8:30 a.m. – 12:30 a.m.
Morning Off-Site Session
Newport Art Museum and The Preservation Society of Newport County
The Care and Interpretation of Art in Historic Houses
Many museums incorporate historic houses as part of their institutions. In some cases the houses are an extension of the museum, but other times they are architecturally significant houses that display the permanent collection. This is especially true in Rhode Island, with the Griswold House at the Newport Art Museum, the Newport Mansions, and Rough Point and Whitehorne of the Newport Restoration Foundation. Visit two such sites, the Griswold House and Rosecliff of The Preservation Society of Newport County for a discussion of issues facing historical sites that display art work, including: interpretive labels for art works; hanging methods to avoid damaging wallpaper and other decorative surfaces; security methods to protect art during special events and facility rentals and prevent theft; and compensating for a lack of total climate control.
Chair: Nancy W. Grinnell, Curator, Newport Art Museum, RI
Pre-registration is required. Registration is limited. Fee of $10 includes transportation.

8:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Morning Off-site Session
Providence Children's Museum
Putting Play First at the Providence Children's Museum
A behind-the-scenes examination of PCM's new exhibition Play Power. Executive Director Janice O'Donnell will lead a discussion about Providence Children's Museum's newly opened Play Power exhibit, designed to engage children and their accompanying adults in open-ended creative activities that vividly illustrate the value of self-directed play and communicate the museum's essential message: play is powerful!
In this exhibit, the museum has tackled contemporary concerns about the lack of time and space for children's play and attempted to influence parental attitudes about the value of self-directed play. Have they succeeded? The exhibit developers and designers will explain their process and lessons learned, and museum and play professionals and advocates will respond.
Introduction: Janet Rice Elman, Executive Director, Association of Children's Museums, DC
Chair: Janice O'Donnell, Executive Director, Providence Children's Museum
Pre-registration is required. Fee of $10 includes transportation.

9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Concurrent Sessions

A Gathering Place for Freedom
Meet the team who developed "A Gathering Place for Freedom," the latest exhibition from the Museum of African American History, the oldest standing extant black church building in the United States. The exhibition blends narratives about social, cultural, structural, political and intellectual issues that informed and shaped the creation and success of this powerful national historic site. Topics to be discussed are: story development, research issues, item selection, design and installation considerations, publicity guidelines, educational outreach programs and partnerships.
Chair: Beverly A. Morgan-Welch, Executive Director, Museum of African American History, MA

A Perfect Storm: The Impact of NCLB and Transportation Costs on School Visits to Museums
During this session, panelists will discuss how the convergence of two unrelated trends—the emphasis on standardized testing and skyrocketing fuel prices—have made it difficult for teachers to take their students out of school to participate in curriculum-based programs at museums. In order to take the pulse of how museums in the New England region are experiencing the impact of these trends, NEMA conducted a short, informal survey. While many survey respondents reported decreases in attendance, others shared successful promotional strategies that are helping them to maintain their school group visitation. After learning more about the results from the survey and hearing from panelists, participants will engage in roundtable discussions about how to attract school groups to their museums.
Chair: Kay Simpson, Director of Education & Institutional Advancement, Springfield Museums, MA

Are They Being Served? (NEW SESSION)
As museum professionals, we tend to think that we know our audiences, but do we? Are they happy with their museum experiences? How else do they choose to spend their leisure time? Why do they financially support museums? Actually, audiences are a mixed bag and their satisfaction is not guaranteed. To learn where museums fall short and where they excel, the Connecticut Humanities Council, Connecticut Landmarks, and Reach Advisors surveyed 4500 Connecticut Cultural Consumers. From community engagement to restrooms maintenance to guided tours, find out what our visitors really think.
Chair: Scott Wands, Heritage Resource Center & Field Services Coordinator, Connecticut Humanities Council  

