By Carrie Snow

Confession time:  When I view a conference program (other than UMA), I always look for the collections/registration sessions before I look at field trips, keynote speakers, and evening events.  Mainly because I love to geek out with people that get excited about inventories, crating, and climate control; honestly, education has no idea what it is missing. So with that in mind, I give you a Collections guide to the 2019 UMA conference.

We have a pair of workshops that are going to be amazing.  Photographing Objects focuses on techniques you can use to document your collection.  Few of us are not professional photographers, and I am willing to bet that most of us have a minimal budget to devote to photo documentation.  This workshop helps address that. Good photos can help document collections, be used in publications and exhibitions, and aid in object research.

Mountmaking 101 is designed to help attendees learn to mount their collections safely and securely.   A proper mount showcases your collection items, and many of the skills needed are not hard to master.

Colleagues in museum leadership!

Grab your best board members and join me, our keynote speaker Margaret Kadoyama, and some of the best and brightest museum leaders for this once a year opportunity to gather together for a delicious meal and important conversation.

I know many of us don’t get an opportunity to attend professional development activities within the state for various reasons. Sometimes we’re just so busy that it’s hard to get out of the museum for something that doesn’t directly grow our institutions. I get it. But this is a unique chance to support the Utah Museums Association, let us know what we can do to better support you and your institution, and meet fellow leaders from around the state.

Send your staff to attend the whole conference, but take care of you too! Come meet with other leaders, and bring your board members. The leadership dinner is a great informal learning event that you don’t want to miss.

What defines a museum leader? That is up to you to decide. It will be defined differently for each organization. All are welcome!

The UMA Conference Program Committee is pleased to announce that this year’s conference Keynote will be given by Margaret Kadoyama.  Margaret, author of Museums Involving Communities: Authentic Connections, specializes in action plans for involving communities. A member of The Museum Group, she taught Museums and Communities at John F. Kennedy University for 21 years.  Her work results in organizations that are more accessible, inclusive, and relevant to their communities.

As a JFKU Alumni, I have known Margaret for years and was so pleased she immediately accepted our invitation to speak. She has helped produce some of the most thoughtful museum professionals that I have had the pleasure of working alongside during my career.  Her long career has also seen numerous conference panel presentations as American Association of Museums as well as stints on the programming committee of the Western Museums Association. So we are confident she knows what attendees what to hear.

We have asked that Margaret help us dig into the concept of relevance in museums.  What does it mean when we say that we want our museums to be relevant and vital members of their communities? What does meaningful community engagement look like? How do we get past our constraints, so that we truly can create and nurture relationships with our communities?  We have asked her to provide us with not only inspiration but practical tips on how to get started and how to avoid common pitfalls and setbacks.

We hope you can all give a warm UMA welcome to Margaret at our conference.

Our theme for the 2019 UMA conference is Riding the Relevant Rails. What does that even mean?! Simply put, it means that we as museums need to stay relevant to our communities to be of value.  All too often we can find ourselves in a rut. We can spend years or decades with the same exhibits up, the same tours given, the same events serving the same food. Our communities can set their watches by our programming and sometimes they can run for cover because of the same glaring issues that we may fail to address. Unifying Utahns is a major part of what museums in Utah do.  But are we as museums the force for unity that we think we are?

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Our conference asks members in museums across the state to reflect upon and be inspired by this legacy as they strive to increase their relevancy in their communities.  This event truly changed Utah and put people in contact with groups outside their own.  This year we will explore how museums can be more relevant, using history, technology, storytelling, and research to reach our diverse communities. Increased relevance can come through new programs, sharing new accounts and collections, revising our current practices, and broadening the tent of meaning for all of our institutions.

For some of you this will be your first conference, and here I offer some suggestions on how to get the most out of your experience.   

1. Embrace the uncomfortable. You will hear ideas and approaches you might not have heard of or think will work. You will be meeting people from all sorts of museums and places that aren’t your own.  Awesome. We learn from each others experiences and ideas.
2. Get ready to geek out. You are not in a staff meeting justifying your existence or with the team you supervise. Now is the moment to talk about museums and what you love.  Roll with it!
3. No squad goals. While it may be tempting to stay with your co-workers or friends, don’t. Branch out -- you are developing you not them.
4. Now and Later isn’t just candy. Make sure you attend sessions that apply to your immediate needs, but ones that will have you thinking about your and your institution's future.  
5. Musical chairs. Sit somewhere new each time you sit in a session, meet new people, get a new perspective, and stay energized.

For those of you conference veteran warriors,  I have something for you.

1. Branch out. If you are a curator, attend a session with educators.  If you are a membership person, listen to some programming ideas. Learn your co-workers' lingo a little -- it will buy you more street cred than bringing donuts to the conference room.
2. Remember the newbies. Talk to the first time attendees and help them build up their networks.
3. Look at something with new eyes. Ask yourself if I had never been inside a museum before what would excite me about what I am hearing.
4. See number 3 above, reconnect with your passion for your work.

Now, this is for everyone.  Come ready to listen, learn, participate, and engage.   Each of you is a part of the museum community here in Utah, and we all deserve to hear your voice.

In 1960 Elvis Presley released the single “It’s Now or Never,” based on the Neapolitan “O Sole mio,” why this information is in this blog post is because of two things:

1. The deadline for submitting your session proposals is December 15th, and that is fast approaching.
2. It only took two hours to write the lyrics to a song that made it to the Billboard 100 for five weeks and now is most likely stuck in your head.

