Exploring ideas and engaging in conversation

Month: November 2010 (Page 1 of 2)

Skills Every Museo Should Have

Courtesy of Museos Unite, a blog I have only just discovered, but am enjoying immensely, here are four skills everyone working in museums should have:

1. Social Media
2. Grant Writing
3. Computer Software
4. People Skills / Management

Please check out their complete post here for their elaborations and reasoning behind each skill set.

I think this is a pretty good starting list; it’ll give me a good springboard to search for free professional development opportunities to list here, at any rate!

Museums in the News – First Weekly Roundup

In the interests of not flooding your inbox and/or overwhelming your sensibilities, dear reader, we’re going to be doing a weekly roundup of museum news articles, instead of posting them at random. They’ll go out each Sunday as a sort of recap of the week that was. If you see any articles that you think we should include, drop us a line in the comments!

First, my favorite news item of the week by a landslide: Lawsuit involves T. rex at Museum of Rockies (did you know you can copyright a dinosaur skeleton? now you do!)

Second favorite, though, is this profile of a unique museum in Croatia: A Trip to the Museum of Broken Relationships

Vancouver’s Festival of Trees moves into the Pearson Air Museum

Return Nazi-looted art, panel tells Austrian museum

Camera Implanted in NYU Professor’s Skull (yes, this is related to museums)

Taft Museum gets its Santa

Ashes museum pieces (the National Sports Museum in Australia ‘s new exhibit, Ashes to Ashes: A Cracking Rivalry)

Exotic bird pelts ‘worth millions’ stolen from Natural History Museum by musician acting out ‘James Bond’ fantasy

Milwaukee Public Museum director starts with details

Free Disaster Management Training from FEMA

Are you interested in disaster management?

Even if you’re not, this is a terrific opportunity to get some free training and a very useful line on your resume.

FEMA, or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, runs a series of disaster management courses called ICS – Incident Command System. It’s basically a management system – figuring out who should do what and when, so that you have a plan in place if the worst happens. The overview for the whole program is here.

There are two ways you can take ICS training courses. The first, if you have a travel budget and some free time, is to go to FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute.

The second, more accessible way, is through FEMA’s Independent Study Program. There’s a wide variety of courses available. You download the materials, study at your own pace, and if you pass the final exam they’ll give you a certificate proving that you’ve passed the course. There are quick and easy instructions for enrollment here.

Designing the New MFA

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

The new Art of the Americas wing at the Museum of Fine Arts has made a very big splash here in Boston. For the museum geeks out there, here’s a roundup of some articles about the behind-the-scenes work that went into designing and building the new wing.

Exquisite Disappearing Glass Cases at the MFA

Extreme Decorating and Design at the MFA

The New MFA – Malcom Rogers Takes Your Questions

MFA Installs 19th-Century Masterpiece [Photo Gallery of Installation]

MFA Technology Widens the Dialogue

Behind the Scenes at the New MFA

(Are we missing any great articles? Drop a line in the comments and we’ll add them to this post!)

The Future of Museums

Courtesy of the Boston Emerging Museum Professionals, here’s a link to futurist Gary Golden’s recent webinar with AAM:

Gary Golden on the Future of Museums

Lots to think about there. For a reaction/review blog post, check out Guzel DuChateau at the Emerging Museum Professionals blog, here.

PS – Are you following the Boston Emerging Museum Professionals on Twitter and Facebook? If not, then you definitely should be! You should also sign up for their mailing list by emailing BostonEMPS[at]gmail[dot]com.

PPS – How does one become a trained futurist, anyway? Inquiring minds want to know.

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