Friday, May 22, 2009
May 25th HAM-ED After Hours Meeting Cancelled
The HAM-ED After Hours Meeting on Community Engagement scheduled for May 25th has been cancelled. However, for those of you interested in the topic, we will be rescheduling it for 2009-2010. Check this blog after June 22nd for a list of After Hours meetings for the 2009-2010 HAM-ED year.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Location for HAM-ED 2009-2010 Planning Session
This is a follow-up to the earlier posting about the 2009-2010 planning session on June 22nd. We now have a location, the Collins Brewhouse in Dundas. We'll meet on the patio if the weather is good. I've been informed that Mondays at the Brewhouse are $4.99 burger nights.
Talking About HAM-ED 2009-2010
Date: Monday, June 22nd, 2009
Time: 6 to 8 p.m.
Location: Collins Brewhouse, 33 King St. W., Dundas ON
Restaurant Link: www.collinsbrewhouse.ca
RSVP to Sarah Hamilton at sarahhamilton@brantford.ca no later than June 17th if you plan on attending.
Even if you aren't attending the get-together, please don't forget to send in your response to our questionnaire in the previous post before June 13th, so we have some material to discuss!
Talking About HAM-ED 2009-2010
Date: Monday, June 22nd, 2009
Time: 6 to 8 p.m.
Location: Collins Brewhouse, 33 King St. W., Dundas ON
Restaurant Link: www.collinsbrewhouse.ca
RSVP to Sarah Hamilton at sarahhamilton@brantford.ca no later than June 17th if you plan on attending.
Even if you aren't attending the get-together, please don't forget to send in your response to our questionnaire in the previous post before June 13th, so we have some material to discuss!
HAM-ED 2009-2010 Planning Session
HAM-ED (Hamilton and Area Museum Educators Group)
NEXT SESSION - MONDAY JUNE 22 - 6-8 P.M. - LOCATION TBA
(*the date has been changed from June 29th, in the interest of maximum attendance)
TALKING ABOUT HAM-ED 2009-2010
Even if you can't attend the planning session, please reply to the questions below. You don't have to nominate yourself to lead an After Hours get-together, but we would like to know what issues people would like to discuss in the upcoming year.
Which topic(s) would make a "HAM-ED After Hours" get-together a
"must-attend" event for you personally?
On which topic(s) might you be willing to lead a discussion?
Which month(s) might you be available to lead a discussion? HAM-ED
typically meets the fourth Monday of the month from 6-8 p.m. Mark 1st
and 2nd choices please:
___ September 2009 Topic:______________________
___ October 2009 Topic:______________________
___ November 2009 Topic:______________________
___ January 2010 Topic:______________________
___ February 2010 Topic:______________________
___ March 2010 Topic:______________________
___ April 2010 Topic:______________________
___ May 2010 Topic:______________________
___ Maybe next year? Topic:______________________
One thing I really like about HAM-ED ...
One thing that could be improved ...
Any other comments, thoughts, suggestions?
Take just a couple of minutes from your busy day to record your response to the above questions and send back to Sarah Hamilton at sarahhamilton@brantford.ca or to Chandra Erlendson at programs@homerwatson.on.ca . We will compile all lists and share with group at session on June 22nd.
PLEASE RETURN BEFORE JUNE 13 IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.
NEXT SESSION - MONDAY JUNE 22 - 6-8 P.M. - LOCATION TBA
(*the date has been changed from June 29th, in the interest of maximum attendance)
TALKING ABOUT HAM-ED 2009-2010
Even if you can't attend the planning session, please reply to the questions below. You don't have to nominate yourself to lead an After Hours get-together, but we would like to know what issues people would like to discuss in the upcoming year.
Which topic(s) would make a "HAM-ED After Hours" get-together a
"must-attend" event for you personally?
On which topic(s) might you be willing to lead a discussion?
Which month(s) might you be available to lead a discussion? HAM-ED
typically meets the fourth Monday of the month from 6-8 p.m. Mark 1st
and 2nd choices please:
___ September 2009 Topic:______________________
___ October 2009 Topic:______________________
___ November 2009 Topic:______________________
___ January 2010 Topic:______________________
___ February 2010 Topic:______________________
___ March 2010 Topic:______________________
___ April 2010 Topic:______________________
___ May 2010 Topic:______________________
___ Maybe next year? Topic:______________________
One thing I really like about HAM-ED ...