UMA needs the collective wisdom and experience of its members to succeed. Many of us can’t travel to a regional and national conference, workshops and training. We rely on those members that can to help train their colleagues in the field. We also are blessed by members who are willing to showcase their hard-won successes and battles to help with others.  

I know some of you are thinking that you might not have a lot of experience in museums. Guess what; there are people with less experience that can learn from you. You can save them from spinning their wheels,  share what has and hasn’t worked. You might be under the impression that only large museums with dozens of staff members have anything to say. It’s not the case, most of our membership is at small museums and crave programs, ideas, project plans, case studies, theories, and workshops that will work with only a handful of staff and volunteers to implement them. To be even more direct, our ideal presenter is YOU. And our ideal topics are ones you wrestle with on a daily basis.

It doesn’t take long to submit a session, and in many cases, the UMA Program Committee can help in locating speakers to round out panels. Who knows maybe your work will end up on the Billboard 100 someday!  Here’s the link to submit your proposal:

www.utahmuseums.org/page/2019ConfRFP

We ask for your help in continuing to provide valuable content and instruction to museums around the state.

A few months ago, a lovely woman visited the Hyrum Museum and during the course of our visit she asked me, “So, do you just dust all this stuff when people aren’t here?” Twenty emotions hit me at once---anger, disbelief, confusion, shame... Luckily, I composed myself and simply replied, “Yes, and a few other things too.”

After she left I thought about all the things I could have said---what I should have done to “educate” her about the museum, about my role and responsibilities, and about why it’s all relevant. After all, it’s not the first time I’ve realized that there are those who just see museums as places to collect a bunch of old junk. I’ve been to more than one meeting where I’ve explained that museums are tools for education---they’re places to tell stories, to learn about heritage, to have conversations, and to create a sense of belonging so community members can make personal connections and safely engage with one another.

So how do we ensure that we are relevant? How do we demonstrate to our funding sources and audiences that we are cultural community resources that matter? Whether your museum is tied to art, history, science, or any other topic, your museum can absolutely be relevant to the community. If you are actively trying to reflect your community by creating interpretive exhibits, developing programs, and establishing a sustainable museum, then you are demonstrating relevance to the community. Don’t be afraid to assess traditions and missions to ensure that they reflect the community as it changes. Embrace where the community is headed and what it needs and don’t be afraid to move boldly forward. Whew...so, where should you start?

The majority of Utah museums are like mine---small, underfunded and understaffed. We don’t have a large staff to bounce ideas off or can pull from collective experience. Sometimes, just keeping up with the visitors coming in, caring for the collection, and---yes---dusting and completing other maintenance issues, takes all of our time. That is why I look forward to the UMA conference every year. Participating in the conference---both learning and teaching---have absolutely helped me to demonstrate to my community and funders why the Hyrum Museum is relevant to the community. Plus, developing a network of fellow professionals and volunteers that I can contact throughout the year has also been a remarkable resource for me.

So, if you are wondering about ways you can enhance the RELEVANCE of YOUR museum---then come and Ride the Relevant Rails with me! Plan on attending the conference AND consider submitting a proposal, you absolutely have something to offer!

Jami Van Huss is the Director of the Hyrum City Museum and serves on the UMA Conference Program Committee as Co-chair.

At the last UMA conference, we tried a new session format: conversation tables. I had the privilege of holding the inaugural session and would like to share some thoughts with you as you decide which format to choose for your conference session proposal. At my session, we discussed diversity, what it means and how museums can embrace it.

The Good Stuff

• So many sessions are people sharing their research or their professional experiences. In other words, they are experts professing their knowledge to a willing audience. Conversation tables are the opposite. No one in the room necessarily needs to be an expert.

• Participants seemed much more comfortable in the setting. Space was limited to around 15 participants arranged at a table. It was perfect for asking questions or making comments that may have been uncomfortable in a packed classroom setting. We ended up having a very good discussion in which people were free to ask questions, make comments, agree, and disagree without judgment.

• I left the discussion feeling like I had a better handle on the topic of diversity. People often need to have a frank discussion to pick apart theories and ideas that come up in our field. Again, the not-a-lecture format is a game changer.

The Work Stuff

• The conversation will only be productive with a strong moderator in charge. It is our human nature to hear something and veer the discussion in a totally new direction on a whim. This can be helpful if the timing is right--but the leader should be ready to redirect when the discussion starts to take a turn.

• While doing the above, the same moderator should be prepared but flexible. For me, the preparation was writing down a handful of questions that I had about diversity. I had around ten questions and didn’t ask half of them. They were mostly handy to have in those first awkward minutes when everyone was still figuring out if it was safe to be honest.

• The conversation table format is definitely a go with the flow session. We went in directions that I had not prepared for at all, but that the group needed to talk about. A moderator should be engaged, forming follow up questions to keep the discussion going, and watching the people who are not participating as much. Often the quiet ones will have the most important contributions!

If you are thinking about presenting at the 2019 UMA Conference on a topic that you are passionate about, but maybe you are not the one with all the answers, consider trying a conversation table. I am very excited to see where these sessions go in the future!

Carl Aldrich manages Fielding Garr Ranch at Antelope Island State Park and serves on the UMA Board as Secretary.

So you want to present a panel at UMA.  Wonderful, we are happy to have your support! Here are some ways you can convey your information.  As you would imagine there are several formats and matching those formats to your content makes a difference.  

Option 1: Lecture style (a.k.a. The Park and Bark)
This is one where after a brief introduction your panelist presents their content one at a time. Questions are held to the very end. Lecture style works if you're presenting a lot of case studies or introducing new concepts. Unfortunately, this can be the least engaging for your audience. Doing this first thing in the morning or right after a heavy lunch is the kiss of death. Also if your speakers are not engaging or energetic, your audience may tune our your message.

