Weekly Links: Aug 13-19

Didn't get a chance to update with anything besides the weekly links this week, but I'll have something on employee orientations and benefits as well as a preview to my Blog Out Loud topic for my local Young Nonprofit Professional Network group.

Only one link this week on museums' emergency plans for WWIII.


Also, if you're looking for a job, be sure to use the #museumjob hashtag on Twitter and be sure to contribute, like @exhibitsmith, if you find jobs others might be interested in.

Weekly Links: Aug 6-12 (late!)

Sorry for the late post of the weekly links.

A street artist recreates real crime scenes to advertise joining the police force. Could museums recreate historic events to promote their institution?

Infographics are both visually pleasing and informational. It would be interesting to see museums adapt this style to exhibits.

The National Museum of American History blogged about collecting the history of digital photography, a new field that will impact museum professionals.

Museum Minute had a great post about visiting a museum with family, rather than as a museum professional. As a graduate assignment, I did something similar and have also had interesting experiences with my family in museums. It's a different experience to go to a museum with someone that you know well, rather than just observing from a distance.

This cool graphic on US Post Offices over time is really great and reminds me of a few museum exhibits I've seen. This graphic is so subtle, I've had to watch it a few times.

There's been a lot of talk about who volunteers in America and how they do it, but this graphic presents it so well.

The Netherlands Museum Association made a great case for the social impact of museums.

This New York Times op-ed is an interesting perspective on how education may change. How do museums fit in?

Taking the Museum Outside the Museum

In museum theory classes, you learn about the unique way visitors learn in museums. You also learn about the significant trust people place in museums over other sources of history, such as professors, books, even family members. If we assume that visitors are learning by making meaningful connections to other aspects of their life, then there are many places and people that use museum-style learning to effectively communicate their message. The following people and places are great examples of interesting information and programs similar to museums, but are apart from any sort of cultural institution.

Sarah Lohman

Four Pounds Flour

Sarah is someone I greatly admire for her unique perspective on history. Not only does she research historic recipes, but she recreates them so she and others can have a "taste of history." Though Sarah started in museums, which led her to her thesis, she has branched outside of the museum and that allows her to do very interesting things, like pub crawls. You can even hire her as a personal chef! Museums probably couldn't host pub crawls, but combining history with food and drinks is a great idea.

Jeffery Vinokur

Dancing Mad Scientist

Jeffery used his passion for both science and dance to create the "So You Think You Can Do Science Tour," a 45 minute show all about chemistry. Though his program is similar to that of science demos at many science and technology centers, Jeffery created a great business for himself, while sharing his energy and passion. Many science and technology centers couldn't (or even wouldn't) look for someone with a combined talent for science and dance. The thing to take away from this is to ask potential and current employees about their other talents and interests, you could discover something completely new that works for your museum.

David Briner
Genevieve Spencer

Similar to what the Massachusetts Historical Society is doing by tweeting the entries of John Quincy Adams's diaries, David Briner is tweeting the entries of his great-aunt's diaries. This is a great lesson for smaller history museums and historical societies who might not have access to the diaries of more famous individuals, like Adams. It's a great way to bring attention to your institution, while also sharing the treasures of your collection.

New York Nineteenth Century Society

The New York Nineteenth Century Society is composed of enthusiastic members inspired by the nineteenth century. Not only do these members participate to express their interest, but they also share their knowledge by offering events, lectures, etc, similar to a museum. A lesson for museums here is to tap into that energy and provide a forum for members of such organizations or start one themselves. A tip to the wise is to ensure that everyone is on the same page and dedicated to better understanding eras of history and not perpetuating myths and other ideas that have been proven false.

Weekly Links: July 30-Aug 5

I'm going to try to post some interesting links I find each week! So here we go:

The Museum Insight Blog asks "Why Bother with Young Adults?"

Citizen Science is pretty popular, but what about Citizen History?

The National Portrait Gallery in London is offering a five-sense visitor experience with music, cocktails, drawing, films and even perfume.

The National Portrait Gallery in DC is presenting "Portraits Alive." I think I saw another program like this somewhere, but it was a film. Has anyone seen a similar program?

The Brooklyn Museum is offering a "Choose Your Own Adventure" program where you use your phone to create a tour of the museum.

Look for more links next Friday!

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Conference Tips

As I've been organizing myself after the AMM conference, I've also been looking at what other bloggers have to say about preparing for a conference and what to do post-conference. Below are a list of links to some tips & tricks to making the most of your conference experience:

Preparation:

• peoplegogy has a great post on preparing for a conference and some specific tips for those who are giving a presentation.
• edoocee has some practical tips for using technology to take notes and a few links for business cards.

Before, During and After:

• GetElastic has tips for preparation, things to do while at the event and post-conference tips.

Post-Conference Follow-up:

• Get-it-Done Guy has some great ideas for following up with people you meet at the conference.

If you're going to a conference soon (maybe the AASLH meeting in September?), these tips will be useful for making your trip effective and fun.

Post-Conference Update

Earlier this week, I attended the Association of Midwest Museums/Visitor Studies Association conference in Chicago. It's rare for two museum conferences to be in the same city so it was an amazing experience, with many opportunities. Some of the best minds in the museum field were in attendance, including John Falk and Beverly Serrell, though neither presented.

To save a little money, I volunteered with AMM by assisting with tote bag stuffing (classic conference swag) and check-ins. Volunteering also provided great networking opportunities. Not only did I meet fellow museum studies grads, but I also was able to talk to other volunteers informally about their work and institutions. These short conversations were highly informative and gave me a better perspective on the overall situation in museums. Most are still short-staffed and underfunded, which does not bode well for those of us looking for jobs.

The sessions were also excellent. It's great to hear fellow museum professionals' perspectives, even if you disagree or don't have the resources to implement their ideas yet. The sessions were actually reminiscent of my museum studies courses, though with a more practical slant. Every session I attended was relevant to my interests or provided a new idea or way of thinking about things. It was very easy to find sessions that were useful to me because the AMM provided different "tracks" in their program for attendees to pick and choose sessions - tracks like education, volunteers, exhibits, etc.

As this was my first museum conference, I learned quite a bit about how to effectively use my time and make new connections. I'm not sure I did as much as I could this time around (unfortunately, I had a family emergency), but next time I will certainly have a plan. Here are some tips and tricks to museum conferences:

1. Bring business cards - Everyone trades cards at conferences so be sure to have one. If you don't have any yet, you can easily order some or make them yourself.
2. Have a resume on hand - You may or may not use it, but it's good to have at least one. You might meet someone in a session that is hiring for something you want to do!
3. Go to sessions that interest you - Even if you're there for your institution, be sure to go to at least one session that applies directly to you. You'll enjoy the conference that much more and you might run into someone who has a job opening in that area.

I hope this information is helpful to anyone going to a conference in the future. My next post will be on some ideas I'm throwing around for writing a paper or presenting at a conference.