It is interesting to see how far museums have come in being more educational places than they have been before. It is intriguing to learn that docents came about more recently due to the desire of museum owners wanting people who can talk about the art intelligently rather than having just more guards. This shows that museums want to become more patron-friendly. It is also enlightening to see the work which goes forth into bringing in school children into the museum to augment what they learn about in school. This comes about through creating exciting exhibits which will teach the kids while entertaining them. The exhibits should be affective in teaching people of all different ages and understandings. With all of the work which goes on in creating an inviting, yet educational experience to those who come to the museum, this shows that museums want to be known to be wonderful places where people can congregate and learn with wonderful experiences. These experiences will add to the students' personal learning experience and help them out in the long run. Thus with this effort more people will come and use the museum. It is also enlightening to see what more museums can do to market themselves and hold themselves accountable to their patrons.
In discussing how exhibits are created and marketed, it is interesting to learn about all the work which goes into making a successful exhibit. It is good to do preliminary research to make sure that your idea is historically accurate and is innovative. It is also good to write text about what you are showing the general public so they know what is going on with the objects which you are showing them. It is also good to create the exhibit in the best way so that the general public will enjoy what you are presenting to them. This may include having unique items or unique ways to present the information to the patrons. As well, it is important to give the general public as much information as possible so that they will know what to expect when they enter into your museum. Also, you should play up your exhibit as much as possible so people will want to come and visit your exhibit and your museum. When I was in Edinburgh, there was an museum called "The Real Mary King's Close", which was under the city chamber building. It is marketed as being a haunted place. It was really cool in that you had a guide who directed you around telling stories of what happened there. There were also models of people in rooms where people had lived and died in talking about the black plaque. There were also a room which used a recording to tell a story of ghosts of people who lived in the area. The guide tries to scare the people with this story, which was intriguing. Over all, this museum experience was marketed to be really good, and it was.
On Tuesday, there was a tour to the DAM where we listened to Heather Nielsen who is a Master Teacher there. She talked about her background and what it takes to work in museum education. She told us that the Native American collection is the largest and oldest collection in the museum. It was interesting to learn and see how there were plenty of collections which were not behind the glass where they could be seen properly. It was also intriguing to see some the efforts to allow patrons to learn about the artists of the art and their take on their art through technological means. As well, it was good to learn about Heather's position as a master teacher and what you have to do in order to become one. You have to be really know and love your collection in order to explain about what it contains. It is also good to know that when exhibits are created, there is a team of master teachers, curators and exhibit creators working together to create the best exhibits possible.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Understanding Visitors
After reading the articles, it is important to make the museums more patron-friendly. It is important to have the library be more user-friendly through having signs, ramps, and clean bathrooms so the patrons will want to come back and visit the museum again. It is also important to make the museum a welcoming place for school kids who come with their teachers. This can be done through working with the teachers in order to integrate some part of the collection into the teacher's study plan. Then the students can come to the museum and see what they have been learning about. There can be teaching moments through exhibits or hands-on areas. As well, the museum can open up its collection to visitors who want to see what is there through open shelving and access. This will allow learning opportunities for the community to know about the world around them and what is going on in their own community. through having more access to the collections. Also, this will lead to the museum knowing how best to serve its patrons. There has been some study on this, but more work needs to be done. There can be a lot of work done in order to get a feel for how patrons feel about the exhibits and the museum itself. This work is performed through performing visitor surveys in order to gather as much information as possible. In my own personal experience, I have seen how museums have worked to get more visitor exposure. I visited the British Museum and saw how it worked to make itself more visitor friendly. There were a lot of signs in a number of different places. Also, there are a lot of exhibits on one floor so people would not feel so tired of going around in the museum. There are also pamphlets in different languages for people who are coming from different countries.