Option 2: Moderated discussion (a.k.a. Survey Says)   
Here your moderator has some questions to which all of your panelists will respond. You have met as a group before to go over the questions so they can prepare their responses. Moderated discussion works best if your panelists have differing perspectives or approaches to the same problem. It’s not the best place to introduce complex topics or theories. For example: If you are explaining the implications of elfish ecology in Mordor, this will not work well because you would have to explain to those living under a rock where Mordor is, rehash several large volumes of text for background not to mention the difference between Elrond, Glorfindel, and Thranduil.

Option 3: Participatory panel (a.k.a.  Here’s the Plan)
A moderator or panelist can give some brief background to the subject or introduce a problem. The panelist then discusses how they have tackled the problem and principles they found helpful. Attendees may talk, ask questions, or offer their experience during the discussion. What is important is that attendees leave with resources; a series of handouts, book recommendations, terminology to use back at their base. They should leave feeling that they can handle the problem or issue ahead. Participatory panel approach doesn’t work if the panelists haven’t strategized ahead for what they will be covering.

Option 4: Learning while doing (a.k.a. Mr. Miyagi)
In this scenario you will slowly walk attendees through a concept by having them do it in real time. You can complete the activity part upfront or break it up as you move on. As your session progresses, you may stop to have participants talk about their experiences and to impart key points about concepts you are trying to teach. Your speakers should be good at regulating the time and getting people to move. However, know your audience, if you have a group of introverts or people slow to engage this may not be the format for you. Also if you have a complicated process or need more than 1 hour, a workshop may be more appropriate.

These are just four main options for a session.   You can always create a hybrid or invent (and nickname)  your approach. The important part is that your presenters decide on a method and stick to it, playing it by ear is not an option.   You should meet in person, over the phone, or via skype/facetime before you present. Not meeting until the day of your session is a BAD idea, panelists need to make sure they are not speaking over each other or giving presentations that have nothing to do with one another.  Meeting in advance accomplishes another goal, you build relationships with your colleagues and who doesn’t love knowing someone who loves Utah Museums.

Contributed by Carrie Snow, UMA's Vice President of Professional Development and Collections Care Manager at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City.

I don’t know if y’all realize this, but the UMA board talks to each other a lot and we also talk to our friends and colleagues about the work we do, but the most interesting thing is none of us feel we talk enough.  It’s a little weird. As a result, the programming committee thought we would try something a little different. It is my pleasure to introduce to you Conversation Tables. These conversations will allow small-sized groups of professionals to engage in facilitated conversations with their peers on one of three set topics.   

Conversations are designed to be safe environments allowing attendees voices and experiences to respected while allowing for positive inquiry for attendees trying to develop an understanding of what it means to be a museum professional in the 21st century, in a way that encourages informal low-stress networking among peers.   

We hope that you will join us for our experiment and contribute your voice to the conservation.  Our goal is to allow attendees to candidly explore their observations, ask questions you might not feel comfortable asking in a large session, share those middle of the night realizations or insights with friends and aspirational ideas for the future of museums in Utah.   

So You’re Coming to Salt Lake (or thinking about it)…

The UMA Conference is a little less than a month away and it’s time to start planning your visit to Salt Lake! Or, if you are still on the fence about attending, hopefully this will entice you to join us. This year’s wonderful host committee has been working hard to find all sorts of fun things for you to do, but don’t be afraid to adventure into Utah’s biggest city and check out things we leave off the list.

This year’s pre-conference field trips will take participants to a diverse selection of places! Spend a little time near Temple Square on the Church History and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art tour, join Preservation Utah for a morning walking tour down South Temple, or explore behind the scenes at Red Butte Garden with a tour of the horticulture compound.  Then, on Wednesday, take advantage of our first ever post-conference field trip at Loveland Living Planet Aquarium. You’ll get to see all of the most popular residents, and even meet some sharks!

Many local museums will be offering participants free or discounted entry. 

The University

 Campus boasts four museums - Fort Douglas Military Museum, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, the Natural History Museum, and for those who don’t do the field trip, Red Butte Garden. You can also take Trax down to the city proper and check out Tracy Aviary, Discovery Gateway, museums featured on field trips, or the Pioneer Memorial Museum on 

Capitol Hill (long live the two-headed lamb!) While in museum mode, don’t miss out on another one of Utah’s historical treasures – Gilgal Sculpture Garden. Here, artist Thomas Child used his deep-felt religious beliefs to create 12 stone sculptures within an oasis right inside the city.

Museums are the best, but when you are ready for something else SLC has you covered -  try the superfood salad at Red Rock Brewing Co. the mole at everyone’s favorite Mexican Restaurant Red Iguana, or happy hour at Ahh Sushi where you can get half off rolls. If you are hoping for something fancier, check out Handle Salt Lake (omg the General Tso’s cauliflower) or oysters at Current. Vegan? Never fear! Boltcutter will prove the best thing that has ever happened to you, and afterwards you can grab equally dairy-free ice cream next door at Monkeywrench. If you aren’t worried about dairy, Dolcetti Gelato has a dark chocolate that is to die for and the Normal Ice Cream Truck at Trolley Square is anything but normal.

Once you are full you can get in a little exercise by taking a hike up to the Living Room or through Memory Grove, checking out a local yoga studio (21st Yoga is my personal favorite), or grabbing a Greenbike and cruising around the city. If you would rather socialize, you can check out one of Salt Lake’s many craft breweries, use all your change at the new-ish Quarters Arcade Bar, grab a fancy cocktail at Lake Effect, or try your hand at pub trivia (Twist on Monday, Dick N’ Dixies on Tuesday.)

