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Smart Mobs, Pink Flamingos, the Four Bs, and Memorable Museum Experiences
Overview of the 2006 Museum Institute at Sagamore
All of these were a part of the 9th Annual Museum
Institute at Sagamore this past September. Twenty
enthusiastic participants gathered from throughout
the state--from New York to Buffalo--to explore the
Public Dimension of Museums at Great Camp
Sagamore's
beautiful historic setting. This year's theme was
the Public Dimension of Museums.
The week
began with
Susie Wilkenning of Reach
Advisors providing some
thought provoking advice--and then an even more
thought provoking evening book discussion about
marketing guru Seth Godin's books (Free Prize Inside
and Purple Cow among them). Susie returned home to
Boston, and by week's end she and James Chung of
Reach had even gotten Seth Godin to write about
his--and our reactions on his blog.
Participants
shared museum memories with speaker Leslie
Bedford--from an unfortunate broommaker to a moon
rock to the unicorn tapestries--from which Leslie
worked with the group to tease out the threads of
various learning theories. Refreshed by theory,
Bill Adair of the R
osenbach
Library in
Philadelphia shared his innovative programmatic
work. The Rosenbach's collection--of rare books and
manuscript--doesn't necessarily reach all sorts of
visitors, but working with local artists produced an
amazing variety of programs reaching families and
others. Bill challenged us to dig deeper, and teams
developed short theatrical presentations based on
the Rosenbach's collections--always thoughtful,
sometimes moving, and frequently hilarious, these
provided some memorable Sagamore moments.
Case
studies--from the New York
Hall of Science, the
Albany
Institute of History and Art, P.S.1 in
Queens and Philipsburg
Manor stimulated discussion,
questions and plans for the future. Stuart Chase of
the Berkshire
Museum shared a recipe for
collaboration involving, as always, the Four
Bs--businesslike, brisk, and bodacious among them.
Steve Elliott, President of the New
York
State Historical Association/Farmers Museum
walked
participants through his own organization's process
of changing, and engendered thoughtful perspectives
and conversation from participants. Cynthia Copeland
of the New-York
Historical Society faced the challenge of
presenting a session about the web without web
access--and the society's American Revolution
project inspired many. Katherine Myers, head of
marketing and PR at Mass MOCA
had
the challenging
Friday morning slot--when participants can't imagine
another thought entering their heads--her incredibly
energy--and her props of pink flamingo and Spam,
sent participants energized into the final
sessions--change clinics to make plans to make
change at their own institutions.
Said one participant, "Sagamore has
inspired me!".
In the wrap-up, another mentioned having a brain
trust to draw upon--each year, Sagamore
participants
develop lasting networks and connections, and
become a part of large group that has participated
over the last nine years. The
success of the Institute is due, in large part, to
the great energy of both our speakers and
participants. This year's participants were: Kate
Mockler, Oneida Community Mansion House; Dodi
Robinson, the Chapman Museum; Kimberly Snyder,
the
Brooklyn Children's Museum; Anne Dealey, Geneva
Historical Society; Courtney Robison, World
Awareness Children's Museum; Barbara Leggett,
Explore and More; David Mandel, Historic House
Trust of New York City; Carri Manchester, Olana
Sate Historic Site; Connie Barone, Sacketts
Harbor Historic Site; Tricia Kawi, Buffalo and
Erie County Historical Society; Rebecca Smith,
Chemung Valley Museum; Mary Lou Willetts, Slate
Valley Museum; Mari Shopis, Everson Museum; Anne
Werley Smallman, Franklin County Historical
Society; Christine Campeau, Adirondack Museum;
Toby Manker, Phelps Mansion; Melinda Terpinning,
Ulster County Historical Society; Tim Abel,
Jefferson County Historical Society; Elizabeth
Marotta, Museum of DisAbility; and Vivian Linares,
Russell Wright Home.
Early in 2007, look for information on the 2007
Museum Institute at Sagamore, focused on New
Directors.
Learn more about the Museum Institute at Sagamore
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There's Still Time To Register
Uncovering Local History: A Community History Workshop
The documentation of a community’s history is vital
to the preservation of its story for future
generations. Each person, each story, and each
business lends itself to the greater story of New
York State and beyond.
