Education About Education: HME Meeting Notes November 17, 2014

Education about education: what conferences/courses/classes/diplomas have you taken? What’s been most useful?

Royal Coachman Pub: Waterdown

Professional Development/Conferences
University of Victoria
Diploma in Cultural Resource Management
online/distance learning

OMA
offers a Certificate in Museum Studies, open to all OMA members
can be (but is not necessarily) history-museum heavy
No chance for debriefing: intense 3 day in-person or several months online
Moves teaching locations around the province
useful, but sometimes difficult to complete with full time work

Algonquin College (in Ottawa)
2 years Applied Museum Studies
Co-op can be done at many locations/types of institutions eg: ROM, Parks Canada conservation centre, Fieldcote

Interpretation Officer from RBG has taken graduate diploma in Science Communication, from Science North and Laurentian University
it includes 8 week internship, field trips

NAI training
National Association for Interpretation
American version of InterpScan
Nature-based



teaching degree (huge help for any education related job)

Northern States Conservation Center Online Education Course 
Similar to OMA, do that one instead

-PRO  *forgot the exact name*  Youth workshop - useful for running camps and working with junior volunteers

Outstanding Camp Training Workshop
useful for training camp staff

Grand River Heritage Day Workshop 
extremely useful to find out what others are do in this area, to learn more about the area I am teaching in, and what resources are out there. It is FREE! Some years are more interesting/relevant to my programs than others, but it is really neat to see what is out there.

Ideas for Conferences OUTSIDE of obvious museum associations
Tech conferences (RBG employees who work heavily with tech)

Science teachers of Ontario
Need to know curriculum, what they need in the curriculum
Promote, but also learn
Subject integration is very important to teachers!

Medical Conferences (crossover with arts-teaching)





Ask yourself:
WHO is your audience? What do they need/want?
You can search online for your audience's professional associations, and their conference/other learning opportunities.
WHAT is your motive for going to a conference?
Is it for your own edification, promotion of your institution, education, networking? Seeing what others in your field are doing?
WHEN do ypu stop looking for courses that will improve your degree?
How about informal professional development? (like HME!)

Suggestions of Helpful resources/websites
Magic.piktochart
Fast, eye-catching
Could be print doc and/or presentation

Digital Human Library
Add any digital resource at your institution!!


NFB
Bear 71
Follow the life of a bear, but this idea can be applicable to tech-learning tools
Pre-visit activity
Note: setting up certain tech-based learning resources may be a good intern job

Using new media for interpretation
Helpful and thorough list of online resource for new media interpretation tools

Peer Learning: G-Chats
Can be seen in archives, or you can participate in real time
found through talk@museum-ed.org Digest

October 20 PLC CANCELLED

Unfortunately due to low numbers we've had to cancel the PLC set for October 20th.

Thank you so much for all your work in preparation and offer to share your time. We've put this topic on the list to be discussed for HME meetings in the 2015-2016 year.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do email us and let us know.

Thanks again, and I hope to see you at meetings in the future!

Teresa

__________
HME
http://h-m-e.blogspot.ca/
Sarah Hamilton
Teresa Gregorio
Nicole Knibb

October 2014 PLC: Partnerships

Hamilton Area Museum Educators
invites you to our October 2014 Peer Learning Circle

Partnerships
Monday, October 20, 10:00am-3:00pm
Art Gallery of Burlington
1333 Lakeshore Road, Burlington, Ontario

This session is FREE!

Come to this Peer Learning Circle to hear about how a variety of institutions have created and sustained partnerships.
There will be time devoted to networking, to encourage idea sharing and partnerships between colleagues and institutions.

Presenters and topics include:
Angie Warner
Peel Art Gallery Museum and Archives
-partnership with local libraries

Bryan Webber
VP, Financial Development at the YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brantford
-partnership with Sir Wilfrid Laurier

Meghan Cameron
-Great War Centenary Association partnerships

Check your inbox for submission forms.

Directions

Parking

• Guests of events can pay $4 for a day pass instead of the usual 1.75 per hour at the meter. These passes are available for purchase in the lobby on the day of the event.
• Metered street parking is also available on Nelson Avenue.

Lunch

• There are a number of lunch options in the Burlington downtown area.