This list contains the tiniest selection of what SLC has to offer. Make sure to check out Visit Salt Lake’s website to learn about other restaurants and attractions to make your visit the fullest and funnest it can be!

LINKS:

Church History https://history.lds.org/section/museum?lang=eng

UMOCA https://www.utahmoca.org/

Preservation Utah https://preservationutah.org/

Red Butte Garden https://www.redbuttegarden.org/

Aquarium https://thelivingplanet.com/

Fort Douglas https://www.fortdouglas.org/

UMFA https://umfa.utah.edu/

NHMU https://nhmu.utah.edu/

Tracy Aviary https://www.tracyaviary.org/

Discovery Gateway https://www.discoverygateway.org/

Pioneer Memorial http://www.dupinternational.org/dyn_page.php?pageID=11

Gilgal http://gilgalgarden.org/

Red Rock Brewing Co. http://redrockbrewing.com/locations/downtown

Red Iguana http://www.rediguana.com/

Ah Sushi https://www.facebook.com/slcsushi/?rf=115060525178553

Handle Salt Lake http://hslrestaurant.com/

Current https://www.currentfishandoyster.com/

Boltcutter https://www.facebook.com/boltcutterslc/

Monkeywrench https://www.facebook.com/Monkeywrench-334169697046313/

Dolcetti Gelato https://dolcettigelato.com/

Normal Ice Cream https://www.normal.club/

Living Room https://utah.com/hiking/salt-lake/the-living-room

Memory Grove https://www.slc.gov/parks/find-a-park/

21st Yoga https://www.21styoga.com/

Greenbike https://greenbikeslc.org/

Quarters https://www.quartersslc.com/

Trivia Twist https://www.geekswhodrink.com/venue/520385377/trivia-at-Twist

Trivia Dick N’ Dixies https://www.geekswhodrink.com/venue/385503046/trivia-at-Dick-N-Dixie-s

Visit Salt Lake https://www.visitsaltlake.com/

Attention CEOs, Presidents, Directors, VPs, and other museum brass!

Will I see you at the Museum Leadership Dinner? Are you in the know about this great conference event, that you don’t have to attend the conference to attend?

I know you’ve been in the field for a while. I know getting away for a state museum conference can be a struggle. And yet having the chance to talk to other museum leaders can be invigorating. That’s why we created this event – to give you (and me!) the chance to get together with our fellow leaders and network. I can honestly tell you this is one of my favorite parts of the conference.  

We’ve had some brief programs at these dinners in years past. While some of those programs have been fantastic, they cut into the time to discuss our pressing issues with each other. Cecile Shellman, our keynote speaker, will be with us, but won’t be giving any kind of lecture. At Museum Leadership Dinners, I’ve made new friends (and useful contacts), caught up with old friends, gotten creative ideas for managing my organization, and got to know more of my colleagues around the state. Participating in this dinner each year has truly connected me to my colleagues at other institutions.

This job requires a lot. And I’m sure you join me in knowing that you don’t have to know everything, but knowing who to call to find some answers or better information is crucial. And the Museum Leadership Dinner is a good shortcut to knowing who to call.

So come enjoy dinner and good company with your peers. You never know who’ll you’ll wind up sitting next to at the Museum Leadership Dinner. And they might have the expertise you’re looking for!

REGISTER FOR THE MUSEUM LEADERSHIP DINNER

In a similar vein, this September, I will be attending my 17^th Utah Museums Association Conference.  Over the years, this meeting of seasoned and emerging museum professionals has drastically impacted my professional and even personal life.  While I have participated at some administrative level at most of these conferences, it is the meeting of the minds, the connections with my colleagues and peers that has benefited me most. 

This year’s theme, Museums: A Catalyst for Belonging resonates with me. As I get older and more water flows under my museum bridge I find more and more the need to connect with those who wander in and out of my environment. One would think that as we age and grow in knowledge, wisdom, and experience, we would become more flexible in our thinking and accepting of new ideas. However, that often seems to not be the case.  Many times, as our world changes around us, we calcify our beliefs, reminisce about the “good old days”, and struggle to adapt.  This is why this conference is so relevant, timely, and necessary.

I have learned, in my years of working in museums, teaching history, and living my life, that what truly brings us joy is how we engage with others. How we communicate our thoughts, ideas, and opinions really does matter.  This is why you are needed at this year’s UMA conference. Whether you have worked at a museum for 50 years or 50 minutes is irrelevant.  Our community, I, need to hear your story.  I promise there will be much to learn and more importantly, many seeds of conversation and ideas will be available for you to plant in your mental garden.  Take the time; engage with our broad and diverse community, you will not regret it.

So what do we mean by a catalyst for belonging? Former UMA Keynote speaker, Nina Simon gives us one definition when she said, “culture belongs to everybody, and, as stewards of cultural heritage and producers of culture, museums should involve and showcase the diversity of voices within our communities. That doesn’t necessarily mean that everybody’s art goes on the wall, but it means looking at every person who walks through your doors as a potential contributor to the work that is happening inside.”  Museum professionals (I include volunteer-run museums in this term) can fall victim to thinking that they know best what the public wants to see, what museums should collect, what stories  they should tell and what activities visitors will enjoy. This can be for a myriad of reasons, tradition, time crunches, budget cutbacks, board pressure, wanting to be like another museum, but they all lead to the same result, a museum that doesn’t reflect its community.