Don't Let the Door Hit You… How to Renovate Without Shutting Out Your Museum's Patrons
How can museums move forward in the design, layout, accessibility and productivity of their spaces without shutting their doors to patrons during the process? We will discuss how a major renovation can serve as an educational tool both during construction and beyond to engage your patrons. The audience will learn how to successfully execute such a project by examining the process, planning, execution, benefits to the community, safety and accessibility.
Chair: Susan Viglione, Project Executive, Shawmut Design and Construction, MA

The Little Museums That Could! (and Did!)
A look both philosophical and practical at the challenges smaller museums face in mounting capital campaigns, surviving the ensuing construction—and facing the consequences—by two directors of smaller Massachusetts South Shore museums that have recently completed significant capital projects ($3.8 & $2.4 million). WHY the need to change? HOW to assess and reach campaign potential, and then keep costs under control and construction on schedule? And (after the dust settles) WHAT'S NEXT?
Co-chairs: Peggy Baker, Director, Pilgrim Hall Museum, MA; Bruce Courson, Director, Sandwich Glass Museum, MA

Sustaining Our Heritage: Collaborative Historical Records Projects and the Local Museum
This session focuses on promoting local culture through collaborative archives projects. The historical society or local museum usually serves as the linchpin for local history projects. An extensive archival survey is the first step to gain control of collections. This session explains what an archives survey is, how to conduct one, and what challenges a town might face. Representatives from various sized communities that conducted surveys and the consultant who guided them will provide information.
Chair: Melissa Mannon, Archivist, Archives and Information Consulting Services, NH

Swing Your Partner: Rejuvenate Your Museum Through Youth Outreach (rescheduled for Friday, November 14, 10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.)
Youth outreach may seem daunting to any museum professional, especially those in small institutions. Partnering outside the museum field can help fulfill community needs and organizational goals_from both the perspective of the museum and the community partner. Join representatives of the USS Constitution Museum, the Revolving Museum in Lowell and their partners in outreach to learn how practical and successful partnerships at two very different museums brought forth new ideas, energy and enthusiasm.
Chair: Anne Grimes Rand, Executive Vice President, USS Constitution Museum, MA

When Disaster Strikes: Rising from the Ashes
As museum professionals, we recognize the importance of having an up-to-date disaster plan. Yet most of the nation's museums still don't have one. Its importance is never more keenly felt than when disaster strikes. Hear firsthand how one museum—without a disaster plan—responded to a devastating fire. Learn how another museum created—and sustains—a viable hurricane preparedness plan. Then learn how to generate a customized disaster plan using dPlan™, a free online template. This session is important for museum administrators and collections-care staff eager to kickstart the disaster planning process.
Chair: Lori Foley, Director of Field Service, Northeast Document Conservation Center, MA

10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Coffee Break in Exhibit Hall
Hosted by Huntington T. Block Insurance Agency, Inc.

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions

A Modest Proposal: The Carter Collections Center at Strawbery Banke Museum
At a time when many institutions focus on large scale, large budget buildings to draw visitors, Strawbery Banke Museum opted for a modest, contextually designed structure with numerous "green" features—the award-winning Carter Collections Center. We will share our story of how CCC and the connected Rowland Gallery has expanded our mission, collections focus and processing, as well as scholarly access in positive directions we did not foresee, including new community connections.
Chair: Lawrence Yerdon, President, Strawbery Banke Museum, NH

The Audience-Focused Exhibit
How can a history museum involve its community in conceptualizing and designing an engaging exhibit? How can a mid-sized museum use new media to reach new audiences in its exhibits? Five years in development, the new history exhibit at the Mattatuck Museum was built through a series of preliminary projects that established a team with audience members, historians and designers to ensure that visitors would find themselves in the exhibit, which opened in May 2008.
Chair: Ann Y. Smith, Project Director, New History Exhibit, Mattatuck Museum Arts and History Center, CT