On-site Lunch

• You can order a lunch for between $12-$14, which will be delivered to our meeting room for lunchtime.
• You can order a boxed lunch, which will include a sandwich, pasta salad, whole fruit and cookie for $12 per person.
• There is a roasted veggie wrap option for vegetarians.
• We can do a few assorted sandwiches and mark the bag as to what they have in them.
• Any food allergies/preferences, please do let us know.
• A can of pop, juice or water can be added to your order for $2.
• To order lunch, please reply to one of the HME coordinators with your preferences. Payment can be made in cash at the PLC.

Pre/Post Visit Resources: HME Meeting Notes Monday September 15, 2014

We had a nice, large group who met to kick off the 2014-2015 year! We met at Bangkok Spoon, which had great food and a bustling atmosphere.

McMaster Museum of Art FAQ videos

Video 2
Video 3
Video 4

• We made them using software from Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop, After Effects and Premiere Pro.
• Used animations and some video footage of museum staff, sound effects, voice; created entirely in-house with help of summer student and Communications Officer. These videos can be found on the museum’s blog as well as YouTube.
• Museum in England where school vids made video for rules (teacher is the actor who brome the rules). On our FB.
• Some online sites (historic house museum in new york city) had a contract where people had to sign.

Are there any resources you direct visitor to prior to visits?

• Environmental programs: ministry of natural resources. Look up species.
• Doubtful if teachers read or use any pre-visit materials. Have to question how much museum employee effort to put in to these materials if they are little used.
• Pre/post visit packages: Homer Watson developing this year.

Photography policy

• without express permission, get back of heads, just hands.
• Summer camps, direct to parents, a bit easier. But still don't put photos on Facebook.
• Idea: can use employees' kids.
• Photo sign offs for high school program. Some without just noted. Ended up getting many photos, and they can be used far into the future.

Water festival coming up in Haldimand.

Post visit

• survey. Not much response.
• Follow up email with hope you have a good time, thanks. Personal contact maybe more effective than survey.
• Can create a quiz for teachers to take home with them after program and use in classroom.
• Pre-visit orientation research shows learning outcomes better for groups who were told about schedule for the day first.
• Hypothesis is that kids were more relaxed because they knew what was happening.
• Kids take in more with activities to fill in along the way?
• Ask questions while waiting at end of day: what was your favourite thing today? Informal way of getting feedback and reinforcing positive learning from the trip.
• Schoolwork on field trip: should coordinate with teacher so kids take the work seriously.
• Try to keep it short: kids aren't going to write out paragraphs.
• Feedback: tried with a qr code, didn't help. Try with incentive of itunes card. See if that gets feedback.

Seniors: equally need to be informed of no touching rules.

Social Media

• Wifi in space: many people ask for it.
• Facebook's “out”. Twitter and Instagram are the more popular of social media sites. AskFM is popular, but very easily devolves into a bullying avenue.
• Twitter ideas:
• Taxidermy animals (a mascot for a museum) has it's own twitter feed.
• Natural History of Museum on uk had jar of mould with twitter feed.
• Top 5 reasons to follow museum mascots on social media
• Tweets from dead Prime Ministers.
• Tweets/retweets for prizes.
• Pinterest

Maybe do a meeting about emergency planning.
Paint club: everyone gets materials, painting is described, booze, get to go home with original artwork

Book Club: Linda Norris of Uncatalogued Museum

Question: Follow Up

Back on May 31, one of our members asked a question about bussing and educational programs. 

She was kind enough to get back to us with some very valuable answers!

Note: Keep this sort of information in mind for our upcoming autumn PLC on October 20 (details to be in your inbox soon!)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I am finally following up on a question that I posed for the group during the spring in terms of bussing and their schedules. I chatted with the director of Transportation for the District School Board of Niagara and the Niagara Catholic School board about busses needing to leave early.

In short many of the buses are doing two runs and need to be back for high school pick up at 2:00, which involves at 1:30 departure. There are buses that do not have the high school run and typically need to leave their destination by 2:00pm. These are first come first serve. The secretary must request a bus that has a 2pm departure from their destination. At Ball’s Falls we also have some programs in the spring that go until 2:30. There are a few buses as well that can leave their destination at 2:30. Again this is first come first serve.

