Good Morning Greta, You pose an intriguing question. Here are my 2 cents.... Regarding the museum as a forum for controversial programming....... 1. Theoretically, if your institution offers a forum, where ALL points of view on a particular subject are presented by a variety of speakers - and you do a thorough job in covering all of the points of view - by the end of the program series, you "hopefully" should cause everyone's blood pressure go up. 2. The second issue is, "How high do you want their blood pressure to go up?" Hopefully, not too high on the first program. 3. Therefore, I would suggest that you begin with a series that deals with a relatively "tame" subject. Then, after a few pilot programs, you can introduce more "explosive" subjects. In other words,..... start at the entry level and slowly turn-up the thermostat. This is something that I would do......, but, ...... do it carefully..... and in measured increments. Best Wishes for Success! Wesley Wesley S. Creel Administrator of Programs Pink Palace Family of Museums Memphis, TN, USA Please visit our website at www.memphismuseums.org <http://www.memphismuseums.org/> ________________________________ From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of greta Brunschwyler Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2009 11:46 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: controversial progreamming? Have any of you held programs; forums, panels, a series of speakers, etc. where multiplepoints of view on a topic are presented? The High Desert Museum would like to present programs such as this, but our trustees are skittish and want to know if other museums have done it successfully without so much controversy that funders pull support. If you have been successful or not, or if you know of a museum that has presented multiple points of view on a topic, please let me know. We are looking at topics such as water rights and use, appropriate public land use, predator reintroduction. Thank you- any help will go a long way. Greta bBrunschwyler, VP of Programs High Desert Museum Bend, OR 541/382-4754 [log in to unmask] ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).