Community Connections—Parents are Customers Too!
This session will explore how the definition of community can and should include museums and their relationships with parents. Panelists—museum professionals, a.k.a. mothers and fathers of children who range in age from pre-school thru teenager, as well as a market research strategist—share their unique insights and practical strategies for how museums can more effectively reach out to and involve parents, and how our offerings can attempt to appeal across the generations.
Chair: Marilyn Weiss Cruickshank, Education Consultant, MA

How Do I Get an Intern (When They All Want to Go to the MFA)?
Although small museums may desperately need the help that interns provide, students tend to choose to intern in larger, more prestigious museums. How can other museums persuade potential interns that they offer worthy educational experiences? Learn what comprises an internship that serves both intern and host organization, and how to promote the opportunities and solicit student interest. This session is appropriate for historical societies, historic sites, science, children's and specialty museums.
Chair: Cynthia Robinson, Director, Tufts Museum Studies Program, Tufts University, MA

Mistakes, Blunders and Near Misses: What I Learned the Hard Way
Examples of success can provide great road maps for others to follow and are a comfortable mode of communication for many. But failures and mistakes can be just as instructive. Knowing what to avoid is as important as knowing what to aim for. We rarely talk about mistakes we have made, and the discussion suffers from a close examination of the other side of the coin. In this session, presenters from a wide range of museum experience will share their flubs so that we all can learn from them. Hopefully an amusing and educational discussion will ensue. Audience participation is strongly encouraged!
Co-chairs: Jonathan Shay, Director of Exhibitions, Mystic Seaport Museum, CT; Margaret Tamulonis, Manager of Collections and Exhibitions, Robert Hull Fleming Museum, VT

Museum Education Marketplace
The Museum Education Marketplace is a chance to find out about your colleagues' latest projects and programs. Presenters from a variety of museums throughout New England will be arranged in an informal, marketplace setting, offering one-on-one discussions, displays and handouts to help inform participants about their programming and projects. In keeping with this year's conference theme, presenters will address how their education initiatives both sustain and build community. Programs featured will demonstrate innovative ways that museums have strengthened existing relationships within their community as well as the challenges and rewards of forging new partnerships to address the changing needs of our constituents.
Co-chairs: Elisabeth Nevins, Director of Education and Interpretation, Old North Foundation of Boston, MA; Jennifer White-Dobbs, Director of Education, Connecticut River Museum, CT

The New Partnership: Museum Collaborations with the Nonprofit, Corporate and Public Sectors
In an attempt to better connect with audiences, museums are increasing the number of collaborations they undertake with other organizations. Beyond other learn ing institutions such as schools and libraries, museums now seek deeper partnerships with community service organizations, government agencies and corporations. Does having new partners change the way museums approach collaboration? What are the benefits and challenges? How do we measure success and failure? This panel discussion explores these and other concerns of collaboration.
Chair: Sharyn Nolan, Candidate for a Master of Liberal Arts (Museum Studies), Harvard University Extension School, MA

12:45 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.
Off-Site Lunchtime Professional Affinity Group Sessions
Colleagues may bring their own lunches or use the registration form to have their box lunch delivered to PCM.

Providence Children's Museum
Children's Museums PAG Lunch
Join Janet Rice Elman of ACM and NEMA's Children's Museums PAG co-chairs for an informal lunch. Find out what's new at ACM and learn how New England children's museums are contributing to national trends. Discuss with colleagues the emerging trends at children's museums and opportunities for collaboration. There will also be time to explore Providence Children's Museum including the new exhibition Play Power.
Co-chairs: Cathy Saunders, Director of Education, Providence Children's Museum; Amy Spencer, Director of Education, The Discovery Museums, MA

12:45 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.
Lunchtime Professional Affinity Group Sessions
Collect your lunch and attend any of these Professional Affinity Group programs.
Box lunches ordered in advance (see registration form) will be available in the hotel Exhibit Hall. Choose: vegetarian, tuna or turkey. Box lunches will not be available for purchase on-site.