Simon goes on to say, “If we want our institutions to exist for everybody in our communities, if we believe that art, history, and science are relevant parts of everybody’s lives, then we should be doing whatever we can to involve all kinds of people in museums, not just the ones who want to consume the mostly male, mostly white products that have historically been vaunted in such venues. We have to ask how our museums can reflect, comment on, and celebrate the plurality of cultures and artistic practices in our communities.” We hope that this year’s conference will get attendees thinking about how they work and for whom they work.  Museums should be venues for conversation and understanding, creating safe spaces for dialogue through narrative, collecting, programming, and discovery.

How can we find ways to welcome and represent the marginalized groups within our communities?  How do we nurture the courage and conviction to add more voices to the choir and create something better amongst our institutions? Now I am not going to pretend, that this conference will give you all the answers you need, but it can help start the process. The offered programming hopes to help you begin to navigate the issues facing your museum, staff, and volunteers.  The UMA Board feels that learning from the experiences of colleagues both within and outside the museum field who are  committed  to creating a culture of belonging in Utah Museums is the best place to can start.   

So we ask you to please join us for this year’s conference this September. 

Scholarship applications for the 2018 UMA Annual Conference are due June 1, which means it is not too late to apply! The application process is not rigorous, and the benefits of attending the conference far outweigh the difficulty of applying. In case you are not convince, here are a few Frequently  Asked Questions regarding conference scholarships:

What do scholarship recipients get?

Scholarship recipients receive full access to the UMA Annual Conference. This is your chance to learn from your peers, have meaningful conversations, enjoy inspiring museums, and become a larger part of Utah’s museum community. A key benefit of attending conferences is the renewed motivation and energy that comes from attending the various sessions and events offered. This year’s keynote and opening session prove to be engaging, meaningful, and practical for all attendees.

Scholarship recipients from farther away will also have a hotel room right on site, so they are able to be fully engaged in the conference throughout the week without having to worry about travel. The University Guesthouse is our conference hotel for this year, and they are nicely situated a stone’s throw from the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Red Butte Gardens, the Natural History Museum of Utah, and other excellent cultural sites!

How do I get a scholarship?

First, be a UMA member. You can purchase a membership here so that is all taken care of.

Second, prepare your supporting documents. You will need to include a copy of your resume and a brief letter stating why you want to attend the conference. You will also need a brief letter from your supervisor, boss, city councilmember, or other individual stating that your organization will support your attendance at the conference (meaning: they will let you attend if you get a scholarship), and how will benefit from attending.

Third, fill out the online application at utahmuseums.org and attach your supporting documents.

That’s it!

Is there anything else I should know?

Scholarships can be competitive, and preference will be given to first-time attendees. But that doesn’t mean you should not apply – there are a number of scholarships available!

A few scholarship recipients will be asked to author post-conference blog posts summarizing their experience. Receiving a scholarship does not mean you have to do this, but you may be asked. Feel free to ask a board member for more information about how that works if you have questions (or if you are really excited about writing a blog post!).

Scholarships to this UMA Annual Conference are generously supported by the Utah Division of Arts & Museums Office of Museum Services with funding from the State of Utah.

In my personal life, Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year. Mainly because since childhood, it has involved crowding my mother in the kitchen while she cooks and learning how to make family recipes. My mom doesn’t share recipes, so you have to learn by watching; even though I confess to surreptitiously jotting them down or snapping pics with my phone when she is out of the house.

As a UMA Board member, February is my favorite time of year. It’s the time of year we begin to bake our Annual Conference. We gather as a board and later as a programming committee to plan the menu of speakers, sessions, workshops, and events that will educate and inspire you. The conference spread allows us to showcase new ideas, knead the hard issues and forge new networks that will be part of our museum family recipe book.

This year’s conference theme is “Museums: A Catalyst for Belonging”. Museums should be venues for conversation and understanding, creating safe spaces for dialogue through narrative, collecting, programming, and discovery. This year we are asking questions such as:

• Do the communities that we are preserving and representing feel comfortable in our museum?

• Do new staff, board members, volunteers, and recent arrivals to the neighborhood feel like welcome voices in our institutions?

• Simply put, do people that come into our spaces feel like they belong there?

• How can we remain committed and successful in creating a culture of belonging in Utah museums?

Beginning to address belonging and diversity issues can be daunting and often fraught with missteps. We want to learn from the experiences of colleagues both within and outside the museum field to remain committed and successful in creating a culture of belonging in Utah museums. These can be hard questions to bring up with colleagues.

This is where you come in as members of UMA. Many of you have already perfected the recipes for tackling these questions in major and minor ways. Some of you have sourced the ingredients for engaging communities, developing buy-in for new projects or successfully funded new visions for what a local museum can be. You have masterclass level skills, so why not share them? Your colleagues are hungry for learning and innovation, so why not feed the beast?!

Submit your ideas and proposals for sessions to help your colleagues learn from what was successful and what failed. Save your fellow museum professionals from headaches and reinventing the wheel, by sharing your programming ideas, processes, and approaches. Make sure this year’s conference leaves us all with a belly full of fire and purpose and a head full of ideas!

Here’s the link to form to create your recipe for success, please use it.