On 10/24, there was a class visit to the Denver Botanic Gardens. There was a lot of different things which were being discussed, like getting enough money through bonds and fund raising to pay for the operational costs. This money goes to pay for things like the new parking structure, replacing the 30 year old irrigation system and ADA improvements. There is the desire to have a face lift for the conservatory since it was built back in the 1960s. There is also hope for new greenhouses which would bring more open storage behind the scenes. Also there would be a new restaurant built, and a new library which would bring more space to store things.There is the hope to activate more space within the facility. The problem which comes about through the gardens is bringing in people to the facility year-round, also that the museum wants to connect plants with people. There is a resistance w/in the art community w/ competition w/ getting audiences to the facility. The title of the tour guide is exhibition manager and she is a DU alum. She runs a concert series which operates as a membership drive to get more members for the gardens. There is a 50K budget for the different exhibits which go on in the gardens. There was a discussion about the signs and how they are UV resistant in the vinyl and the inks. These signs can be reused. There is also effort in getting new signs for the facility. The museum is very vocal in what it wants, since their comments go into all of the planning. There is a new logo which has come out, since the old one is over 30 years old. The signs are the #1 complaint since they are so hard to fond, and are not helpful.
On 10/24, there was a class visit to the Denver Botanic Gardens. There was a lot of different things which were being discussed, like getting enough money through bonds and fund raising to pay for the operational costs. This money goes to pay for things like the new parking structure, replacing the 30 year old irrigation system and ADA improvements. There is the desire to have a face lift for the conservatory since it was built back in the 1960s. There is also hope for new greenhouses which would bring more open storage behind the scenes. Also there would be a new restaurant built, and a new library which would bring more space to store things.There is the hope to activate more space within the facility. The problem which comes about through the gardens is bringing in people to the facility year-round, also that the museum wants to connect plants with people. There is a resistance w/in the art community w/ competition w/ getting audiences to the facility. The title of the tour guide is exhibition manager and she is a DU alum. She runs a concert series which operates as a membership drive to get more members for the gardens. There is a 50K budget for the different exhibits which go on in the gardens. There was a discussion about the signs and how they are UV resistant in the vinyl and the inks. These signs can be reused. There is also effort in getting new signs for the facility. The museum is very vocal in what it wants, since their comments go into all of the planning. There is a new logo which has come out, since the old one is over 30 years old. The signs are the #1 complaint since they are so hard to fond, and are not helpful.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Substitute Assignment for 10/21
Substitute
I visited the Wings over the Rockies Museum at Lowry Airforce base on Saturday October 11Th. It is a converted Hanger which has other uses for it rather than just the museum. It contains a number of different aircraft which have been flown, new and old. There is also a history of the airbase, and the person for whom it was named for. There is also a bit of history for when it was the Air Force Academy before the current Air Force Academy was built. There is also an exhibit on Space Travel since a few astronauts are from Colorado. Plus Lockheed Martin donated some parts of space craft and exhibits to the museum. There is also an exhibit dedicated to the China-India-Burma Campaign during WWII. There are also a lot of models which were created of many different planes which have been built over the years. Also, there is a section dedicated to President Eisenhower when he came to Colorado during his presidency. The exhibits seem like they have been the same for a long period of time, just increasing or changing when people donate things to the museum. There are airplanes which are being restored within the museum. When I walked in, I was amazed at what the museum contained. When I visited, there was a party being set up which was MASH themed, so that added to the amazement. I enjoyed my visit, learning about the history of the Air Force base and seeing all of the cool exhibits. I would recommend this museum to others to visit. A question I had was seeing all of the different models and learning some about the history of flight.
