Wednesday, June 10, 2009

11:00AM – 11:30AM Registration
Smith Undergraduate Education Center (CUE) Room 518

There is a public parking garage located under the CUE with hourly rates or one can secure a visitor’s permit at the Visitor’s Center in Downtown Pullman that will allow parking in the outdoor lots near the CUE.

11:30 AM – 4:00 PM Preconference Workshop Pre Registration Required
Smith Undergraduate Education Center (CUE) Room 518

Pre Registration Required

NAGPRA 101: A Workshop on Collection Summaries, Inventories, and Repatriation
Presenters: Angela J. Neller, Curator, Wanapum Heritage Center; Jackie Cook, Repatriation Specialist, History and Archaeology Program, Colville Confederated Tribes; Kate Valdez, Yakama Nation Tribal Historic Preservation Officer; and Megon Noble, Assistant Archaeology Collections Manager/NAGPRA Coordinator, Burke Museum

This workshop will provide participants with a basic understanding of the NAGPRA process as it pertains to museum collections under sections 5 (summaries), 6 (inventories), and 7 (repatriation) of the act and the future applicability of NAGPRA, published as a final rule in March of 2007. Topics include an overview of the Act, summaries and inventories, consultation, repatriation, notices, working with tribes, and the future applicability of NAGPRA for museums.

4:00PM – 5:00PM Washington Museum Association Board Meeting
WMA members are welcome

5:00PM – 7:00PM Opening Reception
Join your fellow museum professionals for an evening of local libations and WSU’s famous Cougar Cheese in the Honor’s Lounge.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

8:00AM – 11:00AM Registration CUB, Jr. Ballroom

8:00 am-Breakfast CUB, Jr. Ballroom

9:00AM – 10:15PM Welcome and Awards CUB, Jr. Ballroom
Dr. Mary Collins, Associate Director, WSU Anthropology Museum, WMA Local Arraignments Chair; Ellen Terry, WMA President; and Mike Siebol, WMA Scholarship and Awards Committee Chair

Hear what’s happening in Washington’s museums, as WMA honors award-winning exhibits, programs, institutions, volunteers, staff and presentation of scholarships.

10:30AM – 11:15AM Keynote Address: Ford Bell. AAM President CUB, Jr. Ballroom
As AAM’s President & CEO, Ford Bell brings an impressive record of scholarship, community engagement, proven leadership and a passion for championing museums as places of lifelong learning and enjoyment. He has more than 30 years’ experience as a nonprofit executive, board chair, donor, trustee, educator and scientist.

“Today, more than ever, museums are an integral part of the foundation of our civic life in America. They help us understand each other, as well as ourselves, and in doing so allow us to face the challenges of the future, grounded in the lessons of our shared history.” - Ford Bell

11:30-12:30 Lunch with programs about WSU Museums in the Museum of Anthropology, College Hall

In addition to conference events you will have the opportunity to visit and learn about the various research collections on campus through our boxed lunch venue “show and tell” series in the Anthropology Museum and the Holland Library.

12:45-2:00 Breakout Sessions in Bryan Hall

The What, Why, Who & How of Nonprofits
Presenter: Sherel Webb, Administrator, Franklin County Historical Society & Museum

This session will explore the basic tenets of nonprofits; address the duties and responsibilities of board members, including a sample letter to prospective board nominees; define the division of labor between board members and staff; and discuss the importance of the Mission Statement with regard to strategic planning.

Eye of the Hurricane: Developing a Prudent Deaccession Policy in Financial Chaos
Presenter: Cinnamon Stephens, Esq., Law Offices of Cinnamon Stephens

This session will examine the legal and ethical parameters of deaccessioning with an aim to offering guidelines for developing and pursuing prudent deaccessioning policy in the current financial climate. Will include discussion of current case studies; e.g., Brandeis.

