*Old Dogs and Young Pups: Generational Perspectives on the Museum Profession
What perspectives and expectations do different generations of
museum professionals bring to the job? What can their experiences
and perspectives teach us? Join a father-daughter team with 31 years
of museum experience (father = 30, daughter = 1) as they explore
generational perspectives and the effects they have on our
profession.
Presenters: Bob
Keckeisen, Formerly Museum and Historic Sites Director, Kansas State Historical
Society, Topeka, KS; Katie Keckeisen, Curator, Wyoming Territorial Prison State
Historic Site, Laramie, WY
This is a special
presentation for MPMA's Emerging Museum Professionals (EMP)
*Beyond the Questionnaire: Tools for Collecting Data
Or.... How to be an advocate for your visitors
This session is on evaluation techniques. You will see how evaluation can be done simply, with internal resources, and doesn't always require an enormous investment of time, money or an external expert.
BUT, this session is more than just on evaluation. Betsy Martinson, one of the presenters, says this: "Evaluation helps me understand our audience and their experience with our exhibits and programs." She understands how important it is to avoid making assumptions about visitor behavior: "It's not about you, it's about that family walking through the door. I feel really empowered as an advocate for our visitors. I work for them, for their preferences and expectations. It's no longer an issue of what I want; it's an issue of what THEY want. Incorporating visitor studies and evaluation into our ongoing operations really made me think about creating visitor-centered, cohesive exhibits and how we can make those improvements at my organization."
Presenters: Betsy Martinson, Program Administrator, Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave, City and County of Denver. Laureen Trainer, Manager of Audience Insights, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, CO
*
Multifaceted University Museums: Engaging Beyond the
Campus
Do you work in a
museum on a campus? Hear examples
of how academia can reach out to the community beyond and still be
engaging. Then join
colleagues at the AAMG annual
reception. AKA: Association of
Academic Museums and Galleries