Crowdfunding + Tweetups. Yes. Those are real things.

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And museums are using them in new and unique ways to raise money and engage new audiences. In 2013, the Freer|Sackler Gallery launched its first major crowdfunding campaign “Together we’re one” to support Yoga: The Art of Transformation. Using crowdfunding, the museum asked ordinary citizens to help fund the exhibit. In the end, the museum raised more than $170,000, well above its goal.

tweetup1At the National Museum of American History, National Air and Space Museum and National Museum of Natural History social media practitioners are engaging new audiences in person and online by hosting Tweetups (sometimes called socials) for enthusiasts who want to learn more about Smithsonian collections, programs and exhibits. Partnering with other organizations like NASA and the National Holocaust Museum, the Smithsonian reaches new audiences through the personal tweets from their most avid audiences. During the #docsocial tweetup in January 2014, the small event–about 25 tweeps–resulted in almost 24 million impressions on Twitter. (Impressions are similar to newspaper delivery–you know how many newspapers were delivered but not how many were read, but the potential is there!)

As we plan our 2014 Affiliations National Conference, we want to know who among our amazing Affiliate network have had successes in crowdfunding and tweetups? We’re planning two sessions during our conference about both topics and would love to include Affiliate insights. Have you funded a program or exhibit through online giving? Have you expanded your reach using Tweetups as a tool? We want to know. And if you’re one of our amazing Affiliate innovators, we want to include you in our conference. Email Elizabeth Bugbee to share your successes (and failures too!).

In addition, we’ve started a Social Media @SIAffiliates Facebook group. We want to create a community for our Affiliate network to get to know each other and share ideas with each other. Please join today!

Join us at the 2014 Affiliations National Conference June 23-25 in Washington, D.C. The Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference is for current Affiliates only. If you are interested in becoming an Affiliate, or have an application in progress and would like to attend the Conference, please contact Elizabeth Bugbee for more information.

Latino Young Ambassadors + Affiliates = next generation of leaders

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The Smithsonian Latino Center’s Young Ambassadors Program (YAP) is a national program for graduating high school seniors aimed at fostering the next generation of Latino leaders in the arts, sciences, and humanities via the Smithsonian Institution and its partners. YAP is a college preparatory and leadership program encouraging participants to explore various academic and career opportunities through the lens of the Latino experience.

young-ambassadors-program-sealStudents are selected to travel to Washington, D.C. for a week-long seminar at the Smithsonian, followed by a four-week  internship in museums and other cultural institutions in 17 cities across the United States and Puerto Rico, including 10 Affiliates.

Do you know a Latino teen who aspires to be a leader in the arts, sciences or humanities? 

Who? Graduating high school seniors with a commitment to the arts, sciences, or humanities as it pertains to Latino communities

What? Week-long, all-expenses paid training and leadership seminar and a four-week internship with a $2,000 program stipend

Where?  Washington D.C. and internships in 17 cities across the U.S. and Puerto Rico

When? June 22-August 1, 2014

Why? Opportunity to explore various career paths, embrace your own cultural heritage, and gain practical and leadership skills and intellectual growth

Application deadline: April 7, 2014

YAPFor more information, to view the promotional video, and to apply visit: https://latino.si.edu/programs/youngambassadors.htm

With questions: Email SLCEducation@si.edu

 

 

And thanks to the 2014 YAP Affiliate partners!
Musical Instrument Museum (Phoenix, AZ)
California Science Center (Los Angeles, CA)
Museum of Latin American Art (Long Beach, CA)
Chabot Space and Science Center (Oakland, CA)
Miami Science Museum (Miami, FL)
Adler Planetarium (Chicago, IL)
Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (San Juan, PR)
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History (Fort Worth, TX)
International Museum of Art and Science (McAllen, TX)
The Museum of Flight (Seattle, WA)

 

coming up in Affiliateland in March 2014

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Spring is right around the corner and programs are blooming at Affiliates! 

FLORIDA 
The Polk Museum of Art hosts a talk and booksigning on the Smithsonian’s History of America in 101 Objects by Richard Kurin, Undersecretary of History, Art and Culutre, in Lakeland, 3.6.  

Undersecretary Richard Kurin tours Affiliates with his new book.

Undersecretary Richard Kurin tours Affiliates with his new book.


PUERTO RICO
Jennifer Brundage, National Outreach Manager, will lead a workshop on the Social Functions of Museums at the Museo y Centro de Estudios Humanísticos in Gurabo, 3.8.

WASHINGTON
The Northwest Museum of Arts in Culture hosts a talk and booksigning on the Smithsonian’s History of America in 101 Objects by Richard Kurin, Undersecretary for History, Art and Culture, in Spokane, 3.11-14.

NEBRASKA 
The Durham Museum hosts An Evening with the Smithsonian featuring Dr. Michael Neufeld, curator at the National Air and Space Museum, speaking about the Apollo 8 Mission, in Omaha, 3.13.

PENNSYLVANIA 
Twenty staff members from the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center will visit the National Museum of American History for a day-long visit to tour exhibitions, collections and to meet staff, coming from Carlisle, 3.3.

