There are some really great workshops coming up this spring, and if you’re a NEMA member, they’re only $40 each. Scroll down to check out a series of workshops sponsored by the NEMA Young Emerging Professionals – $15 each, 6-8pm, and focused on interviewing and …
Google Art Project: Accessibility and Close Looking Google Art Project, which launched on February 1, is touted as Google Street View indoors. Art Project presents gallery views from 17 major international institutions—from the Met and MoMA to the Hermitage to Tate Britain—which let visitors explore …
Welcome to our weekly museums in the news roundup!
The Egyptian National Museum and other museums in Egypt continue to be very much in the news this week as officials assess damage from looting. One of the most interesting stories developing right now is the possibility that the looting of the Egyptian National Museum was actually instigated by Egyptian secret police. Human Rights Watch is making the allegations, which are troubling to say the least. The Washington Post covers the story here, and The Raw Story has a good roundup of other allegations here.
Wright Museum sets sights on women’s fitness (Charles Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, Michigan)
Nelson embraces technology to connect with visitors (Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri)
Norton Simon: The Best Museum You Haven’t Visited (The Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California)
National Museum of Hip Hop Creates Donate-A-Dollah’ Campaign (upcoming National Museum of Hip Hop, New York, New York)
“Clough Must Go”: Protesters Mass in D.C. as Smithsonian Regents Meet (National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.)
Museum deal saddles up for rough ride (museums of New Mexico)
Farrah Fawcett’s red swimsuit now a museum piece (National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C.)
Getty Museum’s purchase of $44.9-million J.M.W. Turner masterpiece (Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California)
The Philadelphia Museum of Art can now accommodate a much greater range of social functions (Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Grammy museum opens first hip hop exhibit (Grammy Museum, Los Angeles, California)
Chinese government pulls mummy from Philadelphia exhibit (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
The Reagan Presidential Museum and Library gets a $15m overhaul (Reagan Presidential Museum and Library, Simi Valley, California)
Kansas museum finds Martha Washington letter (Cloud County Historical Society Museum, Concordia, Kansas)
How to get to Sesame Street? In a new museum near D.C. (proposed National Children’s Museum, Maryland)
Marshals Museum critical to tourism (proposed US Marshals Museum, Fort Smith, Arkansas)
How’s this for engaging with the community: the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Carnegie Museum of Art (in Pittsburgh) have thrown their weight behind their football teams (that would be the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, respectively) in a really brilliant way. Here’s …
Musician Josh Ritter’s new album came out last May, and one of his tracks tells of a love story between an archaeologist and her mummy – their ups and downs, their joint academic career, and all the time they spend in museums. Ritter’s drummer, Liam …
Next up in our continuing series is a more specialized organization. Don’t worry, we’ll be featuring organizations that cover all the wonderfully specific portions of the museum world as we go along!
So, for those historians out there: the American Association for State and Local History.
The AASLH, as it’s called, “provides leadership and support for its members who preserve and interpret state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all Americans.” That’s a huge mission, and the AASLH really does a great job of addressing its tenets.
Membership is $70 for a basic membership, and $30 for a student membership, but be aware with the student membership that you will only receive the newsletter, not the subscription to the quarterly History News. (You will get online access to History News, though.) Other benefits are the usual ones: reciprocal admission, professional development opportunities, and discounts on publications such as those from AltaMira Press.
Here’s the thing: the professional development opportunities are fantastic. The AASLH goes above and beyond to think of ways in which history and museum professionals need help, and then address them. They have a great series of workshops, both online and onsite. Their Seminar in Historical Administration (an intensive four week program focused on preparing history professionals for leadership and administration) is celebrating its 51st consecutive year in 2011, and counts among its alumni some of the top people in the field. Right now, they’re piloting a new program on project management for history professionals – all paid for if you apply and are accepted. (I’m attending in March in Atlanta, and will be blogging here about the experience, so watch this space!) They also have an intensive mentoring program.
They also have some really interesting programs and national initiatives, among them:
Spend some time on their website, apply for some of their professional development programs (there are still spots in the project management workshops, which are free AND offer a small travel stipend), and consider becoming a member. Even if you don’t necessarily consider yourself an historian, there’s a lot to like at the AASLH.