I want you to visualize this situation in your mind with me. This is your first Utah Museum Association Conference, you are attending this conference alone, no one from your museum or organization could make it this year. You are slightly nervous not knowing anyone. Your thoughts start to trail; There are so many people here I hope I can make it through. You fidget in your chair trying to keep your mind off of the thoughts. Someone sits next to you and starts talking to you. Instantly you freeze, worrying what to say. Gaining confidence you decide to speak, but nothing comes out. The other person then looks at you with wonder. So you give them a smile. The class starts and their attention is off of you. Whew!  You convince yourself that this was the best idea to come to this conference to meet new people, and Network with them.  Whatever that means. If networking means to exchange silence and a sheepish smile, you just aced it!  What does it mean to Network with people? Does it mean to text each other in the same room?  Networking means to interact with other people, to exchange information and develop contacts, especially to further one’s career.  So you are saying we have to talk to people?  Yes that is exactly what we are saying! Networking is a huge part of the Utah Museum Association Conference. Not only does it help you, but it puts others in your path to help them. Perhaps you are wondering what to talk about while you are networking. What you do each and everyday? Where are you from?  What kind of Museum do you work for? We all have one thing in common already, Museums. Perhaps you are dealing with how to get the community involved in your museum or organization. The Conference theme this year is Community impact, and with Networking you will find someone who is dealing with or has dealt with this to help you. We are all Museum professionals willing to help out whoever needs it. Will you make some goals with me for this conference?

1-To meet at least one new person, and Network with them.

2-Remember we all have one thing in common, Museums.

3- Don’t be afraid to speak up.

These are some great goals that will help with Networking. Now here is what I suggest you do to prep for the awesome networking that will be happening at this Utah Museum Association Conference. Get some business cards. For those of you who already have them great, those of you who don’t or need to order more, get to it! Business cards are so easy to keep and exchange, just be sure you keep your business cards away from the ones you are receiving. I am sure that whoever that person is would be happy to know you are giving out their cards out, but to the person inquiring about you, they would like your card. If you are that person mentioned above, don’t be nervous, try again after the class ends. You will be surprised what you have in common with the people around you.  Get excited to Network! To meet new people, colleges and friends.  Come ready to Network at the Utah Museum Association Conference in Vernal this year October 11-13, 2017.

Written by Maegan Wilberg Director Museum of the San Rafael·

Is your professional development budget stretched a thin? Apply for a scholarship to attend this year's conference. Scholarship awards will cover conference registration and lodging. Recipients are selected through a competitive process so spruce up your resume, get a letter of support from your supervisor, and write a letter of intent explaining how you will use your experience at the conference to strengthen your museum's programs and your further your career goals. Scholarships are provided through the generosity of the Utah Division of Arts & Museums Office of Museum Services with funding from the State of Utah. Find out more and submit your scholarship application.

Recently, a close friend of mine sent me a book which she thought I would really enjoy. For me, friends recommending books is always a tenuous proposition. I never know what to say if I just don’t have the time, interest, or desire to pick it up. At the time, I was reading a fascinating book about Hollywood directors who worked with the U.S. armed forces during World War II to provide film footage for movie theaters back home, and really enjoying it. However, driven by the strength of my friendship and my fear of disappointing her, I began the novel she sent. I loved it! She was right and I am grateful that she knew me well enough to send it my way. In that same vein, I as your friend am recommending something to you. It will require you to put aside what you are doing, maybe change some plans, and take a journey to place you may not have been to in awhile, or at all. I strongly suggest that you attend this year’s Utah Museums Association Conference in Vernal, Utah.  To make it even easier on you, I will even give you the dates, October 11-13. Also, because I know you so well, I will also give you three reasons to attend:

1. A Professional Palette Cleanser: Let’s be honest. Sometimes in our regimented work lives we need to step outside our operations and see what others are doing.  Whether we work for a large or small institution, taking time to cultivate our mental gardens can not only improve our work product, but our lives as well.
2. A Professional Development Experience: Aside from the varied sessions, covering topics such as collections management, education, exhibit design, programming, and all levels of museum operations, Eliot Wilcox, the Executive Director of the Timpanogos Storytelling Institute will be our opening speaker.  And, there is more. One of my cultural heroes, Colleen Dilenschneider will be the keynote. If you are unfamiliar with Dilenschneider, check out her blog Know Your Own Bone and you will become a geeky fan like me.  Check out the preliminary program for planning your own learning journey.
3. A Professional Networking Adventure: I have been attending UMA conferences for over 15 years and one of the things I enjoy the most is personally connecting with my friends and  colleagues.  In our vast digital world, physical connections have become more important and relevant.  While I enjoy consulting with other museum professionals through electronic means, the UMA conference gives me a greater opportunity to learn and grow by discussing ideas at a more personal  level.

This year’s conference is all about how your institution impacts your community. I would argue that this conference is also about how you can impact your institution. I have always seen the UMA Annual Conference as means to improve the greatest resource any cultural organization has, its people.  Your dedication to your craft is evident in our vital and growing cultural landscape and I sincerely hope that you accept my invitation to attend the UMA Conference.  Finally, if you are interested in the title of the book my friend recommended, ask me in Vernal.

At the Union Station Museums, we are proud of where we came from and the connections that will take us forward.  For the opening reception we are stepping back into the Roarin’ 20’s! Our Bootlegger Ball will transport you back into the world of ragtime music, flappers, and bootleggers. 

Although Ogden’s 25^th Street is a quiet street of boutiques and restaurants today, back in the 1920’s it was known for its rough and tumble character. Crime boss Al Capone commented in the 1920's that Ogden was too wild a town for him. From 1917 to 1933, Ogden thrived with bootleggers and speakeasies. A series of tunnels were dug from Union Station to the Ben Lomond Hotel, and crime occurred both under and above ground as liquor and gambling played a central role in 25th Street’s economy.