The Heinz History Center  hosts a talk and booksigning on the Smithsonian’s History of America in 101 Objects by Richard Kurin, Undersecretary for History, Art and Culture, in Pittsburgh, 3.22.  

VIRGINIA
The Hermitage Museum and Gardens will host their Affiliation Announcement, as well as a public lecture on Creating a Community of International Exchange by Jane Milosch, Smithsonian curator and Director of the Provence Research Initiative, in Norfolk, 3.27. 

Announcing Leadership Seminar for Affiliates

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gwlogoRecognizing that the need for leadership skills is fundamental in the field, Smithsonian Affiliations has recently signed an agreement to offer leadership training to staff of Affiliate museums in collaboration with George Washington University’s Museum Studies Program.   The Smithsonian has a long standing collaborative relationship with GW that encompasses internships, joint research programs, and research fellowships.   GW’s Museum Studies program is a nationally-known graduate training program with core curriculum in collections, exhibition development and design, new media, and museum management and leadership.  Since conducting a survey of Affiliate staff in 2012, GWs Associate Professor of Museum Studies, Martha Morris, has worked with Affiliations Director, Harold Closter, to design a two-day seminar to be held here in Washington, D.C., on June 26 and 27, 2014, following the Smithsonian Affiliations National Conference.

Museums today face incredible challenges as well as new opportunities. Globalization, new technologies, competition,  accountability, collections preservation, financial turmoil and staffing changes are all major concerns. In addition, professional standards and ethical mandates continue to evolve.  Museums need highly trained staff, committed governance, and innovative leaders to assure their long term sustainability.  The 21st-century workforce demands individuals who are collaborative, flexible, imaginative, and innovative.  The goal of this collaboration between the Smithsonian and GW is to provide opportunities for staff at all levels of the museum to gain needed skills that will position them and their organization for success.

The program will provide opportunity for interaction with leaders at the Smithsonian and other museums as well as faculty of GW.  Topics will include practical skills in management systems as well as strategic thinking and leadership philosophy.   The value of the seminar will be in developing new skills as well as creating new networks for continuing professional growth.

The program will be reasonably priced with a limited number of scholarships available.  Registration will be opening in April, but we encourage you to save the dates now.  For further information about the seminar please contact Professor Martha Morris, George Washington University Museum Studies program at morrism@gwu.edu.

Photo courtesy George Washington University.

Photo courtesy George Washington University.

coming up in Affiliateland in February 2014

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It may be chilly across the country, but the temperature is not stopping Affiliates from offering great programming in February!

NATIONWIDEnational_youth_summit
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer, 12 Affiliates will join the National Museum of American History to hold a National Youth Summit, linking high school students across the U.S. in an engaging program on the history and legacy of the 1964 youth-led effort for voting rights and education, 2.5.

Participating Affiliates include:
African American Museum & National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia, PA
American Jazz Museum, Kansas City, MO
Arab American National Museum, Dearborn, MI
History Colorado  Center, Denver, CO
Institute of Texan Cultures, San Antonio, TX
Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, CA
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati, OH
Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Senator John Heinz History Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH
North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh, NC

NEBRASKA
The Durham Museum opens The 1968 Exhibit featuring three Apollo 8 artifacts from the National Air and Space Museum, in Omaha, 2.8.

snakeThe University of Nebraska State Museum opens the Titanoboa: Monster Snake exhibition (SITES) in Lincoln, 2.22.
IOWA
The Putnam Museum opens Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program, 1942-1964 (SITES) in Davenport, 2.15.

kudos Affiliates! February 2014 edition

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Nice going Affiliates!  Bravo!

Funding

Students experience Textile Revolution: An Exploration through Space and Time, the permanent exhibition at the American Textile History Museum.

Students experience Textile Revolution: An Exploration through Space and Time, the permanent exhibition at the American Textile History Museum.

For the eighth consecutive year, Citizens Bank charitable foundation donated $25,000 to the African-American Museum in Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA) in honor of Martin Luther King Day. The funding was used to underwrite the museum’s costs to offer free admission and cultural activities to more than 3,000 expected visitors.

The American Textile History Museum (Lowell, MA) has received a major gift of $1 million from the late G. Gordon Osborne and his wife, Marjorie, which will go towards the museum’s endowment fund.

The  Western Reserve Historical Society recently received a $407,000 grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation to work with its local school district to implement an entrepreneurial curriculum for 4th-6th graders. The 3-year program will be implemented this spring.

Awards and Recognition

The Oklahoma Historical Society (Oklahoma City, OK) announced the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. has selected The Daughter of Dawn as one of 25 films inducted to its 2013 National Film Registry, a collection of cinematic treasures that represent important cultural, artistic and historic achievements in filmmaking. The 80-minute, six-reel silent movie was shot during the summer of 1920 in Oklahoma’s Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge outside of Lawton.

Charlene Donchez-Mowers and the Historic Bethlehem Partnership (Bethlehem, PA) have been named the recipients of the seventh Tribute to Historic Preservation Award sponsored by the Sun Inn Preservation Association.

Leadership

The board of governors of the Strategic Air and Space Museum (Ashland, NE) announced that Michael McGinnis has been appointed as the museum’s new Executive Director.