Administration, Facilities & Services PAG
Security on a Shoestring: Protect Your Collection
Due to tight budgets and limited staff resources, museum professionals are often asked to wear several hats within their institutions. Perhaps one of the most important but least prepared for roles is that of security manager of a museum's buildings and collections. In large organizations, a trained specialist fills that role, but what can be done at the smallest institutions where often the only paid position is that of director? Join representatives from the International Foundation for Cultural Property Protection and learn simple and inexpensive ways to make your buildings and collections more secure.
Co-chairs: Jane Bowers, Curator of Exhibitions, Wenham Museum, MA; Patricia Brunetto, Operations Coordinator, Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, CT

Curators PAG
The Changing Role of Curators
The curator's role is changing in today's museums. Curators have new demands and the expectation to wear many hats, no matter the size of the museum. Join your colleagues for lunch and a short business meeting, including an update on CurCom activities from Linda Eppich, (Archivist/Grant Writer, Preservation Society of Newport County, RI). John Mayer (Curator of Museum Collections, Maine Historical Society) will provide an update on revisions to the Curator Code of Ethics. Ron Potvin (Assistant Director & Curator, John Nicholas Brown Center, RI) will lead a discussion of how the role of the curator is changing to meet the needs of the 21st century.
Co-chairs: Andrew Grilz, Curator, Andover Historical Society, MA; Sheri Leahan, Curator, Margaret Chase Smith Library, ME; Kate McBrien, Curator of Historic Collections, Maine State Museum

Education PAG with HR & Volunteer Management PAG
Speed-Training: A Light-Hearted Approach to Surviving Your Crazy Job
Join your colleagues for a break from formal sessions. In this "speed-dating" format, attendees have 10 minutes for a conversation with a presenter before they must move on to the next table and presenter. Be prepared for this rapid-fire brainstorming and idea sharing as we explore the challenges we face with the operations of our departments, including time management and human resources issues.
Co-chairs: Dawn Salerno, Director of Education, Mystic Arts Center, CT; Jennifer White-Dobbs, Director of Education, Connecticut River Museum, CT; Laura Howick, Director of Education, Fitchburg Art Museum, MA; Joane Muratore-Pallatino, Director of Human Resources, Springfield Museums, MA

Exhibitions PAG
The Latest and the Greatest
Everyone is invited to spend 5 to 7 minutes showing images of recent exhibition work. Share your successes and dilemmas. Please contact Serena Furman before November 1 to pre-register your talk (978-793-0137, sfatASpace@aol.com). Presentations must be made using PowerPoint (slide carousel will not be available) and must be submitted to Serena by the November 1 deadline.
Co-chairs: Serena Furman, Principal, A Space, MA; Emily Robertson, Assistant Project Manager, Museum of Science, MA.

Library & Archives PAG
Getting a Handle on Your Institution's Records
Co-sponsored with the New England Archivists, this informal lunch session is open to all, whether you are a trained archivist or simply find yourself responsible for your institution's memory! A brief introduction to maintaining, organizing and preserving records will be followed by a question and answer period. The session will also include a short business meeting for the Library & Archives PAG to explore the programs and resources that you would like to see available in the future.
Co-chairs: Andrew Boisvert, Archivist, Old Colony Historical Society, MA; Susan von Salis, Curator of Archives, Harvard Art Museum, MA

Membership, Development, Public Relations & Marketing PAG
Pooling Resources
In this day and age the museum development office needs to think not only outside the box, but perhaps outside their territory or state. Join NEMA's Membership, Development, Public Relations & Marketing PAG co-chairs in a unique luncheon sit-down with the American Association of Museums PR and Marketing committee chairs as we discuss pooling our resources for the good of individual museums and museums region-wide. We will discuss interesting collaborations, and networking connections that are not normally utilized. We will also talk about how pooling resources can broaden the scope of individual projects and aid in attaining the overall development goals of your museum.
Co-chairs: Denise Braley, Independent Museum Professional, CT; Michael Madura, Independent Museum Professional, RI