One thing that could be improved ...
Any other comments, thoughts, suggestions?
Take just a couple of minutes from your busy day to record your response to the above questions and send back to Sarah Hamilton at sarahhamilton@brantford.ca or to Chandra Erlendson at programs@homerwatson.on.ca . We will compile all lists and share with group at session on June 22nd.
PLEASE RETURN BEFORE JUNE 13 IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
HAM-ED After Hours Meeting: Community Engagement
Please join us at the next HAM-ED After Hours Meeting - Monday, May 25 - 6-8pm in Brantford at the Thai Vietnamese Restaurant (Quann 99) at 250 King George Rd, in Brantford, ON N3R 5L5 (519) 758-0752.
Topic: Community Engagement
What does it mean for a museum to be relevant to its community? How is relevance defined and how do we know if it is being achieved? Using excerpts from Building Responsive Museums: A Discussion Framework, this discussion will explore some of the questions museums need to ask themselves about their community and what community engagement means. The Building Responsive Museums: A Discussion Framework was developed by The Learning Coalition and piloted by the Brant Historical Society in March 2009. The Discussion Framework is a process for museums to deepen their understanding of what community involvement means, and to examine and evaluate their current relationships with their communities.
To confirm your attendance please RSVP to Sarah Hamilton SarahHamilton@brantford.ca
Hope to see you there!
Topic: Community Engagement
What does it mean for a museum to be relevant to its community? How is relevance defined and how do we know if it is being achieved? Using excerpts from Building Responsive Museums: A Discussion Framework, this discussion will explore some of the questions museums need to ask themselves about their community and what community engagement means. The Building Responsive Museums: A Discussion Framework was developed by The Learning Coalition and piloted by the Brant Historical Society in March 2009. The Discussion Framework is a process for museums to deepen their understanding of what community involvement means, and to examine and evaluate their current relationships with their communities.
To confirm your attendance please RSVP to Sarah Hamilton SarahHamilton@brantford.ca
Hope to see you there!
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Barn Sale at the Bell Homestead National Historic Site
The Bell Homestead NHS in Brantford is having its Annual Barn Sale once again this May. The event takes place on May 30th from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. It's like a large-scale, eclectic garage sale in our restored carriage house. You'll find household items, furniture, clothing, books, and many oddities, all donated by the community and the museum's membership. All funds raised go towards ongoing site restoration projects.
The Homestead is currently collecting items to sell for this event. If you would like to make a donation, you can drop your items off at 94 Tutela Heights Road, Brantford, or you can call (519) 756-6220 to arrange for pick-up. We reserve the right to refuse items deemed inappropriate or unsaleable.
Please attend the sale on May 30th. You never know what treasures you'll find in someone else's trash!
The Homestead is currently collecting items to sell for this event. If you would like to make a donation, you can drop your items off at 94 Tutela Heights Road, Brantford, or you can call (519) 756-6220 to arrange for pick-up. We reserve the right to refuse items deemed inappropriate or unsaleable.
Please attend the sale on May 30th. You never know what treasures you'll find in someone else's trash!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Mystery Artifact? Here's A Solution!
If you have done any work with collections in a museum, large or small, chances are that you have run into the dreaded "mystery artifact." Maybe someone donated it recently, maybe it got moved into the education artifact collection, or maybe no one has ever figured out what it is. All you know is, it's driving you crazy. Often, these mystery artifacts have no clues to help you. They usually lack a manufacturer's stamp or other easily researched label. They are often specialized tools for some task that once seemed so common as to be self-evident, but now no longer are practiced by even the most elderly of your volunteers. Fortunately, there is help.
Help has come in the form of a very interesting and highly participatory blog. It's called "What Is It?" Rob H., What Is It's creator, posts weekly groups of photographs of mystery artifacts, mostly from his own collection. People are asked to make their guesses in the comments section of each post. There is a small link at the bottom of each post to an answer key. People are also encouraged to send Rob H. photographs of their own mystery objects. This blog is definitely an update of the old "mystery artifact" activity sheet, in a really simple format. Check it out at http://55tools.blogspot.com/.
