Announcing Leadership Seminar for Affiliates

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.

Smithsonian X 3D: Revolutionizing how we see things

Recently, the Smithsonian unveiled the Smithsonian X 3D Collection and state-of-the-art 3D explorer. The Smithsonian X 3D Collection features objects from the Smithsonian that highlight different applications of 3D capture and printing, as well as digital delivery methods for 3D data in research, education and conservation. It was featured in a Center for the Future of Museums blog last week as well. Will it revolutionize the way we teach? Perhaps one day soon. But right now it’s certainly transforming the way we see the world one amazing object at a time!

I had a chance to explore the new 3D website and it’s definitely worth registering for an account. Getting an up-close look at the Wright flyer or watching a video describing how the scans were completed is worth it alone, and then add on the ‘tours’ for each object and your creative wheels start turning thinking of how you can share this with everyone you know. All objects in the explorer come with comprehensive guided tours. Each tour tells an interesting story about an object of the Smithsonian X 3D Collection. Tours are similar to PowerPoint presentations, but are always “live”. At any time during a tour, you can interact with everything you see in the viewer. It was pretty easy to get a handle on and after clicking around for a while, I had it down and was zooming in and out to look at details in the Wright flyer.

 

The coolest thing for Affiliates is the potential in the Educators section. In order to make our 137 million object collection more accessible, the 3D team came up with these teachable objects for everyone to explore. Some of our Affiliates are already using 3D technology for educational purposes. In fact, Dr. Herbert Maschner, Director of the Idaho Museum of Natural History, an Affiliate in Pocatello, Idaho, was a panelist in the recent symposium at the Smithsonian. He spoke about his museum’s work in “democratizing science,” scanning collections all over the world, resulting in data sets which can be used by researchers in a variety of disciplines.  The scans result in 3D or electronic files which can now be accessed from anywhere- even by teachers in classrooms, tying the subject matter into school curricula.

One of our National Outreach Managers, Laura Hansen, was able to attend the Smithsonian X 3D conference and said,

“This technology represents a wonderful opportunity for museums.  Models resulting from high resolution scans and printed on a 3D printer can give visitors and students access to objects in unprecedented ways.  Want to study mathematics? How about a scale model of the Parthenon to inspire students?  Wish you could handle a fragile fossil bone to see how an animal moved?  These scans and printed objects can help us think about collections in new ways, making museums repositories of information from the past that can literally shape our future.”

So take some time and explore the new Smithsonian X 3D Collection.  Just another idea from your friends at Smithsonian Affiliations to bring the Smithsonian to your neighborhood!

What to see at a Smithsonian Affiliate in your neighborhood

It’s the Friday before Thanksgiving break. We’re all excited about seeing friends and family and taking a little break from school and work. So here are a few ideas for including the Smithsonian in your holiday plans from our Affiliate partners across the country:

Midwest

The Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art in Elmhurt, Illinois, hosts Modern Designer Jewelry from the Smithsonian, an exhibition that features jewelry from American Jewelry designers from 1960 to 2009 from the collections of the National Museum of Natural History.

Mid-Atlantic

Take an in-depth look at Pennsylvania’s significant role during the Civil War at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. In its new major exhibition, Pennsylvania’s Civil War, you can find a tintype camera and portable printing press on loan from the National Museum of American History.

Mountain Plains

Apollo Boilerplate Command Module on loan from the National Air and Space Museum.

Apollo Boilerplate Command Module on loan from the National Air and Space Museum.

More than 21 artifacts on loan from the National Air and Space Museum are on view at the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamagordo. Get an up-close look at an Apollo Boilerplate Command Module and see the training coveralls worn by New Mexico astronaut, Harrison Schmitt, the only scientist to walk on the moon.

If you’re in San Antonio, the Institute of Texan Cultures is currently displaying two exhibitions from the National Museum of the American Indian and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES). Native Words, Native Warriors tells the story of soldiers from more than a dozen tribes who used their Native languages while in service in the U.S. military. Ramp It Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America celebrates the vibrancy, creativity and history of American Indian skateboarding culture.

New England

It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without the rich tradition of gathering together at harvest time and celebrating the abundant joys of the season. At Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts, visitors can learn all about the settlement of the Plymouth Colony in the 17th century.

Southeast

Go on safari at the Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina. Fourteen specimens–from a tiny eastern mole to a mountain gorilla–are on loan from the National Museum of Natural History.

The Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland, Florida, includes five works of art from the National Air and Space Museum collection in its exhibition Paintings of the Space Age.

The Mennello Museum of American Art in Orlando, Florida, has Earl Cunningham’s painting Seminole Indian Summer Camp on view from the Smithsonian American Art Museum in its Earl Cunningham gallery. 

Seminole Indian Summer Camp, ca. 1963, Earl Cunningham, oil on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Michael and Marilyn Mennello.

Seminole Indian Summer Camp, ca. 1963, Earl Cunningham, oil on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Michael and Marilyn Mennello.

West

Arizona State Museum, in Tucson, celebrates the creative work of American Indian directors, producers, writers, and actors during the Native Eyes Film Showcase, in collaboration with the National Museum of the American Indian and many others.

If you’re in California, visit the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles and see I Want the Wide American Earth: An Asian Pacific American Story. Created by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and organized for travel by SITES, the exhibit tells the story of how Asian Pacific Americans have shaped and been shaped by the course of our nation’s history.

