Starlyn — very interesting response about the quarreling over paranormal technique and authenticity. It's perhaps not surprising in a gathering of people who have become "experts" in a field of study that, based upon its lack of any credible evidence, does not even really exist. Also interesting that it attracted vandals, although Dave's point that there may be no real connection between the paranormal groups being on site and the break-ins is a good one, and that a prudent show of increased security might be advisable in any case. I am still of the opinion (and, meaning no disrespect to Dave, who I know is a highly experienced and capable professional), that museums should not, by the activity of inviting paranormal groups to their premises, sanction by association the pseudo-science these groups propagate. If a museum wishes to commemorate or educate about a cultural history that includes supernatural belief systems, it can be accomplished without seeming to embrace or validate those same beliefs in the process. /stephen S t e p h e n N o w l i n Vice President, Director, Williamson Gallery, 626.396.2397 | http://williamsongallery.net/google P a s a d e n a — C I t y o f A r t & S c I e n c e From: Starlyn D'Angelo <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> Reply-To: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> Date: Saturday, September 8, 2012 10:46 AM To: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Paranormal investigations This sounds like an interesting course. I won't be able to participate but wanted to point out a couple things. I work at a Shaker Historic Site in Albany (the first Shaker settlement). Shakers believed that they could communicate with the spirit world, so we felt that offering paranormal related programming would support our mission to cultivate an interest in Shaker history. So, my first point is that it is very important to consider carefully how these programs support an institution's mission before initiating such programming. Second: We found that after hosting a few paranormal photography programs (open to the public) and allowing a paranormal investigator to use the site, we gained a reputation for being a productive location for documenting paranormal activity. As a result, we experienced several incidents in which buildings were broken into. These buildings are empty and no copper or other materials were removed. The police agreed that it was very likely that "ghost hunters" were breaking into the buildings since there was no other motivation for the break ins. We decided to discontinue our paranormal programs and have not had a break in since. Third: We found that the audience for our paranormal programs needed of a great deal of care and attention. There was a lot of fighting over techniques, what was authentic paranormal activity etc. I literally had to stand in between two program participants like a kindergarten teacher to keep them from fighting. This was true during all of the paranormal programs we offered not just one or two of them. I am NOT saying that all participants in these types of programs will behave this way or that all sites will have break ins but I did want to share these experiences. It sounds like David's course would be helpful to prevent some of these kinds of problems. However, that brings me back to mission and that is a matter that every museum/historic site should think about carefully. Starlyn D'Angelo, Executive Director Shaker Heritage Society www.shakerheritage.org > > Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2012 12:42:48 -0500 > From: Brad Bredehoft <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> > Subject: Paranormal Investigations in Museums and Historic Sites online course begins September 17 > > MS013: Paranormal Investigations in Museums and Historic Sites > Instructor: David Harvey > Price: $99 > Dates: Sep 17 to Sep 21, 2012 > > Description: > Many museums and historic sites are being contacted by paranormal groups > for permission to conduct investigations on their sites. There has been > an explosion of interest in the paranormal in the past ten years with > over a thousand teams and groups in the USA. There are also millions who > follow this on television and other media. When a museum or historic > site manager is approached by these groups there are many concerns, but > there is also the potential for it to become a new marketing and income > generating activity for the organization. This course is designed to > give you the tools to have a constructive dialogue with these groups and > to be able to develop a policy / program that best benefits your > institution. > > This short course will introduce you to Paranormal Groups. You will > learn how these groups investigate and explore, the pros and cons of > developing a policy and how to include them in your programs. The > Paranormal Groups also need to be educated about the perspectives and > mission of Museums and Historic Sites to appreciate how we operate. > There can be benefits in understanding and working with each other. We > will take you through the research, methods and equipment and approaches > to public outreach by the paranormal teams. > > We will address their perspectives and concerns. We will also go through > the perspectives, equipment and policies of museums and our concerns. > Then we will go through the potential benefits for both sides and how > you can best take advantage of the public interest in this to develop > policies and programs that enhance your marketing and program efforts in > a way that protects your integrity and collections, yet brings more > people in your doors. > > Logistics: > Participants in Paranormal Investigations in Museums and Historic Sites > will read literature and participate in two one-hour chats to discuss > Paranormal Investigations in Museums and Historic Sites. Each student > should read course materials and prepare questions or comments to share > with the other students in the chat. This is a mini-course and takes no > more than 10 hours of a student's time. This is an opportunity to > brain-storm with colleagues about what works and what doesn't work. > > To reserve a spot in the course, pay at > http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html If you have trouble please > contact Helen Alten at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> > > The Instructor: > Dave Harvey is currently a consultant to the producers of a new National > Geographic Television Series, America's Lost Treasures, set in museums > across the USA. David is also a senior conservator with Rosa Lowinger > and Associates - specializing in Objects, Architecture, and Sculpture. > > He has thirty years of diverse experience in conservation, > archaeological fieldwork, and American living history museum craftwork > and interpretation. David was the archaeological conservator for the > James River Institute for Archaeology, The Yorktown Archaeological > trust, and the Virginia Company Foundation doing fieldwork, artifact > cataloguing, scientific analysis, and the conservation and stabilization > of diverse historical and prehistoric archaeological artifacts. He was > the lab manager for the Metals & Arms conservation lab at Colonial > Williamsburg. He was also responsible for the design and equipment > specifications for the new Metals &Arms laboratory, X-radiography > facility, and Analytical Laboratory in the DeWitt Wallace Collections & > Conservation Building on the Bruton Heights School Education Center > Campus. David was appointed Head of the Objects Conservation Department > at The Rocky Mountain Conservation Center at the University of Denver, > was the proprietor of his own professional conservation and consulting > company Artifacts, and was the Senior Associate Conservator for Griswold > Conservation Associates. David is a Professional Associate of The > American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and has served as the local > arrangements chair for the annual AIC meeting, program chair, chair, and > emeritus chair of the Objects specialty group and editor of the New > Materials and Research Column for the AIC News. David has pursued > educational outreach during his career in diverse media such as > scientific/technical journals, popular magazines and journals, > television, and audio-visual lectures & workshops. > > -- > Brad Bredehoft > Sales and Technology Manager > Northern States Conservation Center > www.collectioncare.org > www.museumclasses.org > ________________________________ To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 ========================================================= 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] . 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