Annual Conference

FOR UP TO DATE INFORMATION ABOUT SMA 2012, PLEASE VISIT WWW.SMALLMUSEUM.ORG. THIS PAGE WILL BE REMOVED SOON. THANK YOU. 

Small Museum Association 27th Annual Conference

Sunday, February 20 - Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel, Ocean City, MD

The SMA conference attracts more than 200 museum professionals every year from a wide variety of small museums. Attendees go to sessions on topics ranging from collections and education to staffing and board issues. We offer a large Museum Resource Hall and plenty of informal networking opportunities for you to talk with (and get ideas from!) small museum professionals and volunteers.

 

Final Program

Check out the final program (Google Doc).


Admission

Cost for the 2.5 day conference will be only $160!
Pre-conference online registration is now closed, but you can still register at the door.
A PDF version of admission is available here. (Google Doc)
Any questions can be directed to Dayna here.

New This Year!

Ride and Room Sharing: Email conference@smallmuseum.org to be placed on a contact list.

SMA Book Club: SMA will feature one session and one roundtable on the books, Connecting Kids To
History With Museum Exhibitions and The Participatory Museum. It will be helpful to read both books before
attending.

Job and Messaging Board: Bring any announcements to post on our board!

Twitter Feed: Tweet about what’s happening at the conference by using the hashtag: #sma11 (sma “eleven”)

Sunday Workshop Included In Registration Fee: Join one of our favorite workshops, Grant Writing, for
no extra fee! Just RSVP and enjoy.

Sunday Night Eat And Engage: Are you looking to make new friends or “talk shop” with other attendees? Eat and Engage provides an opportunity for SMA attendees to meet up for dinner and chat about a variety of topics. There will be an Eat and Engage for Emerging Museum Professionals at Galaxy 66 and an Eat and Engage in the Clarion’s restaurant. The price of dinner is not included with registration. RSVP required.

Monday Night Banquet Theme: Night at The Small Museum: The Monday night banquet is a favorite
of many SMA attendees! While dressing up is optional, it is encouraged. Ideas for costumes include collections item come to life, a living building, a night-time theme, and more. Let your imagination run wild! Activities include dinner, dancing, awards, half and half raffle, and silent auction announcements. (Have you emailed Doris Pullman at tealady@atlanticbb.net yet with your silent auction submission?) 


Award Opportunities (Through January 21, 2011)

The Small Museum Association, Inc. (SMA) requests nominations for its Annual Small Museum Awards. This is an excellent opportunity to acknowledge the hard work of those in the small museum field. Nominations recognize an individual who has made a significant contribution to a local small museum and/or the small museum field. The awards will be presented at the SMA Annual Conference .This year, two awards will be presented in the following categories:

• The Hunter-Burley Award for an individual’s outstanding contributions to  the advancement of public access and professional growth for an individual institution;
• The Small Museum Association Award for an individual’s outstanding contributions to the advancement of funding for, professional growth within, and/or the accessibility of information to the small museum community on a regional or state level. 

Download forms here.  

For more information, contact:

SMA Annual Conference Awards Committee, c/o Sarah Hagarty,
Salem County Historical Society
83 Market Street, Salem, New Jersey 08079
Email Sarah here.


Scholarship Opportunities (Through December 15, 2010)

The Small Museum Association's Lesley van der Lee Scholarships offer funding for ten SMA Conference attendees. Lesley van der Lee is an important part of the history of the SMA: She was responsible for planning the SMA Conference during many of its formative years. Lesley designed legislation that provided for the Maryland Historical and Cultural Museum Assistance Program and taught up-and-coming museum professionals as part of the Museum Studies program at the George Washington University. The scholarship, named in her honor, covers the cost of the conference registration, room, meals and a one-year membership in the SMA.

Eligibility: Anyone affiliated with a museum, library, historical society, or related graduate study program (e.g. Museum Studies, Public History, Library and Information Studies, Historic Preservation) may apply. This includes full-time or part-time employees, board members, students, interns, and volunteers. Past conference attendees are encouraged to apply, but previous Lesley van der Lee Scholarship winners are not eligible. Scholarship recipients are asked to assist the conference staff during the conference. Information on specific expectations will be communicated after the selection process is complete.

For an application, contact:
SMA Annual Conference Scholarship Committee, c/o Sarah Hagarty,
Salem County Historical Society
83 Market Street, Salem, New Jersey 08079
Email Sarah here.

Resource Hall
For more information, please visit here or contact Andy Zellers Frederick at director_woodlands@verizon.net. 

Location

The Small Museum Association Annual Conference is held each year at the Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel in Ocean City, Maryland.

Click on either for an area map of Ocean City, Maryland:

Area map (28 K gif)

Google map (zoom in/out, get directions, see geography)

 Clarion Resort Fontainebleau Hotel (Directions)

Further information about reserving a room at the hotel will be available in the registration materials.