Check out the San Diego Air and Space Museum where you can see nearly 30 space-related artifacts on loan from the National Air and Space Museum.

 

Is the Smithsonian in your neighborhood? Find an Affiliate here.

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coming up in affiliateland in november 2013

PUERTO RICO
Museo y Centro de Estudios Humanísticos hosts Budget Planning for Museums, a workshop led by Affiliations director, Harold Closter in Gurabo, 11.2.

TEXAS
SITES exhibition Ramp It Up: Skateboard Culture in Native America opens at the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio, 11.2.

SOUTH DAKOTA
As part of their ongoing Smithsonian Sunday series, the South Dakota State Historical Society will host a webcast from the National Air and Space Museum, 50 Years of Solar System Exploration: New Worlds, New Discoveries, in Pierre, 11.10.

PENNSYLVANIA
The National Museum of American Jewish History presents a lecture and book signing with Undersecretary Richard Kurin, author of The Smithsonian’s History of America in 101 Objects in Philadelphia, 11.12.

NEBRASKA
National Museum of Natural History curator, Hans Sues, will present a lecture at the University of Nebraska State Museum of Natural History in Lincoln, 11.14.

WASHINGTON, DC
Affiliate directors will be among the attendees of the Latino Partnership Forum, organized by the Smithsonian Latino Center and Smithsonian Affiliations, at the Smithsonian, 11.4-11.6.

15 Affiliates shared educational materials which will be available to educators as part of a rescheduled Smithsonian Teachers Night, Washington DC, 11.15.

National Museum of American History curators Nancy Davis and Peter Liebhold will participate in a panel discussion, Show me the Money: Museum Conversations of Debt and Commerce, with the director of the Museum of American Finance, David Cowen, in Washington DC, 11.23.

 

new smithsonian affiliate membership benefits for 2014

As we approach the end of 2013 and develop plans for new initiatives in the New Year, we would like to introduce some new benefits for your Smithsonian Affiliate members through the Smithsonian Affiliate Membership Program.

Smithsonian in Your In Box
In the past few months, Smithsonian Affiliations has been working to identify additional resources for your Smithsonian members that will be provided directly to members by email.

We all know that the easiest way to reach our audiences with information is where they spend the most time – in their inboxes.

magapp2aiPad app, travel opportunities and more
We have developed a balanced menu of engaging Smithsonian communications that will be of special interest for Smithsonian members.

They include newsletters, travel journals, weekend magazine issues from Smithsonian magazine and a downloadable iPad app for subscribers to get online access to the publication from their phones and tablets.

More Renewals – New Members
By creating more touch-points the new communications aim to bring members more value and access to the Smithsonian, generating higher renewals and new memberships at your museums and organizations.

We will be in touch directly with more detailed information about the email program, a planned Smithsonian membership drive and a new website for online member and subscription submissions.

We always welcome feedback and new ideas!

For more information please contact Christina DiMeglio Lopez 

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2014 Visiting Professionals Program

One of the exclusive benefits of being a Smithsonian Affiliate is the opportunity to apply for the Affiliations Visiting Professionals Program. Accepted Affiliate staff members get a program tailored to their project needs which can lead to new collaborations, new loans, new professional skills and endless networking opportunities. But don’t just listen to us. Here’s what your fellow Affiliate colleagues have to say:

Forensic Anthropology Lab

Jessica Crossman in the Forensic Anthropology Lab at the National Museum of Natural History.

 

I truly wish everyone at my institution had the chance to do this kind of program, which was eye-opening in so many ways. I know I will continue to maintain many of the relationships formed during my program and am grateful for the opportunity.” – Sarah Rooney, Community Programs Manager, Senator John Heinz History Center, 2013 Visiting Professional.

Through these wonderful learning experiences I met some truly talent and kind people that I hope to keep in touch with.  And of course this trip provided the Museum of Man some new ideas for our hands-on exhibit space.  I’m very grateful to have been given the opportunity to grow both professionally and personally through this wonderful opportunity.“– Jessica Crossman, Experiential Learning Department Program Coordinator, San Diego Museum of Man, 2013 Visiting Professional.

2009 Visiting Professional, Wayne Coleman from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in the Archives of American History.

2009 Visiting Professional, Wayne Coleman from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in the Archives of American History.

My Smithsonian colleagues were inviting, open, and encouraging. Their work is inspiring and has given me many ideas! I look forward to sharing what I learned with my colleagues and trying out some of the Smithsonian approaches.”– Lisa Falk, Director of Education, Arizona State Museum, 2010 Visiting Professional.

My experience was extremely valuable. The knowledge that I gained at the Smithsonian and that I am now sharing with co-workers has definitely been beneficial to our work.“– Katey Ahmann, Coordinator of Exhibit Hall Programs, North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences, 2009 Visiting Professional.

Application Guidelines:

  • Apply online! Candidates apply directly through the Smithsonian Online Academic Appointment System (SOLAA).
  • Visiting Professionals receive a stipend. Selected applicants will receive a $350 stipend per week (not to exceed $700) to help with expenses.
  • Applicants must be full-time staff members at an Affiliate organization.
  • Click here for full application requirements and to apply online.

Questions? Contact Elizabeth Bugbee, 202.633.5304.