Join us for "Uncovering Local History: A Community
History Workshop" at the History Center in Tompkins
County in Ithaca, NY on October 18, 2006. This
full-day workshop will provide participants with the
basics needed to learn about and research their
community's history and develop community history
projects. The cost to participate in this great
workshop is ONLY $10.00 Space is limited, so
register now!
Presenters at this workshop will include:
* Historian Carol Kammen will talk about the
importance of community history
* Reference and Digital Services Librarian Virginia
Cole of Cornell University will talk about the
resources available to those who are interested in
community history
* Assistant Director of Programs and Services
Eleanor Brown will talk about a project that Cornell
University has initiated to
preserve the history of the wine and grape industry
in the Finger Lakes region
* Rosemarie Tucker, Groton Town Historian, will talk
about the award-winning community history project
Place Names of Tompkins County
* And others!
For more information about this program and to
register, please visit the Upstate History Alliance
website at:
www.upstatehistory.org/services/uhaworkshops.html
If you have any questions, please contact Jenny
Rosenzweig, Program Coordinator, at 800.895.1648 or
by email at [email protected].
This program is made possible through the support of
the Documentary Heritage Program.
For more information, or to register, click here.
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Take Another Look
Learn More About Your Exhibits
Do you wonder how your exhibits could be better? Do
you wish you could convince your board of directors
that it makes sense to allocate additional resources
to exhibit development? Do you find that people
spend only a few minutes in your exhibits? Do you
wonder how to make your exhibits more
family-friendly.
The Upstate History Alliance is pleased to announce
a new Peer Review of Interpretive Exhibitions
opportunity for museums in Upstate New York. An
enthusiastic corps of museum staff has undertaken
training to become peer reviewers, using a
framework that reviews exhibitions from a
visitor-centered perspective and are ready to begin
the peer review process for interested museums and
historical societies.
How does a peer review work? A team of three people
will visit your organization anonymously, during
regular public hours. They will work collaboratively
to review the exhibit within the framework and will
return home to produce a written report, addressing
the four criteria: is the exhibit comfortable?
engaging? reinforcing? and meaningful? They visit as
visitors, without having conversations with you or
your staff. The report is forwarded from UHA to you,
to use as you see fit. Individual reports will not
be shared with funders or others. The peer
reviewers volunteer their time; their mileage is
supported by the technical assistance program of the
Museum Program of the New York State Council on the
Arts.
What's your responsibility? To provide free
admission to the reviewers (via tickets sent to the
UHA office) and to approach the review process with
an open mind.
How can the review benefit your organization?
We all have ideas about how to make our exhibits
better--but finding the time to really think about
and evaluate our work is always difficult. This
process provides an outside perspective on your
work. In our previous pilot program, organizations
have used to peer review to engage staff in
discussions about future exhibit planning, to
develop visitor surveys based on the review, and to
make the case for additional time for exhibition
development. Reviews can be requested for any size
of museum, from all-volunteer to multi-million
dollar organizations.
Sounds great! How do I sign up?
Please email me, Linda Norris, at
[email protected] with the name of your
exhibit and your museum, along with the dates the
exhibit will be open. Teams can review both
permanent and temporary exhibits, but exhibits
should be open at least two months from the date of
the request. We then share the review request with
the reviewers, who volunteer based on their
interests, schedule and location. We'll notify you
when reviewers are assigned and request admission
tickets. After the review is completed, you'll
receive a copy.
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Expand Your Horizons
Become a Peer Reviewer
We're pleased to announce two additional training
sessions for the peer review of interpretive
exhibitions, one in Buffalo and one re-scheduled for
Syracuse. UHA has embarked on a project to improve
interpretive exhibitions in the region by using peer
reviewers. The project has multiple benefits:
participants get the experience of collectively
thinking about exhibitions with their peers and
participating organizations receive the collective
wisdom of a team of evaluators.
The training is free, but to participate as a peer
reviewer you must attend one session. After
training, you can volunteer to assess exhibitions as
part of a team. You contribute your time, but your
mileage will be reimbursed thanks to funds from the
New York State Council on the Arts.
The training sessions are scheduled for:
Thursday, October 26, 1:00-4:30p at the Buffalo and
Erie County Historical Society, Buffalo
Tuesday, October 31, 9:00a-12:00p at the Erie Canal
Museum, Syracuse
To participate, please email Linda Norris at
[email protected].
