In the News

Please write to us to share any job changes or significant achievements you would like to share with MER members: network@mer-online.org.

• Kathryn Friedle, Education Coordinator at the Sheldon Museum in Haines, Alaska (and a new member of the Museum Education Roundtable!) writes that the Museum recently received a $3,200 grant from Alaska Humanities Forum for a hands-on educational exhibit for annual installation in its new temporary exhibit gallery, the Elisabeth S. Hakkinen Room. The Children's Interactive learning Center will open in December 2006 and is designed to offer children hands-on opportunities to experience local history and culture of the Haines area. This will be a month-long exhibit with possible extension in the spring. Currently a community committee of area teachers, educators and cultural representatives is being formed at the Sheldon Museum to gather ideas for activities and objects that will be in the Center.
• Helen M. Shannon, Ph.D., Executive Director of the New Jersey State Museum from 2001-2006, has been appointed to the Director of Museum Education in the Museum Studies Department at The University of the Arts, department chair Polly McKenna-Cress recently announced. "We are thrilled to have Helen on board and look forward to starting a new academic year with a highly experienced and respected professional and professor," McKenna-Cress said.
• Thanks to the generous support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Conner Prairie Museum has released their live interpretation training DVD and CD-ROM. It is available to museum educators at a reduced rate for a limited time. Place your order now at http://openingdoors.connerprairie.org. This training resource includes a 90+ minute DVD and an interactive CD-ROM designed to help guide staff and volunteers at any type of interpretive site to deliver outstanding experiences for guests, through live interpretation. The resource features Roy Underhill, author, interpretive expert, and host of PBS's The Woodwright Shop, and Lynn Dierking, Ph.D., learning innovator and author. In addition, experts from other museums and universities, along with front-line staff and volunteers from Conner Prairie, contribute their ideas about creating great guest experiences.

Opportunities

• EdCom AAM Annual Meeting Diversity Fellowship - AAM and EdCom are committed to making museums more responsive to diversity in every aspect of their work, and the mission of AAM EdCom includes serving as an advocate for diverse audiences. One way that EdCom encourages museums to represent diversity among their staff is by awarding fellowship assistance to new museum education professionals of diverse backgrounds to attend the AAM annual meeting. This professional development opportunity helps those entering the field to establish associations with organizations and individuals who will serve as resources to them throughout their museum careers. Applicants must be a person of color and be graduate students in a museum studies program who are preparing for a museum education role or new professionals who have worked in museum education for three years or less. Annual meeting attendees must be either individual members of AAM or designated representatives of an institutional member. Fellowship winners are asked to submit a brief report to EdCom following the annual meeting. The fellowship covers the annual meeting early registration fee, attendance at EdCom events with an EdCom mentor, and one year s membership in EdCom. For more information or to request an application, please contact cheryl.palmer@themintmuseums.org. Applications are due January 12, 2007.
• 2007 Marketplace of Ideas and Read The Fine Print - Held at the 2007 AAM Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL on Monday, May 14, 2007, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. This year's Marketplace will expand upon the larger theme of the Annual Meeting, "Why Museums Matter," and is entitled Museum Education Matters: Current Trends in Museum Education. As museum education professionals and volunteers, we understand how and why museum education matters. But are we doing an effective job of communicating this to others? What are current trends in museum education that convey the value of museum education to the public, the media, policy-makers and funders? What are the key messages that we as a community are communicating, and need to communicate? If you would like to participate in the Marketplace and your project focuses on innovative programming within the Museum context or would like to showcase your new written piece (e.g., gallery guides, school brochures, etc.) for EdCom's "Read the Fine Print" publication showcase, please contact Nathan Richie, EdCom Chair for the 2007 Marketplace of Ideas, for an application form. Send emails to NRichie@FreedomMuseum.US. Deadline - January 12, 2007.
• Call for 2007 EdCom Award Nominees! - Since 1983, EdCom has recognized outstanding contributions to museum education by individual practitioners, museums offering distinguished programs and publications, and individuals demonstrating leadership within the entire museum community and beyond. These important awards enable us to proudly share our successes within our museum field and to our peers outside it. Four types of awards are given: Excellence in Practice, Excellence in Programming, Excellence in Publications and the John Cotton Dana Award for Leadership. You can find a description of each of these awards and nomination forms at www.edcom.org or contact Cheryl Palmer at cheryl.palmer@themintmuseums.org. Nominations are due no later than January 15, 2007. I encourage you to nominate your colleagues and give well-deserved recognition to the hard work that we all accomplish.
• The Volunteer Management Review is a weekly publication for volunteer resources managers (VRMs) that provides information about standards, techniques and industry trends for addressing problem situations. Writers share information based on research, current trends and practices from the field. Do you have something to share? Would you like to reach out to VRMs across the nation and share what you have learned? Volunteer Management Review draws on the talents and knowledge of its contributors. Contributors are asked to submit four 1,000 word articles each year on the topic of their choice. Topics are varied and can touch on sector specific information such as animal-care, faith-based, emergency management and social service organizations. Please visit https://charitychannel.com/contribute to register and share your knowledge with other.