I visited the Wings over the Rockies Museum at Lowry Airforce base on Saturday October 11Th. It is a converted Hanger which has other uses for it rather than just the museum. It contains a number of different aircraft which have been flown, new and old. There is also a history of the airbase, and the person for whom it was named for. There is also a bit of history for when it was the Air Force Academy before the current Air Force Academy was built. There is also an exhibit on Space Travel since a few astronauts are from Colorado. Plus Lockheed Martin donated some parts of space craft and exhibits to the museum. There is also an exhibit dedicated to the China-India-Burma Campaign during WWII. There are also a lot of models which were created of many different planes which have been built over the years. Also, there is a section dedicated to President Eisenhower when he came to Colorado during his presidency. The exhibits seem like they have been the same for a long period of time, just increasing or changing when people donate things to the museum. There are airplanes which are being restored within the museum. When I walked in, I was amazed at what the museum contained. When I visited, there was a party being set up which was MASH themed, so that added to the amazement. I enjoyed my visit, learning about the history of the Air Force base and seeing all of the cool exhibits. I would recommend this museum to others to visit. A question I had was seeing all of the different models and learning some about the history of flight.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Redoing museums so people will enjoy them
After reading the articles, it is interesting to see what is being done in order to bring people in. I rather enjoy the experience of being entertained as well as being informed about some topic which interests me. It is also interesting to see how much work museums put into staying relevant, even when they are not seen to be so. This leads into museums trying to put working in anthropology along with all of the other work which goes into a museum. This seems like a lot of work to be done in order to take care of all of these various tasks. I would also say that all of the work being performed within the museum is necessary because, if there were no museums, people would not know anything about themselves or about the world around them. Museums are still important in society because they give a view of what life has been in the past and in the future. There needs to be exhibits which give the right amount of information for our ADD-riddled society to learn about things. Although, as I have said before, I prefer to have an equal number of interactive exhibits as well as text panels and objects to admire. Anthropology will never go away, it will just evolve and change like the rest of the social sciences and museums as they fit the current situation in which we live in. As well, there will always be need for scholarship, since where else will the new exhibits come from, unless there are new things to bring in the patrons. Curators need to multi-task in order to find the time to work on their personal research. There needs to be good time management set up in order to accomplish this.
On 10/15 we listened to Susan Irwin-Savage talk about her experiences about working with NAGPRA. She talked about the consultations and the repatriations she was able to watch and to participate in. It was interesting to learn about the work which was being done with Colorado Historical Society in order to make sure that all cultural objects are going back to the Native American tribes. It was also interesting to learn about the NAGPRA committees which went on and what they did to make sure that the objects went back to the Native American tribes. I was amazed at the level of fines which could be put on museums if they do not comply with NAGPRA.
I liked learning about Kaitlyn's internship at the International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe. I was impressed with what she said she was able to learn about and do. I would not think that the security people would be interesting people to talk to. Over all, I believe this was a good experience, learning it is important to network with lots of different people.
On 10/16 we visited the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to talk to Chip who is a curator there. We listened to his background which is interesting in going from being an archaeologist to a curator through taking the time to work with Native American Tribes and their concerns. This is seen to be very important to me in that we need to listen to the Native Americans because they are part of the American culture. I did not realize that it takes a PH.D to be a curator in a museum, since the jobs are really competitive. It is good to know that in jobs, it is those people who have experience in the field, published, and have experience grant writing. It was also intriguing to see what goes on a day-to-day basis within the curatorial field. 5% admin, 5% serve on committees, 30%collection, 30% outreach and 30% research. As well, it is interesting to learn about all of the different programs that the museum performs for the community.
On 10/15 we listened to Susan Irwin-Savage talk about her experiences about working with NAGPRA. She talked about the consultations and the repatriations she was able to watch and to participate in. It was interesting to learn about the work which was being done with Colorado Historical Society in order to make sure that all cultural objects are going back to the Native American tribes. It was also interesting to learn about the NAGPRA committees which went on and what they did to make sure that the objects went back to the Native American tribes. I was amazed at the level of fines which could be put on museums if they do not comply with NAGPRA.
I liked learning about Kaitlyn's internship at the International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe. I was impressed with what she said she was able to learn about and do. I would not think that the security people would be interesting people to talk to. Over all, I believe this was a good experience, learning it is important to network with lots of different people.
On 10/16 we visited the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to talk to Chip who is a curator there. We listened to his background which is interesting in going from being an archaeologist to a curator through taking the time to work with Native American Tribes and their concerns. This is seen to be very important to me in that we need to listen to the Native Americans because they are part of the American culture. I did not realize that it takes a PH.D to be a curator in a museum, since the jobs are really competitive. It is good to know that in jobs, it is those people who have experience in the field, published, and have experience grant writing. It was also intriguing to see what goes on a day-to-day basis within the curatorial field. 5% admin, 5% serve on committees, 30%collection, 30% outreach and 30% research. As well, it is interesting to learn about all of the different programs that the museum performs for the community.
