I just want to mention that not all museum conferences are less than
welcoming to children  My husband and I have both been active in ALHFAM
(Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums) for a long
while, and when our son was born, we knew we did not want to give up
attending the very information, useful (and fun!) meetings.  We had friends
who had been bringing their daughter to the conferences for years, so we
felt assured that we could do it, too.   Wil is now just over three, and
has been to 4 regional and 2 international meetings.

Of course it'snot always easy keeping an infant or toddler relatively quiet
and happy.  We do not let Wil interrupt sessions - so that means we usually
take turns going to sessions and watching him.  You might think that other
attendees would not want to see children at a conference, but we have found
just the opposite to be true.  Often friends and colleagues miss their own
families, and ask if they can play with/read to/ watch Wil for a while.  We
have never felt that his presence was an imposition, and in fact  feel that
there is a kind of positive reinforcement that family is just as important
as work. Because of this supportive attitude in ALHFAM, we have both been
able to remain active in the organization,  our son has met people from all
over the world, and he has become a very good traveler and museum-goer.

The planning committee for the 2003 Annual Conference at the Henry Ford has
taken the welcoming of children one step further. They are offing a "kid's
track" along with the conference, so the children will be nearby enjoying a
summer camp-like" experience, while the parents can participate in the
conference.  This will be an additional expense, of course, but will
hopefully work well and become a model for future meetings.

I'm sorry that other organizations don't have the same sort of attitude
toward children - it's just another reason why I think ALHFAM is one of the
best professional organizations in our field.

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