Exploring ideas and engaging in conversation

Month: July 2011 (Page 1 of 5)

Museums in the News

Welcome to our weekly roundup of museums in the news!

Vt.’s Shelburne Museum hosts circus-palooza

Anacostia Community Museum Attempts Record-Breaking Ring Shout

At MoMA, A Blog Becomes a Show

Conan O’Brien Unveils ‘The Museum Of Conan Art’ At San Diego Comic-Con

Day Tripper: Museum Without Walls

Scavenger hunts at museums turn into whodunits

A Visual Escape to Sarasota, Florida’s Ringling Museum

Classic Gaming Expo group begins fundraising for museum

Hidden Gem: Willard House and Clock Museum

Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art living on the edge financially

Probe Shows Former Worker At Mark Twain House Embezzled

Weekly Jobs Listing

Welcome to our weekly roundup of job posts. As always, jobs go up immediately on their own page.

  • Education Director [Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum]Education Director, Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum Lead education and events program for the oldest house in New York City Utilize existing programming and curriculum to bring history alive for NYC school children Job description Teaching * Man…
  • Director of Educational Programming [Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum]DIRECTOR OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS Under the general direction of the Executive Director, the Director of Educational Programs leads the management, development, evaluation and delivery of all public and educational programs for the Ann Arbor Hands-…
  • Manager of Public Programs [Monterey Bay Aquarium]Manager of Public Programs, Monterey Bay Aquarium The Manager of Public Programs will manage paid and unpaid staff associated with public programs. This position works closely with the Manager of Guest Experience Innovation and Manager of Aquarium…
  • Director of School and Community Programs [Los Angeles County Museum of Art]Director of School & Community Programs, LACMA Director of School & Community Programs ______________________________ __ Reporting to the Senior Vice President of Education & Public Programs, the Director of School & Commun…
  • Program Coordinator [Center for Architecture Foundation]Center for Architecture Foundation Program Coordinator Organization Overview: The Center for Architecture Foundation promotes public awareness and a broader appreciation of the important role architecture and design play in our daily lives. We e…
  • Director of Development [Children’s Museum of Manhattan]POSITION: Director of Development REPORTS TO: Executive Director LOCATION: 212 West 83rd Street, New York City WEBSITE: www.CMOM.org BACKGROUND As New York’s premier cultural institution dedicated to young people, CMOM inspires children and fam…

Blue Avocado

Some thoughtful reading for you going into the weekend.

Blue Avocado is a very thoughtful newsletter/magazine/blog dedicated to solving issues in nonprofits. They tend to focus on “community organizations” but their advice is practical, timely, and spot-on for museums as well.

Enjoy, and hopefully you are all now craving guacamole right along with me…

Awesome Tufts Internships

Shannon Foley is finishing up her Museum Studies certificate with this terrific internship way out on the left coast:

My internship at the San Diego History Center starts next week. A large bulk of my internship will consist of me helping the museum create accessible tours and programs for disabled visitors. I will also be helping out with the ‘School in the Park’ program that brings underserved school communities into the museum for hands-on learning. Additionally I will also be doing some work with the local Girl Scouts troops. I am so excited to start! I am looking forward to learning more about California history and experiencing a West Coast museum.

It sounds like a blast, and almost makes up for her leaving us behind for sunnier climes.

Using Historic Places

I’m sure many of you have heard about the Month at a Museum program that the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago does. Last year was a big success, and they’re going ahead with a second program this year. I don’t know about the rest of you, but this hits all the museum-loving buttons of mine that were first tweaked by From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The recent Night at the Museum franchise plays those sentiments up even more.

All of that is by way of saying that museum spaces themselves – even absent overt interpretation – can be amazing sources of wonder, and more and more museums are doing interesting things to explore and access that quality. One Tufts student in class once described it as exploring the most amazing grandparents’ attic ever – that quality of discovery, of secrecy, all lends itself to creating special experiences.

Tintagel Castle in Cornwall is sponsoring a similar program: go to their Facebook page, tell them what you and a friend would do with the chance to spend the night in the beautiful, crumbling structure, and if your suggestion gets the most votes – you get to follow through.

Anyone have any other ways in which museums and historic sites are using their physical space to inspire interaction in that way?

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