Monday, October 6, 2008
10/7/08 done on 10/6/08
After reading the different articles, it is interesting to see the different takes and definitions of objects within the museum environment. Objects can be as divers as a buffalo to a canoe in order to talk about a culture. There are many living civilizations which see their objects stored within museums to be an important part of their culture. In order to make sure these objects are cared for properly, curators need to work with the objects. It would seem to be a good idea that in order to make sure that the objects are cared for properly, there is a curator who is familiar with the culture and customs within the staff. This would lead to a larger staff, but the objects within the collection are taken care of properly. Also, there is a lot of controversy dealing with the different cultures wanting their objects back through policies like NAGPRA. This policy has led to other museums broadening their policies to allow the objects to go back, although institutions like the British Museum not wanting to give their objects back to whom they came from, like the Greeks. I believe there needs to be more effort to define what an object is, from the original to the digital. It is nice to have the original, although it is important to allow people all over the world view the object. I think it is interesting to see how different people define objects, although it would be nice to have a specific definition that all people can agree on. This idea fits into the new museology in that there needs to be a general agreement so that there will not be any confusion to what the museums hold in their collections. I would like to learn more about the different objects that museums have contained in their collections. It was interesting to listen to Rachel talk about her experience with her NPS internship working with NAGPRA. It is intriguing to see how large of a role NAGPRA plays in helping Native American tribes get their ancestors' remains and sacred objects. I believe that without NAGPRA these tribes would not get back as much as they do of their objects. It was also neat to hear about all that went into getting the various consultations set up to meet with the various tribes. NAGPRA is seen to be a large part of new Museology in helping make sure that objects are in places where they are supposed to be.
After the readings dealing with archives, it is rather interesting to see how they are viewed in the museum world. It is good to know that they are receiving their due in having information which is beneficial to the museum. It is important to talk about the history and the use of the archives throughout the ages. As well, it is good to talk about what museum archives contain. It was really neat to visit the British Museum Archives and see what they contain. I saw lots of books containing the minutes of meetings, donation documents, hiring documents, reading cards, and documents showing people's character. It is also important to note that archives can help a museum if it needs help in legal matters, since all documentation about various pieces within the collection are collected there. Archives deserve more respect for what they hold and their role in society.
After visiting Steve Fisher in the Archives, I was given more of an appreciation of the field I am going into. As Steve said, working in an archives is an art rather than a science. Archives are seen to be the most important part of the museum due to the types of documents kept within them. Archives can provide documents which are beneficial in case of a law suit to protect the museum. It was intriguing to talk about all of the same terms which are used within both fields which are used differently. I wish there was more spoken about the importance of the archives and how they work together with the museum to present the whole story of objects.
After the readings dealing with archives, it is rather interesting to see how they are viewed in the museum world. It is good to know that they are receiving their due in having information which is beneficial to the museum. It is important to talk about the history and the use of the archives throughout the ages. As well, it is good to talk about what museum archives contain. It was really neat to visit the British Museum Archives and see what they contain. I saw lots of books containing the minutes of meetings, donation documents, hiring documents, reading cards, and documents showing people's character. It is also important to note that archives can help a museum if it needs help in legal matters, since all documentation about various pieces within the collection are collected there. Archives deserve more respect for what they hold and their role in society.
After visiting Steve Fisher in the Archives, I was given more of an appreciation of the field I am going into. As Steve said, working in an archives is an art rather than a science. Archives are seen to be the most important part of the museum due to the types of documents kept within them. Archives can provide documents which are beneficial in case of a law suit to protect the museum. It was intriguing to talk about all of the same terms which are used within both fields which are used differently. I wish there was more spoken about the importance of the archives and how they work together with the museum to present the whole story of objects.
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