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Long Tails, Tipping Points and Cultural Literacy: Museums, Trends and Communities
Call for Proposals
Long Tails, Tipping Points and Cultural Literacy
explore global trends that offer museums and
heritage organizations new lenses through which we
can think about the work we do. At an
ever-increasing pace, in every aspect of our work,
external trends define the directions of
institutional mission and impact its success.
Decisions about why and what to collect, audiences
to target, and exhibitions and programs to develop
turn on a host of factors - demographics and social
inclusion, economic tourism, and raising test scores
to name a few. Want to read a different take on
trends? Check out www.trendwatching.com
to learn about trends from curated consumption to
innovation overload.
This year, the Upstate History Alliance and the
Museum Association of New York are seeking session
proposals exploring the impact of present and future
trends on the museum environment for presentation at
the upcoming conference April 15-17, 2007 in
Syracuse, NY. How do the trends you see and
experience - both broader public trends and trends
in the museum profession - shape your institution's
mission and its relationships to its community? How
does your institution gather, assess and use trends
to its advantage? What is working for you? What
isn't?
Sessions can be practical or theoretical in nature.
While we welcome standard presentation/panel format
session proposals, we are looking for a broad range
of creative formats such as roundtable discussions,
debates, critiques and hands-on activities. We
encourage you to present different or opposing
approaches/solutions to an issue or trend in the
same session. In developing a session with multiple
presenters, we strongly urge you to partner with
representatives from various museum disciplines.
Have an idea for a session but need presenters to
work with? Contact us and we’ll help.
The deadline for session proposals is December 1,
2006. Proposals must be submitted electronically to
[email protected]. The UHA/MANY program
committee will review proposals and decisions will
be made by mid-January 2006. We also welcome general
comments or suggestions for topics you would like to
see covered at the conference.
Session Proposal Form
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A Search for Excellence
UHA Seeking Nominations for Awards of Merit
Have you seen an exceptional exhibit at an upstate
New York institution this past year? Has your
organization created an innovative educational
program or publication? Would you like to recognize
a volunteer or employee who have done exceptional
work? If so, we encourage you to submit a nomination
for our Awards of Merit. Each year the Upstate
History Alliance gives annual Awards of Merit to
recognize outstanding work in the regional history
and museum community, reward staff and volunteers,
and provide encouragement for development of new and
innovative projects.
This year, the Upstate History Alliance Award of
Merit program has been reorganized into four
categories for nominations. These categories
are:
Preserving Our Past: Museums and Historical
Societies throughout New York are often the
caretakers and preservers of our history as they
care for museum collections and historic sites.
Nominations for this category should be for
exemplary projects that concern preservation,
cataloging or care of collections. Examples might
include excellence in collections management and the
recognition or preservation of a historic site for
future generations.
Interpreting Our Past: The work of museums
and historical organizations is not solely
collecting and preserving. This category recognizes
the importance of interpreting our past through
thoughtful, thematic, and well-researched
exhibition, tours or publications.
The Public Dimension: A critical element of
any museum or historical society is the way that it
interacts with its community. Nominations for this
category should highlight projects that engage your
community or create new audiences for your
organization.. These projects could include an
interpretative exhibition, lecture series,
educational program or other community engagement
effort.
Individual Achievement: Any successful
organization has the support of a devoted team of
staff and volunteers. Nominations in this category
should be for those people who have played pertinent
roles in moving their organizations forward over a
sustained period. Nominations can by for an
individual or a team of museum staff and/or
volunteers.
Any organization or individual is invited to
nominate an organization, person(s) or project that
was completed in 2006 in upstate New York for an
Award of Merit. Nomination of oneself or one's
organization is permissible and encouraged. Award
winners will be recognized at the Opening Reception
of the Upstate History Alliance/Museum Association
of New York Annual Conference on Sunday April 15,
2007.
If you have any questions, please contact the
Upstate History Alliance at 800.895.1648. We are
looking forward to learning about the efforts being
made in the museum field at upstate New York
organizations.
Award of Merit Nomination Form and Additional Information
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Dates and Deadlines
Mark Your Calendar
Ongoing Get Ready! Grants and Go! Grants can
be submitted at any time during the year. For more
information, click
here.
