Exploring ideas and engaging in conversation

Month: September 2011 (Page 4 of 5)

Museums in the News

Welcome to our weekly museums in the news roundup.

Man in dark coat and hat steals 8-foot whale tooth from Norwegian museum

Friends, family recall ‘heart and soul’ of Motown Museum

Greek police recover stolen Rubens painting

Benghazi museum shows scars, triumphs of Libya revolt

Brian Selznick is ‘Wonderstruck’ by novel and movie

Videogame History Museum Goes $20K Over Funding Goal

Out of rubble, family plans new life for clock museum

Maine official to lead Vt.’s Shelburne Museum

Curators make hard choices at 9/11 museum

Weekly Jobs Roundup

Welcome to our weekly listing of jobs here on the TMSB. As always, jobs go up immediately on their own page – this is just a regular heads-up.

  • Digital Archives Assistant [Cambridge Historical Society]Digital Archives Assistant The Cambridge Historical Society seeks a highly organized and self-motivated individual to fill the part-time grant-funded position of Digital Archives Assistant through July 2012. The successful candidate will be responsi…
  • Assistant Director for Membership and Events [Cambridge Historical Society]Assistant Director for Membership and Events The Cambridge Historical Society seeks a highly organized and self-motivated individual to fill the part-time position of Assistant Director for Membership and Events. This fast-paced position requires ef…
  • Part-Time Teacher [Newseum]POSITION SUMMARY: Teachers will conduct classes and programs in a variety of settings for school groups and the general public. Instructors will be required to learn all Newseum curricula and adhere to Education practices and procedures. RESPONS…
  • Museum Educator [Brooklyn Museum]Brooklyn Museum Position:        Museum Educator Department: School Programs, Education (Full-time, union position) Requirements: Individual must be a thoughtful practitioner with a BA in art history, history, anthropology, education, vi…
  • Staff Curator [US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs]The U.S. Department of the Interior, Indian Affairs has a job posting for a Staff Curator, GS-13. This is NOT an entry-level position. The collections – numbering 5.7 million objects – are primarily archaeological, including NAGPRA cultural ite…
  • Director of Individual Giving [Chicago Children’s Museum]Director of Individual Giving General Job Function: The Director of Individual Giving is responsible for the management and growth of a Major Gifts program for Chicago Children’s Museum. This person is responsible for the attainment of annual reven…

What do free muffins and museums have in common?

I ask you, faithful readers: what do you think free muffins and museums have in common?

Your answer: both have an endowment.

At the Empire Grill in Skowhegan, Maine, one customer each day is given a free muffin before noon. Sure, you think – restaurants must comp food all the time. What makes this different?

In 2007, James Sham, a performance artist, was a student at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. He recognized that the diner was a community space where art students and locals were interacting, bringing together two seemingly disparate groups. He also recognized the power of an unexpected generous gesture, even a small one. So he led a fundraising campaign that eventually reached its goal of $9,000. Deposited in a savings account, that money earns $0.8 in interest each day – enough for one free muffin. He built a muffin endowment.

Most museums have endowments. Most are trying constantly to build them. Those funds are what keep the water flowing and the lights turned on. They have restricted funds for acquisitions, for education, for curatorial chairs. Some endowments are worth millions and millions of dollars.

James Sham was able to take a small, remote community, bring them together, raise the relatively tiny amount of $9,000, and he created something unique and special. Imagine what a museum could do along those lines. Could they endow one free admission each day, and celebrate the free attendee with fanfare? Could they surprise one child with a free toy from the gift shop? Could they give a free cup of coffee to their first five visitors each day?

These are objectively small things, but if they’re done right, then subjectively they can mean the world. I for one would always remember a place that placed a muffin on my plate and told me it was free, thanks to a community’s desire to make my day a little bit brighter.

The Empire Grill’s unique endowment was featured in Yankee Magazine‘s March/April 2010 issue. Sadly, the restaurant closed shortly after the magazine went to press.

Looking Forward: Preservation in New England in the Twenty-First Century

Very interesting-looking symposium being hosted by Historic New England – let us know if you’re going to register, and we can figure out a carpooling arrangement!

Looking Forward: Preservation in New England in the Twenty-First Century

Saturday, October 1
Roger Williams University
Bristol, Rhode Island

Join a new generation of preservationists as they articulate a vision for what is to be preserved in New England in the twenty-first century. Graduate students from the nation’s top preservation and public history programs explore topics in three different areas: evaluation, assessment, and interpretation; integrity and treatment; and advocacy and activism.

This symposium, the first of its kind, is sponsored by Historic New England in partnership with Roger Williams University. Having recently celebrated its centennial, Historic New England is committed to creating dialogue around the next hundred years of preservation in the region.

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