Because of our local history Ogden is a great place to visit and to learn about.  The UMA Annual Conference is a great venue to learn how to capture your local history and share it with your visitors. From creating oral histories, to writing grants to bring in new and exciting exhibits – the UMA Conference is the place to learn it all! And it starts with the exciting opening reception at the Union Station Museums! After visiting the four museums -- The Utah State Railroad Museum, the John M. Browning Firearms Museum, the Browning-Kimball Classic Car Museum, and the Utah Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum -- enjoy a special exhibit on the 1920’s in Ogden, food, and music. Following the reception there will be the Small Group Dinner Meetups where small groups of your museum peers will get together to eat and network!

This will be a fun and exciting evening that you don’t want to miss! The reception will be from 5:30-6:30 with the small group dinner meetups immediately following. 

by Maegan Wilberg, Director Museum of the San Rafael

Networking is an important component of the UMA Annual conference, and you aren’t getting the full benefit of the conference until you embrace and take part in the many networking opportunities offered. Whether meeting people on field trips, interacting during the sessions throughout the conference, or connecting at the evening events at the end of each day, there are chances to make contacts throughout the conference.

The best way to prepare for this is to come to the conference ready to learn new things and meet new people. Each session you enter is full of potential new friends and colleagues. 

Make sure you bring business cards to hand out so you can keep in touch with those new friends you will meet. Networking is a great way to promote your museum and organization, and you will find that most organizations have some of the same questions as you.  

 

Networking gives you the opportunity to ask questions and stay involved with the many things that are going on around the state. As we network with each other we find that we are working together with some of the same goals.

  

 

I remember my first year at the UMA Conference I passed out so many business cards and met so many people. I found that when I had a problem and a question I could ask those who taught the classes and sessions. It was nice to see that all who I networked with were so willing to lend a hand to help.

 

I always look forward to the next year to meet new people and make new connections. So get some cards made, and prepare to make some friends and let’s get ready to network! See you at the UMA Annual Conference in Ogden Utah, October 12-14, 2016. 

 

 

Keynote Speaker Lynn Dierking

by

Stephen Ashton, Ph.D.

Director of Audience Research and Development

Thanksgiving Point Institute

I first heard about Lynn Dierking about six years ago. I was partway through my master’s program, and I was interested in studying exhibit design for family-oriented exhibits. I was brand new in the museum field and wanted to learn as much as I could. Through my investigations I kept running across the same name: Lynn Dierking. Her name was everywhere! I quickly discovered that Lynn is at the forefront of museum research; she is an expert in family learning, lifelong learning, and free choice learning.

Lynn has authored and coauthored several books, including The Museum Experience and the updated The Museum Experience Revisited, Learning from Museums: Visitor Experiences and the Making of Meaning, In Principle, In Practice: Museums as Learning Institutions, Lessons Without Limit: How Free-Choice Learning is Transforming Education, and a new one that comes out on July 1, 2016, titled Museums and Families: Being of Value.

Currently Lynn works as a Sea Grant Professor in Free-Choice STEM Learning in the Colleges of Science & Education at Oregon State University. She has published extensively and serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching, the Journal of Museum Management and Curatorship and Afterschool Matters.

In 2006, with her husband John Falk, who also happens to be a well-known and respected museum expert, Lynn was recognized as one of the 100 most influential museum professionals from the past 100 years from the American Alliance of Museum (AAM). In 2010 AAM awarded Lynn and John with their highest honor by granting them the John Cotton Dana Award for Leadership.

I’ve had the opportunity to chat with Lynn on a number of occasions. She is absolutely delightful! She’s one of the friendliest, kindest, and most gracious people that you will ever meet. I’m thrilled that Lynn Dierking, a personal museum hero of mine, will be able to join us at UMA this year! I think we are all in for a great treat.

Don't miss the chance to hear Lynn Dierking speak! If you haven't already done so, register for the UMA Annual Conference today! Register here.

Here are some key questions to ask

By Jessica Weiss, 2016 UMA Annual Conference Program Co-Chair

Do you like museums? Do you like to travel and learn? If the answer to either of those questions is yes, then you should definitely plan to attend the UMA Annual Conference in October!

Wondering what you will do at the conference? The fall colors of Ogden will be bursting as we visit local museums and learn how we can better connect with our local communities, resources, and heritage (Ogden Union Station! The Treehouse Museum! Local DUPs! And More!). The basic registration cost includes evening events, field trips, workshops, and several meals, and definitely provides great value for those on a tight budget.

Not sure if there will be anything for you at this conference? There are sessions on topics from grants to publicity, from collections management to programming. Some of the sessions will be theoretical discussions about broader trends of the museum field, while others will spotlight specific facets of museum work. The programming committee has carefully put together a program that welcomes beginner and more experienced attendees from museums both large and small!

Can’t afford to send your whole staff? Register a few key staff members who can strategically attend sessions that they can bring back to share with the rest of your organization. Many of the sessions will provide resources and directions for continued study, so this conference is only the beginning of what you can learn!

Are you committed to Utah’s cultural heritage? This conference provides an opportunity to contribute to Utah’s cultural landscape. Whether bidding on items at the silent auction, celebrating your colleagues at the awards dinner, or asking questions at the Arts and Museums Listening Session, you will leave feeling more informed and connected to Utah’s museum community.

What else are you waiting for? Registration closes soon, so register today for this excellent opportunity!

By Carrie Snow

Have you ever met one of those people that make you so happy in your chosen profession? They are a rare breed, and once you meet them, your world view about what you do for a living seems to blossom magically. You tend to see new opportunities in your everyday dealings, and you can’t wait to blaze a new trail. I am so pleased to say that our 2016 Plenary Speaker, James Leventhal is one of those individuals. 