Infusing Your Museum with Play!: Making More Museums Family Welcoming
Presenters: Tanya Andrews, Children’s Museum of Tacoma and Putter Bert, KidsQuest Children’s Museum in Bellevue

Now more than ever families are taking advantage of local opportunities—“stay-cations” are all the rage! Come receive a Young Family 101 crash course on how to make your Museum inviting and practical for young families. We’ll also explore some inexpensive and easy ways to infuse your Museum with appropriate hands-on activities. Participants will then create their own “play plans” to take back and implement right away.

2:15-2:45 Coffee Break, Bryan Hall Foyer

3:00-4:15 Breakout Sessions in Bryan Hall

You Don’t Have To Do It All: Tackling the Challenge of “Right-Sizing” Your Education Program
Presenter: Stephanie Lile, Head of Education, Washington State History Museum

As budget cuts surge and organizations are forced to make difficult choices, how can you still maintain a viable education program? And what does a “viable education program” look like in these times of change? The answers may surprise you. Join us in this session to explore a range of education program models, pick up tips for education program design, and find strategies to highlight the strengths of your organization and its educational mission.

Pick Ups at the Collector’s Home (for exhibition or donation): Creative Packing When Confronted with the Unexpected
Presenter: Mike Hascall, Artech Fine Art Services founder and owner

When picking up artworks at a collector’s home, the best planning can leave you unprepared for the surprises you may encounter on site. Whether 20 objects instead of 2, a no-shoes policy when you need to move heavy sculpture, or a delicate glass object that is twice the guaranteed size, this session will help you get the job done without a hitch. Questions to ask, materials and tools to bring, and techniques on site will be discussed and demonstrated in detail.

Coming Together: Washington State Regional Museum and Heritage Organizations
Presenters: Mary Bowlby, President, Heritage League of Pierce County; Danelle Feddes, Co-Chair, Kitsap Heritage Council; and Heather Mygatt, Co-Chair, Kitsap Heritage Council

Regional museum/heritage organizations foster communication between the associations they serve, allowing them to pool resources in collaborative efforts to increase support for and awareness of their respective regional treasures. This roundtable session will enable participants to network and discuss topics of mutual interest regarding museum/heritage organizations, share ideas, and encourage those interested in establishing new or revitalizing existing organizations.

6:00-9:00 WMA Banquet at The Art Museum
This year’s Banquet will be unique and amazing. Instead of a single sit down meal, small cocktail tables and various food stations will be scattered throughout the main gallery so you will be mixing with new people with different savory and sweet foods.

Friday, June 12, 2009

8:00AM – 2:00PM Registration

8:00 am- Coffee and Hosted Continental Breakfast, Museum of Anthropology, College Hall

9:00-10:15 Breakout Sessions

Dialog on Disaster: Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
Presenters: Lisa Hill-Festa, Curator of Collections, Nordic Heritage Museum; Eric Taylor, Heritage 4Culture Lead; and Dana K. Senge, Owner and Principal Conservator, DKS Conservation Services, LLC

Earthquakes, floods, and fires are but a few of the disasters that can harm a museum and its collections. The panel presentation will teach museum staff and volunteers their role in prevention and preparedness, will provide resources to help with disaster planning, response, and recovery, and will allow for the sharing of information through a dialog on actual museum disasters.

Board and Staff Roles – A Simulation
Presenter: Richard Beckerman, Museum/Nonprofit Consultant

Board members have a different perspective on their museums than staff. This simulation helps understand this perspective and where our ideas about Board roles come from, whether you are a board or staff member. Draws from legal role definitions, imported concepts of board member roles, to the group dynamics found in the board room. Well suited for those new to museums and a good chance for senior staff to better understand board relationships.

Carrot & Stick: Leading the Visitor in Interpretive Museum Exhibitions
Presenter: Andrew Granitto, Curator of Exhibits, Yakima Valley Museum

A successful exhibit is stealth education—visitors believe that they are having fun leisure-time experiences, but little do they realize that they are being manipulated to receive information. If the exhibit is effective, each visitor is drawn into the subject matter and through the exhibit, led by his or her natural curiosity and wonder. Good exhibit design creates a pathway of baits and hooks, anchor objects and support objects, and interpretive text presented in layers that draw the visitor into ever-deeper interpretation of the subject matter—an architecture of information.

