>Frankly, I'm disillusioned by what seems to be a growing trend in
>hiring temporary workers to develop and make permanent exhibits

I would qualifiy as a 'seasoned' museum worker and as far as historical museum
are concerned (and I think this applies to natural history museums as wel) the
operation of museums has changed greatly. Artifacts are less important and the'
story' has moved to the front  so exhibits arefar more complex than they once
were and require more specialized skills.  was a time when the same wood worker
fixed the building and built the exhibits.