Help has come in the form of a very interesting and highly participatory blog. It's called "What Is It?" Rob H., What Is It's creator, posts weekly groups of photographs of mystery artifacts, mostly from his own collection. People are asked to make their guesses in the comments section of each post. There is a small link at the bottom of each post to an answer key. People are also encouraged to send Rob H. photographs of their own mystery objects. This blog is definitely an update of the old "mystery artifact" activity sheet, in a really simple format. Check it out at http://55tools.blogspot.com/.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love PowerPoint
I'm a big fan of Paul Orselli's blog ExhibiTricks, and one thing I've always appreciated is his view of that ubiquitous presentation tool, PowerPoint. Yesterday, he had an excellent post about the pain of sitting through boring PowerPoint presentations at museum conferences. Orselli also discusses "Pecha Kucha", a model for creating short, well-designed slide presentations that's popular in Japan. If you haven't read it, please do!
http://blog.orselli.net/2009/04/conference-without-powerpoint.html
If any of you have seen me do a presentation at one of the HAM-Ed peer learning circles or at the OMA Colloquium on Education last November at the Museum of Civ., you know that I don't do PowerPoint. When people ask (and they do!) I always say something along of the lines of it being refreshing to have at least one non-technologically enhanced presentation. Makes me sound cool, huh? No, it doesn't. Really, though, unlike most of my fellow Gen-Xers, I'm not that computer-savvy. I worry that my PowerPoint presentation won't work when I get to the workshop/conference/colloquium. And I won't be able to fix it! I also fear inflicting a boring, amateurish PowerPoint presentation on my audience. Who wants to be that person?
David Byrne doesn't! You may have heard of this musician/artist, especially as part of the Talking Heads. Over the past few years, he's been using PowerPoint as part of his art practice, with some stunning results. Byrne uses the software as is, and has really been able to push the boundaries of what you can do with it. He also pokes fun at some of the terrible ways PowerPoint has been used. Check out this review of one of his PowerPoint performances from his website:
http://www.davidbyrne.com/art/eeei/press/EEEI_UCBerkeleyNews.php
For all of those who think of PowerPoint as boring, worry not. Practice with it, see what it can do, and if you can, make some art with it. Or at the very least, try to avoid putting all your information in bullet-points. If you don't use PowerPoint as a crutch, you'll have an engaging presentation and you'll be able to carry on if your equipment doesn't work. And if it doesn't, may I suggest an old-school slide carousel? Just don't put your slides in backwards!
http://blog.orselli.net/2009/04/conference-without-powerpoint.html
If any of you have seen me do a presentation at one of the HAM-Ed peer learning circles or at the OMA Colloquium on Education last November at the Museum of Civ., you know that I don't do PowerPoint. When people ask (and they do!) I always say something along of the lines of it being refreshing to have at least one non-technologically enhanced presentation. Makes me sound cool, huh? No, it doesn't. Really, though, unlike most of my fellow Gen-Xers, I'm not that computer-savvy. I worry that my PowerPoint presentation won't work when I get to the workshop/conference/colloquium. And I won't be able to fix it! I also fear inflicting a boring, amateurish PowerPoint presentation on my audience. Who wants to be that person?
David Byrne doesn't! You may have heard of this musician/artist, especially as part of the Talking Heads. Over the past few years, he's been using PowerPoint as part of his art practice, with some stunning results. Byrne uses the software as is, and has really been able to push the boundaries of what you can do with it. He also pokes fun at some of the terrible ways PowerPoint has been used. Check out this review of one of his PowerPoint performances from his website:
http://www.davidbyrne.com/art/eeei/press/EEEI_UCBerkeleyNews.php
For all of those who think of PowerPoint as boring, worry not. Practice with it, see what it can do, and if you can, make some art with it. Or at the very least, try to avoid putting all your information in bullet-points. If you don't use PowerPoint as a crutch, you'll have an engaging presentation and you'll be able to carry on if your equipment doesn't work. And if it doesn't, may I suggest an old-school slide carousel? Just don't put your slides in backwards!
Thursday, April 09, 2009
History on the Grand - Local History Symposium
This conference, which is the second one of its kind, takes place in Cambridge, ON. This year's theme is particularly germane for Hamilton museums: Industry and the Environment.
The call for submissions deadline is May 1st.
For more information please follow the link
http://www.cambridge.ca/city_clerk/city_archives/history_on_the_grand_local_history_symposium
The call for submissions deadline is May 1st.
For more information please follow the link
http://www.cambridge.ca/city_clerk/city_archives/history_on_the_grand_local_history_symposium
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