October 16, 2006 Roundtable Discussion – DHP
Grants and Successful Grant Writing Tips. Location:
Cortland County Historical Society. Time:
10:00a-3:00p. Guest Speaker: Ray LaFever,
Coordinator, Archival Advisory Services, New York
State Archives. Participation is free, but
registration is required. Contact UHA at
[email protected]
October 18, 2006 The Upstate History Alliance
and the Documentary Heritage Program is offering a
Community History Workshop that will take place at
the History Center in Tompkins County in Ithaca, NY.
For more information, click
here.
October 22-24, 2006 Mid Atlantic Association
of Museums Annual Meeting taking place in Brooklyn,
NY. Conference theme is “Bridging Communities.” For
more information visit www.midatlanticmuseums.org.
October 23, 2006 Roundtable Discussion: HDI –
What Is It and How Do I Get Involved. Location:
Seneca Falls Historical Society. Time:
10:00a-12:00p. Guest Speaker: Maria McCashion, New
York State Archives. Participation is free, but
registration is required. Contact UHA at
[email protected].
October 26, 2006 Exhibition Peer Review
Training at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical
Society, Buffalo, NY.
Participation is free, but pre-registration
requested. 1:00-4:30p. To register, or for more
information, contact Linda Norris at
[email protected].
October 30, 2006 Roundtable Discussion:
Planning for a Disaster. Location: Sidney Memorial
Public Library. Time: 10:00a-12:00p. Guest Speaker:
To Be Announced. Participation is free, but
registration is required. Contact UHA at
[email protected].
October 31, 2006 Exhibition Peer Review
Training at the
Erie Canal Museum, Syracuse, NY. Participation is
free, but pre-registration requested. 9:00a-12:00p.
To register, or for more information, contact Linda
Norris at [email protected]
November 1, 2006 New York Council for the
Humanities Major Grant
application postmark deadline.
November 6, 2006 Roundtable Discussion:
Working With Your Local Government. Location: New
York State Military Museum, Saratoga Springs, NY.
Time: 10:00a-12:00p. Guest Speaker: To Be Announced.
Participation is free, but registration is required.
Contact UHA at [email protected].
November 8-10, 2006 The New England Museum
Association conference will be taking place in
Hartford-Cromwell, CT. This year’s conference theme
is “Great Expectations: What Audiences Really
Want”.
November 14, 2006 Roundtable Discussion: Great
Exhibits on a Small Budget. Location: Oneida
Community Mansion House. Time: 10:00a-12:00p. Guest
Speaker: Linda Norris, Director, Upstate History
Alliance. Participation is free, but registration is
required. Contact UHA at
[email protected].
November 15, 2006 IMLS Museum Grants for
America Deadline. For more info, visit www.imls.gov
November 20, 2006 Roundtable Discussion:
Getting To Them When They Can’t Get To You.
Location: Columbia County Historical Society,
Kinderhook, NY. Time: 10:00a-12:00p. Guest Speaker:
Ruth Ellen Berninger, Columbia County Historical
Society. Participation is free, but registration is
required. Contact UHA at
[email protected].
December 4, 2006 Roundtable Discussion:
Creating a Family Friendly Museum Experience.
Location: The Strong Museum, Rochester, NY. Time:
10:00a-12:00p. Guest Speaker: To Be Announced.
Participation is free, but registration is required.
Contact UHA at [email protected].
February 1, 2007 Get Set! Grant postmark
deadline. For more information, click
here.
February 1, 2007 Documentary Heritage Program
Grant Deadline. For more information, visit www.archives.nysed.gov/a/grantsawards/ga_dhp.shtml
or contact you regional DHP archivist.
February 26-28, 2007 The Small Museum
Association annual conference will be taking place
on Ocean City, MD.
April 15-17, 2007 The Upstate History
Alliance/Museum Association of New York Annual
Conference will be taking place in Syracuse, NY.
This year’s conference theme is Long Tails, Tipping
Points and Cultural Literacy: Museums, Trends and
Communities. We are looking forward to seeing you
there.
May 13-17, 2007 The American Association of
Museums Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo will be taking
place in Chicago, IL. This year’s conference theme
is “Why Museums Matter”.
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Do you have news that you would like to include in
the next issue of Upstate News? If so, please
contact Jenny Rosenzweig, Program Coordinator, at
[email protected]. We are looking forward to
hearing from you.
Questions? Comments? Contact UHA at 800.895.1648
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