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Before it is to late!

The institute has been recognized with an award of merit by MuseumWise, which provides support, advice and training to heritage organizations in New York State, for its potential to create great expansion in public engagement through the resources it provides to museum professionals.

http://www.oneonta.edu/academics/ice/index.html

Having recently concluded an internship with Teaching the Hudson Valley in Hyde Park, NY, I was eager to attend MAAM’s 66^th annual conference in Tarrytown, NY and have the chance to network and develop additional skills for an increasingly tight job market.

On the first night, I watched the moving documentary Objects and Memory and explored how ordinary objects, like twisted steel from the rubble of Ground Zero, could be transformed into extraordinary icons and become eyewitnesses to the past.

For the next two days, I had the opportunity to attend sessions ranging from mobile technology in museums to a roundtable on contemporary issues in Museum Studies Education.  Highlights included learning about new educational strategies called Thinking Routines, debating the effectiveness of QR codes in museums and marveling at the newly built Dimenna Children’s Museum in the New York Historical Society.

I was also inspired by the keynote address by Candice Anderson and Shanta Scott about how organizations like Cool Culture have partnered with museums to increase access to New York City cultural institutions for low-income families.

During the evening Weil Lecture, “What’s So Funny? Humor and Museums,” Marc Pachter discussed how museums can use humor to create a comfortable and fun learning environment while also combating perceptions of museums being elitist. For me, the highlight of the talk was when, as Director of the National Portrait Gallery, he succeeded in using humor on the Colbert Report to increase visitation to the gallery.

Sally Roesch Wagner, 2012 Katherine Coffey Award Winner, offered insights about how museums can become more relevant to their respective communities. She is the executive director of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation, which interprets women’s rights history in central New York State.  Much of what she said about driving contemporary social change through community engagement, especially with the “Come Write on Our Walls” campaign, related to what I have been learning in my current Johns Hopkins University graduate course, Museums and Community Engagement.

I came away from the conference with several tangible steps I can take to advance myself in the profession. For instance, I have created a blog and twitter account, taken an online course from Lynda.com on HTML, joined additional museum associations, signed up for a couple of committees in MAAM and attended a local EMP event.  At the Leadership Luncheon where emerging museum professionals ate beside seasoned museum professionals, I received much needed advice, such as about effectively utilizing my college’s alumni network.

Thank you to all the staff of MAAM and supporters of the Bruce Craig Fellowships for allowing me to attend. I had an amazing experience and look forward to working with MAAM to plan next year’s conference in Washington D.C.!

MAAM On Demand is free to all MAAM Members

USING LED LIGHTS IN MUSEUM ENVIRONMENTS

DECEMBER 5, 2012 at 1:00 PM EST

In this MAAM on Demand event, you will learn about:

• What to look for in a LED lamp/fixture
• LED as it relates to curation and conservation
• Discussion on the USGA Museum’s conversion to LED
• Testing
• Manufacturers

Panelists:
Robert Williams, Museum Director of the USGA Museum
Susan Wasser, Assistant Manager of Museum Operations of the USGA Museum

** This is a free event to MAAM Members please contact Jennifer Bank at jbank@hauck.com to register

CARING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS: Presented by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts

DECEMBER 12, 2012 at 1:00 PM EST

Presenter:
Rachel Wetzel, CCAHA Conservator for Photographs and Works on Paper

** This is a free event to MAAM Members please contact Jennifer Bank atjbank@hauck.com to register

NOVEMBER 7, 2012 AT LIBERTY SCIENCE CENTER
$40.00 MAAM Members / $55.00 Non-Members
Lunch and Parking is Included

In this Cornerstone event, you will learn about:

• Reading Financial Statements
• Developing Budgets
• Understanding the 990 Forms
• Case Study: Relocating the Shuttle Enterprise, from a financial view

Panelists:
Pat Beene, USS Intrepid Museum
Connie Claman, Liberty Science Center
Paul Konigstein, Mission First Finance
Kim Johnson, KPMG

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER, PLEASE CONTACT MAAM HQ VIA EMAIL OR CALL (202) 452-8040.

The Katherine Coffey Award is given each year by the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums to an individual in the Mid-Atlantic region to recognize distinguished achievement in the museum field.  The Coffey Award ceremony is held annually at the MAAM Annual Meeting and is one of the pinnacle events of the conference.

See a list of past winners and their remarks or nominate a professional for this year’s award.

What Employers Want Selling Yourself in a Tough Job Market

Wednesday, June 6th @ 3:00 PM

Panelists: Nancy Schnitzerling (Director of Human Resources, Liberty Science Center), Michael Gibbons (Executive Director, Babe Ruth Birthplace Foundation, Inc.), Brenda Reigle (Western Division Chief, Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission ), Barbara Bartlett (Director, Lorenzo State Historic Site), Heather Stivison (Executive Director, Stickley Museum).

The job market for aspiring museum professionals is tougher than ever. This one hour forum will offer insight into what current museum executives and HR managers are looking for in new applicants. This session will be conducted over the telephone and is free for existing MAAM members. To register please contact Jennifer Bank at admin@midatlanticmuseums.org

FIRST RSVP BASIS!