MAAM - Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums

A few weeks ago, nearly the entire Cooperstown Graduate program loaded up onto a charter bus and drove to Saratoga Springs for the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums conference. It was a really fascinating to speak with professionals already out in the field, and to get some very different perspectives on how museums do and should run. Here are some brief explinations of the sessions I attended and what I took from them:

1. Connect, Create, Collaborate: Program Development Responsive To The New Technology And The Culture of Youth
2. Climbing The Mountain, And Getting To The Other Side: Lessons Learned While Planning For The "New"
3. Fifth Annual Stephen E. Weil Memorial Lecture
4. Museum School Partnerships: Building Holistic Relationships For Growth And Learning
5. CGP Reception

1. Translating A New Building Project Into An Opportunity For Community Engagement
2. Invigorating Museums Through Creative Dramatics And Video Productions
3. Connecting With Community: Best Practices Outside The Museum Field

The entire conference was an amazing experience. It was wonderful getting the chance to speak with a number of people actually out in the industry. The memorial lecture was wonderful, and really stressed the importance of looking to non-traditional sources for inspiration within our museums. As a side note, the flash-mob theory discussed there was mentioned on the most recent episode of the tv show Greek, which my roommates and I had fun discussing. I also really had fun hearing about the creative dramatics and video productions. Having interpreted in two different third person open air/living history museums, it was a great chance to hear about some similar but very unique variations in other museums. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing the sketches at the Baseball Hall of Fame, and am very excited to now get a chance to try my own, as some of my classmates and I will be portraying characters from paintings at the Fenimore Arts Museum this weekend.

Looking back at the list of what I attended, I realized a lot of it focused on programs within museums or specifically with kids. It has really led me to wonder about the possibility of a future in museum education or museum programming. My biggest worry right now is that, unlike some of my classmates, I have no background in the theories or ideas behind education. But I know that I can make that moment happen, when someone puts two pieces of knowledge together and finally sees something in a new light. I love trying to find new ways to engage people, and I am excited about the possibility of museums serving a function beyond simply the preservation of artifacts. Having this potential direction is scary but exciting. We will see what happens!