Monday, April 17
Wanna Make a Box? An Intro to Rehousing Objects
Half-Day Workshop with Jessica Noyd, Hastings Museum
If you work or volunteer in a museum, you know one of the main concerns is preservation – which includes all sorts of things from historic buildings to the objects in your collection or even your own family heirlooms! But have you ever asked “How do I do that?” or “What’s the best way to store this?”
Tuesday, April 18
Keynote: The Power and Place of Small Museums: Hard Questions and Conversations with Carla Patterson
Carla Patterson serves as Director of Organizational Development for Mid-America Arts Alliance. She is a passionate advocate for arts and cultural organizations and their place and power within their communities. Her background in anthropology anchors her approach in the primacy of place and community.
She co-authored the ENAGE Houston program and served as an organizational coach for the program. She also worked with Mid-America to deliver the Hands On Experiential Learning Program across Mid-America’s six-state region.
Carla is the author of the Leadership & Community Development Curriculum seriesfor the State of Nebraska, Department of Economic Development, and holds an M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
She served as Director of Community and Business Development for the State of Nebraska’s Economic Development Department for several years prior to her work with Mid-America Arts Alliance.
History without Meaning Just Isn’t Worth Doing: How to Apply Historical Interpretation at Museums and Historic Sites with April White, G.W. Frank Museum
At first mention, Historical Interpretation might seem like a perplexing, and even overwhelming, theory to try and define. Yet, it has grown into an essential component in best practices for researching, understanding, and presenting the past. From this session, you will gain a deeper understanding of Historical Interpretation so you are better able to create and present meaningful historical content and provide lasting impressions for your visitors.
Historic Preservation Builds Tourism Opportunities with Kelli Bacon, History Nebraska
Every city, village, and county is eligible to become a Certified Local Government (CLG). Learn how the CLG program can help create heritage tourism opportunities through its grant program and help museums in the area.
Yes – You too Can be a Creative District with Rachel Morgan of the Nebraska Arts Council and Steven Woerth of the Brownville Creative District
Creative Districts is a new program at the Nebraska Arts Council that utilizes the arts as an economic driver. In this session, you’ll learn how you can celebrate your community’s unique identity and create a place where people want to live, work, and visit! Hear from the Nebraska Arts Council and from one of Nebraska’s first Creative Districts about how this program can work in your community.
Deaccessioning 101 with Becky Matticks, Stuhr Museum
Museum staff are great at saying yes to donors. Can we take your mother’s wedding dress, sure! Another awesome barb wire collection, why not? Our collections storage areas are bulging at the seams. What can we do? Don’t fret, there are ways to handle the overflow properly and judiciously. Museums have the right to deaccession and dispose of objects from its collection in a manner consistent with professionally accepted standards.
Documents, Insurance, and Volunteers, Oh My! Issues Facing All Museums with Erin Hauser of Saunders County Historical Society, Margo Prentiss of Cass County Historical Society, and Becci Thomas of Knights Museum and Sandhills Center
All museums are different, but all museums face similar issues. We’ll touch on the following: Keeping track of the needed documents for museums; Insurance responsibilities and current trends; and Attracting new & younger volunteers and keeping the ones you have.
Are You Prepared? with Cassandra Dean of Gage County Historical Society and Museum
Life can through us curveballs such as loss of job, broken down car, sickness, and death! At times we have to readjust ourselves to deal with these curveballs. This is no exception when it comes to running a museum. You might have a frozen pipe burst and water shooting out all over the place. There might be torrential rains that cause flooding. There might be a train wreck that endangers the water supply. When these curveballs happen, is your museum prepared? This session will go into detail on how to create and put into action a Hazard Mitigation Policy for your museum.
Special Thank to Our 2023 Sponsors:
Nebraska State Historical Society Foundation
Rambour Realty (Columbus, Neb.)
Total Fire & Security (Fremont, Neb.)
Platte County Historical Society
Columbus Chamber of Commerce