Who is this guy? I am so glad you asked. James is currently the Director of Development for the San Jose Museum of Art. Before the SJMA, he was Director of Development for The Exploratorium, and before that The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.  He’s also a veteran of fundraising efforts at the Judah L. Magnes Museum and the Fine Arts Museums San Francisco. James holds an MBA in management and museum studies from John F. Kennedy University, Berkeley; an MA in art history and museum studies from The City College, City University of New York; and a BS in studio art and anthropology from New York University. Clearly, this is a man that has used his experience and joy for museums to drive his professional and personal goals.

I was lucky enough to meet James during while planning the UMA/WMA joint conference in 2013. He is simply a person that radiates passion for the museum world and what it can do for the human soul. He whips up as much excitement for the smallest museum’s outreach program as he can for a grandest of black tie gala for the large museum. Why? How? It’s because he loves museums and the power they have to shape our lives and tell our stories. When he joined his current institution, he said, “It is very satisfying to be returning to a pure art environment, and SJMA has such an incredibly strong record of community engagement and an amazing track record of high-quality programs.”

It sounds silly for me to say, but if I ever needed a person to give me a daily wake-up call, I would choose James. A conversation with him reminds you what privilege it is to work in a museum. Five minutes into a conversation with him, his pleasant smile and delight in your institution and your mission will make you want to get back to work. He seems to know how to connect the dots between people and place, communities and stories, so you collectively care about them. He can give you a list of different people to talk to and places to see to get inspiration for your work.  

Whether you are a shy entry level museum staffer/ humble, hardworking volunteer, a mid-level career professional in need of a shot in the arm or a museum veteran that has “seen it all,” James will make you realize you have just begun to tap your capacity to your organization matter to the public. You will leave his session with a desire to go back to your office, and take the world by storm and make museums matter. Of course, please make sure you attend the rest of the conference before you begin storming the castle.

Don't miss out on the chance to hear James speak at the 2016 UMA Annual Conference! Register today!

Carrie Snow, is the Manager of Collections Care at the Church History Museum, and serves at Treasurer for the Utah Museums Association. Prior to the Church History Museum she was the Registrar at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace. She received her MA in Museum Studies from John F. Kennedy University.

By: Ryan Paul, Museum Curator for Frontier Homestead State Park Museum

Once, a long time ago, I dared my sister Melissa to drink from a fire hose. She refused. Since that time, I like many of you, have attended conferences, sat in meetings, or attended events where massive amounts of great information have pounded into my brain, much like the focused, pressurized water used to douse fires. It can be overwhelming. In the decades that have passed, I have come to understand that drinking from the fire hose can be done if pressure is not a factor.

Since 2002, I have been attending the UMA conference and at times have struggled to keep up, and yes, even sought to find relevance in the sessions I attended and the messages I was hearing.  What I have come to realize is that as I worked to find applicable meaning, my mind opened. As I applied myself to understand basic and sometimes advanced principles, not only my work product improved, but my ability to accomplish all aspects of job did as well. No matter the size of your institution, the depth of your experience, the breadth of your educational background, or the length of your job title, the UMA conference has something to offer you. 

The UMA 2016 conference sessions have been diligently curated to provide quality presenters and programming to meet a variety of needs. Here are a few examples:

·  Facilitating Unusual Narratives (FUN) in the Galleries  - Creating visitor-centered approaches to interpretation.

·  Making a Difference with Excellent Customer Service  - No matter the institution, understanding these principles is key for success.

·  Underserved, Underrated, and Untapped – This session deals with creating programming for groups with special needs.

·  Lynn D. Dierking, our keynote speaker, will discuss the importance of and provide tools for connecting to and engaging with our local communities.

·  Making the Jump: Shaping your ideas into successful project plans- Taking your ideas combining them with your resources and turning them into viable project plans.

·  Locally Sourced: Grant Writing Out of the Box – Who does not need funding?

·  Advocacy 201  - Advocacy is becoming more and more essential to our survival.

And this does not even scratch the surface of all that there is to offer at this year’s conference. If you have trouble finding a relevant session, give me a call and we will explore together.

More importantly, the conference is a perfect place to network, find out answers to your difficult questions, and build relationships with other museum professionals from across the state who share your issues, and maybe have found some answers that could help you. The field trips, workshops, meals, and breaks all provide perfect opportunities to have personal conversations with your colleagues, process what you have learned, and get tips for ways in which your conference learning could be relevant to your institution. We should see the UMA conference as a living laboratory to explore new ideas, or an incubator in which to process, evaluate, and develop strategies to communicate our museum’s core issues to our audiences and stakeholders.This experience is available to all who can and will apply themselves to the task.

The Utah Museums Association has been, and continues to be a constant advocate for our membership throughout the state. The members of UMA care about the conditions of our museums and, what I believe is more important, the people who run them. After all, without our museums and their staff and volunteers, all of this would be for naught and our great state would become a cultural wasteland.

UMA encourages us, and to a larger extent the museum community, to focus on fiscal sustainability, structural integrity, and programmatic quality all of which are addressed at this year’s conference. I invite you to be innovative, imaginative, and creative in designing your individual conference program. Planning ahead, striving to find relevance, and enjoying the company of your peers will allow you to accomplish great things, including drinking from the fire hose.

So what are you waiting for?! Register for the 2016 UMA Conference today! Find out more information and registration here.

Well, I have good news for you. You haven't actually missed the deadline. . .  yet! By my count you have somewhat less than 33 hours left to get your application in. (The deadline is midnight tomorrow, Friday, August 5th!)

So, go find your boss, and get that letter of support to you. Spiff up your resume, write an awesome letter of intent (no pressure!), and get that application done. Don't miss this great conference because of a funding issue!

Apply Now!