Registrars PAG
Year in Review: Registrars in Action
The role and responsibilities of a collections manager and registrar are always changing and yet simultaneously constant. Some projects such as accessioning, deaccessioning, receipting, log lists and cataloguing are standard operating procedures. And then we have event driven projects that we are involved in with less frequency: preparing a traveling exhibition, conducting an inventory, etc. With the never ending "to-do list" at our desk, we don't always have time to keep up with our colleagues from the region. So please join us for this lunch session, during which colleagues will talk about their current projects, recent accomplishments or lessons learned.
Co-chairs: Mary Herbert-Busick, Associate Registrar, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, CT; Meredith Vasta, Registrar/Collections Manager, Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center, CT

2:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Afternoon Off-Site Session
Museum of Natural History
Museum Metamorphosis: Building on Strengths, Creating New Ties
The Museum of Natural History in Providence opened its doors in 1896 at the peak of the collecting era. Its collections are a testament to local interest in collecting the natural world and the handiwork of "vanishing cultures." From mounted birds to pressed plants, shells, fossils and minerals, and Native American beadwork and basketry, this mid-sized museum has it all! See how 19th century collections have been housed in 21st century storage and how they complement both period and high-tech exhibits, including our Planetarium. Learn how these resources have contributed to a treasured past for generations of Rhode Islanders, and today help forge a growing array of sustainable partnerships. Participants will explore the museum, its public spaces, and climate controlled storage vaults. Discover how the museum has creatively built upon its unique collection and other resource strengths while forging new partnerships to redefine itself.
Chair: Renée Gamba, Director, Museum of Natural History and Planetarium, RI
Pre-registration is required. Registration is limited. Fee of $10 includes transportation.

3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Concurrent Sessions

The Connected Classroom: Digital Technology in Art Museum Education for the School Audience
The Connected Classroom (2007 Master's Thesis) examines the uses, needs and limitations of digital technology in the partnerships between New England art museums and school audiences. This session will present data from the perspective of museums, teachers and students to suggest strategies for the successful use of digital resources and make a case for further development to strengthen and sustain educational partnerships. Panelists will present exemplary projects that use digital resources designed for the school audience.
Chair: Jason R. Springer, Adjunct Museum Educator/Community Arts Initiative Lead Instructor, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Exhibitions: Commemorative or Interpretative
Exhibitions are fundamentally about learning, but there are many ways to plan and organize an exhibition. This session will include discussions that explore, compare and contrast the differences, advantages and disadvantages between commemorative/memorial and interpretative exhibitions. Some of the questions that will be addressed include: How to choose? When to decide? How to tell the difference? How is the decision made as part of the museum's objectives, purpose, themes, storylines, target audience, collections, design and budget?
Chair: John A. Quatrale, Principal, ArchivalExhibitions.com, MA

Theme Conversation
Multiple Roles for Museums in Today's Communities
Museums are being asked to play many roles in today's society—to enhance civic life, supplement education, act as agents of change, boost tourism, provide entertainment, increase the local economy and support life-long learning. What are some of the ways that museums address these competing needs of the community while encouraging children and adults to engage in lifelong learning? A conversation for all conference attendees led by Janet Rice Elman and NEMA Board member Neil Gordon of Boston Children's Museum on the ways in which children's museums are leaders in serving diverse constituencies and responding to calls that they perform many roles in modern society.
Co-chairs: Janet Rice Elman, Executive Director, Association of Children's Museums, DC; Neil Gordon, Executive Vice President, Boston Children's Museum and Board President, Association of Children's Museums

Oral History for Museums
This workshop covers oral history methods and applications for museums. Starting with project design and interview techniques, the session highlights how museums can use oral history in research, exhibitions and community outreach. Presented by Bruce Stave, Director of the Oral History Office at the University of Connecticut; Betty Hoffman, former Project Director for the exhibit, Witness to War: 1941-1945: The Soviet Jewish Experience; and Anne Valk, Associate Director for Programs at the John Nicholas Brown Center.
Chair: Anne M. Valk, Associate Director for Programs, John Nicholas Brown Center, Brown University, RI

