Thursday, July 28, 2011

What is That? (And What Does it Mean?) Part II: Material Culture in the Chesapeake, c1650-1800


SAVE THE DATE

"What is That? (And What Does it Mean?) Part II:
Material Culture in the Chesapeake, c1650-1800"

Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Hosted at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum

 Come 'rummage' through the more than ?? million artifacts at the
Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory to learn about:
  • Artifacts of entertainment
  • Adaptive Reuse
  • Clothing
You'll be able see and touch these exciting artifacts while also
learning how they shed light on our understanding of the time period.

$30 - Registration Fee
$15 - Student Fee
$20 - Volunteers, staff, and members of sponsoring organizations

Lunch included in cost.
(For previous workshop attendees, you know it is worth it for the food alone)

Registration procedure and additional workshop information will be sent out in September.

Sponsored By:

Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum
 Southern Maryland Museum Association

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Join SMA at the 2011 National Preservation Conference!

Join the Small Museum Association at the 2011 National Preservation Conference with the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Buffalo, NY on Thursday, October 20th from 12 - 1pm for an afternoon of discussion, lunch and a tour of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site with colleagues from historic house museums and other small museums from across the country. Fee is $15 per person; call 302-841-0032 to make a reservation and payment.

Hope to see you there!!

Small Museums with Big Voices Wanted


 
Do you want to make your voice heard on the key issues facing small nonprofits -- not just museums, but all nonprofit organizations that support and enlighten their communities? 

The Johns Hopkins Nonprofit Listening Post Project tracks how nonprofits are affected by major trends and how they are responding. This cutting-edge research project is now recruiting small organizations (no more than $500,000 in annual revenue, preferably less) in all fields to participate in short surveys. Just 20 minutes of your time 2 or 3 times a year will ensure that the needs of small nonprofits aren't ignored -- and that museums are always part of the conversation about the future of the nonprofit sector. AAM has been a partner in this project since 2003. Participating museums get free customized reports, advanced access to research publications, networking opportunities and other benefits. 

For more details, visit http://ccss.jhu.edu/index.php?section=content&view=9&sub=5 or contact Philip M. Katz at pkatz@aam-us.org.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Employment Opportunity with Historic London Town

Historic London Town and Gardens

Historic London Town and Gardens, an Annapolis-area museum interpreting colonial history, horticulture, and archaeology is hiring for two part-time, seasonal positions (education programs assisant and seasonal interpreter). The main job duty for both positions is to interpret London Town's story to our visitors. The education position will work mostly with grade school students; the interpreter position with general visitors of all ages.

The education position usually works when needed Wednesday through Friday, 9:30 - 2:00 with additional days and times as pre-scheduled. The interpreter position usually works Saturdays and Sundays during our public hours.

These positions can be filled by one or more individuals depending on applicants' schedules and London Town's needs. The same individual could work both in positions.  Both positions are seasonal and will start mid-September with mandatory, paid training. Pay is $10/hour. As these are contractual positions, no benefits are available.

Use this link to read the position description for the Education Programs Assistant (click here)

Use this link to read the position description for the Seasonal Interpreter (click here)

Resumes with letters of intent may be emailed (preferred) to Lisa Robbins at education@historiclondontown.org or mailed to:
Lisa Robbins
Education Programs Administrator
Historic London Town and Gardens
839 Londontown Road
Edgewater, MD 21037

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Call for Proposals for SMA 2012 now Available!

The Small Museum Association (SMA) is planning its 28th Annual Conference, which will be held in Ocean City, Maryland, February 19 - 21, 2012. The most important part of that planning is assembling speakers for the 40+ concurrent program sessions that will be presented during the conference. Through this Call for Proposals we invite you to share your knowledge, experience and lessons learned with hundreds of colleagues who – like you – are committed to small museums everywhere. The deadline for submitting all proposals is September 1, 2011.

As the only conference in the country dedicated specifically to small museums, the Annual Conference draws museum professionals from the Mid-Atlantic region and from across the country as our membership and attendee base continues to expand. The conference goal is to support and nurture the small museum community through a mix of invited speakers, contributed presentations, workshops and engaging discussion. The conference provides a unique and comfortable learning environment for individuals and institutions with diverse experiences to meet and learn from each other, to share their expertise, build capacity and increase professionalism. Conference sessions typically provide practical, relevant discussions and examples for small museums and institutions with limited budgets and staff. This year, the Small Museum Conference will offer sessions that address the conference theme, Adapt and Reuse: Fresh Ideas and New Approaches.

We invite proposals based on institutional experience or original research. Proposal topics should explore how organizations can adapt and reuse ideas, strategies, or even materials to create successful programs and healthy institutions, no matter how small. This should be a central theme to any presentation, whether it addresses fundraising, education, curatorial issues, museum boards or volunteers. Sessions should also indicate the level of the information that will be provided, and whether it is most appropriate for a beginner who is new to museums, someone with intermediate experience, or an expert in the field.

Possible session topics include: · Mining your Board - How to take advantage of skills you didn’t know they had · New ways to sell your project - writing winning grant applications · Using every day materials to create amazing exhibits · Turn your volunteers into social media ambassadors · How to be green on a shoestring budget · More with Less - Coping with reduced resources · Which Hat Today? - How to grow your museum with a staff of one.


Proposals should be submitted using the form here, and sent to one of the SMA Speaker Coordinators no later than September 1, 2011.

 SMA's mission is to develop and maintain a peer network among people who work for small museums, giving them opportunities to learn, share knowledge and support one another, so that they, in turn, can better serve their institutions, communities and profession.