groupings and moves towards analyzing visitor preferences related to social interaction, learning, and physical setting.

In order to evaluate based on his typology, Falk created a simple set of cards. Each card includes a picture and a caption on it meant to express what a person might be experiencing or feeling at a museum (corresponding to one of the five "Types"). A staff member then asks a visitor to pick a card that best represents him or her at the museum. After an adequate sample is taken, statistics reveal what museum-goers are looking for in their visit to the museum.

Betsy Martinson then presented the Denver-Area Cultural Evaluation Network findings. What we found out was that this typology assessment has the potential to provide museums staff with insightful information related to their visitors. Many visitors hold expectations and pre-conceived notions about a museum before they even enter its doors. This is useful because it urges museums to be aware of their presence online, in advertisements, and on social networking sites. Falk's typology may also be used as a tool for pre-emptive planning, programming, or education; for example, museums that have an overwhelming percentage of "re-chargers" in attendance should make sure they provide a space for relaxing, calming, and thoughtful experiences.

CU Museum of Natural History

UCB 218

Boulder, CO 80309

Phone: 303-492-2198

Fax: 303-492-4195

Town of Windsor Art & Heritage

301 Walnut Street

Windsor, CO 80550

Phone: 970-674-2443

Fax: 970-674-2456

Historic Governor's Mansion

300 W. 21st St.

Cheyenne, WY 82001

Phone: 307-777-7878 

Cathy.osterman@hotmail.com

Denver Museum of Nature and Science

2001 Colorado Blvd.

Denver, CO 80205

Phone: 303-370-6383

Sheridan County Museum

850 Sibley Circle

Sheridan, WY 82801

Phone: 307-675-1150

Fax: 307-675-1151

Douglas County Libraries

100 S. Wilcox St.

Castle Rock, CO 80104

Phone: 710-213-5328

Grand Encampment Museum

P.O. Box 43

Encampment, WY 82325

Phone: 307-710-2626

Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum

231 South Frontage Road

Vail, CO 81657

Phone: 970-1876

Hiwan Homestead Museum

4208 S. Timbervale Drive

Evergreen, CO 80439

Phone: 720-497-7650

Fax: 303-670-7746

Nicolaysen Art Museum

400 E. Collins St.

Casper, WY 82601

Phone: 307-235-5247

Fax: 307-235-0923

Wyoming Frontier Prison

500 West Walnut Street

Rawlins, WY 82301

Phone: 307-324-4422

Fax: 307-328-4004

University of Denver, Anthropology

2000 E. Asbury, Sturm 146

Denver, CO 80208

Phone: 303-871-2543

Fax: 303-871-2736

Denver Art Museum

100 W. 14th Ave. Pkwy.

Denver, CO 80204

Phone: 303-863-8924 

cpatterson@q.com