The Road to Green: Tales of Two Museums
The Montclair Art Museum and the Montserrat College of Art Gallery have been greening programs, practices and building systems. The museum's work began as a study of high energy costs; the gallery's began as an art exhibit and public programs. Both projects triggered green practices throughout the institution. We'll discuss benchmarking, re-commissioning HVAC equipment, retrofits for water conservation, lighting reviews for energy efficiency, recycling, waste reduction and green purchasing and cleaning. Learn to be green without building!
Chair: Sarah Brophy, Green Museum Consultant, MD

Woven in Time: Textile Care
Neither rain nor sleet nor gloom of night is good for historic textiles. Learn about the care, storage and display of costumes and textiles that are found in your collections. From denim to silk, they all need good care to preserve them for the future. Camille Myers Breeze, textile conservator, will discuss and demonstrate the methods that you can use for the proper care and handling of these materials.
Chair: David Colglazier, Independent Conservator, NH


Evening Events

4 :45 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.
Exhibit Hall Reception

Don't miss this opportunity to visit the exhibit booths and learn about wonderful museum products and services. Enjoy delicious hors d'oeuvres and meet with friends old and new!
Hosted by Harvard University Extension School/Master of Liberal Arts in Museum Studies

6:15 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
An Evening in Newport: Rough Point and the Newport Art Museum
Join your colleagues for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at the beautiful Rough Point Mansion followed by dinner at the Newport Art Museum. Rough Point is a vast English Manorial house built in 1889 on a dramatic, windswept promontory on Newport’s Cliff Walk, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Once owned by Doris Duke, the estate was bequeathed to the Newport Restoration Foundation, founded to help preserve Newport’s architectural heritage.

Dinner will then be served in the Newport Art Museum’s Griswold House, a National Historic Landmark and an Official Project of Save America’s Treasures designed by famed architect Richard Morris Hunt. Across the sculpture garden is architect William Delano’s Cushing Memorial Gallery. Both buildings house the museum’s galleries, which showcase the visual arts of Newport and southeastern New England, reflecting both the rich heritage of the past and the lively art scene of the present. Attendees will have time to enjoy the exhibition, The Eloquence of Place: Newport Restoration Foundation and 40 Years of Preservation.
Pre-registration is required. Registration fee of $45 includes dinner, complimentary wine and transportation.

6:20 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
An Evening at Slater Mill
Does your image of an old mill include acres of bricks? Think again! Nestled along the Blackstone River, the beautifully-preserved, warm and inviting wooden structure of Slater Mill beckons you. Enjoy an evening of rich history, delicious food and wine and lively music by Fleur de Lis. Take a tour of the site, see the new textile and fine craft center, visit the shop and gallery. The 1793 architecture of this National Historic Landmark is as unique as its story: Slater Mill is known as the Birthplace of Industrialization in America. Here, cotton spinning found a new home, and generations of families contributed to America’s rise. Today, this Rhode Island icon remains a powerful engine for tourism, education and community. Don’t miss this joyous evening event.
Pre-registration is required. Registration fee of $43 includes dinner, complimentary wine, entertainment and transportation.

6:25 p.m. - 9:45 p.m.
Directors and Trustees Dinner at the Culinary Arts Museum
The Culinary Arts Museum invites friends and colleagues to partake of a fabulous dinner prepared by chefs from the celebrated College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres in the museum’s 1833 tap room, or alongside the 1926 diner, or on the country fair midway, all features of permanent exhibits on display. The Culinary Arts Museum offers a comprehensive glimpse into our gastronomic past, ranging from A Pantheon of Chefs to Dripping with Color: The Art of the Fruit Crate Label to Diners: Still Cookin’ in the 21st Century and more. Don’t eat beforehand.
Pre-registration is required. Registration fee of $48 includes dinner, complimentary wine and transportation.
Hosted by Museum Search & Reference