10:30-11:45 Breakout Sessions Bryan Hall

Connection Schmection: Writing to Connect with Young Audiences
Presenter: Stephanie Lile, Head of Education, Washington State History Museum

To write text that really connects with young audiences, you need to know what kids are reading and learn techniques from the world of children’s literature. This session will be designed as a presentation and workshop for anyone who is faced with writing exhibit labels or educational materials that are intended to serve young audiences. We’ll explore style, length, vocabulary, and techniques for reaching young audiences without “dumbing down” ideas and concepts. Participants are encouraged to send samples and subjects ahead of time if they would like a short critique of proposed text panels.

Encounter with the Kernal
Presenters: Keith A. Wells, Curator for the Museum of ART/WSU

The lecture will summarize the relationship that developed between the artist, Gaylen Hansen, while assembling his exhibit and writing the accompanying book and myself. The Palouse has been home to many great Northwest artists and its’ beauty and splendor often seep into their work. It is a perfect opportunity to discuss this influence while the audience is immersed in the epicenter of its’ rolling hills.

Plateau Connects
Moderator; Michael Holloman, Director, Center for Plateau Cultural Studies, Northwest Museum of Art and Culture. Presenters: Barbara Aston, Interim Director, Plateau Center for American Indian Studies, WSU; Francis Cullooyah, Cultural Director, Kalispel Tribe of Indians; Dr. Mary Collins, Dept. of Anthropology, WSU; and Marjorie Waheneka, Exhibits Manager, Tamastslikt Cultural Institute

Verne F. Ray noted in his 1933 groundbreaking text, “Cultural Relations in the Plateau of North America” that the Columbia Plateau peoples are a distinct Indian culture; not a hybrid of the Western Plains or the Northwest Coast. This panel will highlight collaborations between the Plateau Center for American Indian Studies of WSU and the MAC’s Center for Plateau Cultural Studies and their commitment to celebrate Plateau identity through collections based, academic and cultural programming.

12:00PM – 1:15PM Lunch – WMA Annual Meeting Museum of Anthropology, College Hall

Election of Officers and Trustees, Washington Museum Association News and Preview of the 2010 Annual Conference.

1:30-2:45 Breakout Sessions

Solutions for the Storage and Exhibition of Objects
Session Leader: Dana K. Senge, Objects Conservator, DKS Conservation Services, LLC

During this session we will discuss materials and solutions for safe storage and exhibition of three-dimensional artifacts and works of art. Expected topics include: the importance of investing time and materials towards building protective storage supports and exhibit mounts, training opportunities and literature that can be helpful in determining appropriate solutions. Examples will be used throughout the session to emphasize successful and not so successful supports.

Oral History to Documentary
Presenter: Warner Blake, Snohomish Historical Society / Blackman House Museum

A show and tell session based on Warner's development over the past ten years of editing oral histories on videotape into documentaries for sale, library distribution, and submission to film festivals. Basics of capturing oral histories on videotape will be covered depending on participants' interest.

Thinking through Art: An Introduction to Visual Thinking Strategies
Presenter: Heidi Arbogast, Art Educator at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture

This session provides an introduction to Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) – a research-based education method that uses art to build capacities to observe, think, listen, and communicate. VTS teaches how to value one’s own ideas and to listen to and build on those of others. This method is designed for museum educators to meet the needs of beginning viewers. Participants will engage in VTS conversations using works of art.

3:00-4:30 The Last Hurrah of the Conference
Join your museum colleagues for a farewell treat at WSU’s famous Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe. Washington State University's gourmet ice cream shop, features old-fashioned ice cream and soda fountain treats, exclusive ice cream flavors, gourmet coffee and espresso drinks and of course, award winning Cougar Cheese.