One thing that we can do is make it clear to teachers their departure date when booking. I know at Ball’s Falls it is on their confirmation letter, but I am also going to redraft the e-mail they receive with the note in bold that they need to confirm with the bus company that the bus is able to depart at 2:00pm.

If no later departure date is requested, or all later departure buses are already taken the bus will need to leave at 1:30. Teachers can call other bus companies in order to find a bus that does have a later departure date.

She recommended that the teacher bring a copy of the bus confirmation sheet along to the class trip in case there is a conflict between what the confirmation sheet says and what the bus driver says. If there is a conflict she also provided a list of numbers to contact.

If there are any issues as well she would like us to report them to her so that they are aware.

 

I included her e-mail below as well as NSTS contact list for all busing companies. Since we deal mostly with Niagara Schools I only contacted the Niagara School Transportation.

lori.powell at nsts dot ca

New Schedule!

The 2014-2015 schedule has just been posted to the blog.
As a final wrap up for this year, we've put together a very short survey. You'll be seeing it in an email later today. Please give us your feedback so we can make HME the best it can possibly be.

Have a great summer!

Question

Hi everyone!

One of our members has a question about school tours. Please reply with any advice or wisdom to this post. Thanks!

At Ball's Falls we do our Education Programs in the morning and afternoon, some schools book all day, whereas others are only coming for one program. Many of our programs are two hours long, although we have a few shorter ones that are an hour long.

I had a teacher this year have to cancel her afternoon program because the bus company now has a rule that they must leave their location no later than 1:30 in order to be back for the afternoon runs. We have always run programs until 2 or 2:30. I have contacted the teacher to see what the bus company was, and I am going to follow this up a bit more.

Has anyone else had this issue?

PLC: Privilege and Role of Museums in Presenting Different Cultures, Socio-political and Accessible Exhibitions and Objects

May 5, 2014 Woodlands Cultural Centre, Brantford, ON

Peter Monahan (Museums of Mississauga)

The British Indian Army in WW1

http://www5.mississauga.ca/rec&parks/websites/museums/pdfs/british_indian_army.pdf

2014 marks the centennial year of the beginning of the ‘Great

War’ or ‘World War One’. This exhibit recognizes one story

unknown to many Canadians, the part played by the British

Indian Army. At the time it was the largest volunteer army in

the world.

• the British Indian Army served in France in the first year and a half of the war
• consulted with the Sikh Heritage Organization of Canada http://shmc.ca/, South Asian community members and York University professor
• exhibition includes magazines, artefacts, memorial to army at Gallipoli
•  idea suggested as part if the WW1 Centenary, why not do something about Indian army, influenced by part of Peter's OMA course work
• 180 000 of Peel Region are of Southeast Asian descent, so there is good community connection to fulfill M of M mandate to promote the history of Mississauga
•  this was also a good Canadian connection
•  mobilizing the Empire, included Canadians and Newfoundlanders, of course
•  photographs of soldiers from Streetsville (near Mississauga) boarding a train and Indian troops getting on ships to go to Mumbai (Bombay)
•  also includes personal stories of Canadian Sikh soldiers who served with Mississauga Battalion, Mississauga Light Horse
•  issue of how to describe Indian-Canadians?  “British Indian Army” was best way to describe these people, to not confuse Indian Military of today
•  issue around race, Sri Lankans, Indians, Pakistanis and various other South Asian groups in the British Army, communities which were not differentiated at the time but should be today
•  exhibition content focused on the factual and simplified information rather than opening possible difficult issues when the information might not be readily available
• exhibition discusses new war technologies like gas warfare, length of war, issue of no home leave for imperial soldiers and distance from families, etc.
• Indian soldiers were allowed to wear turbans rather than helmets, British Army was culturally sensitive at the time, food served to soldiers was culturally sensitive as well
•  Infantry was recruited based on Victorian notions of race and culture, soldiers from the north were preferred because of their fighting skills and perceived “warrior culture,”
• aftermath of war, wounds
• Private Hari Singh: personal look at one of the Mississauga Battalion members who returned to Peel Region after the war
•  Laal Singh, recruited from Ontario, died during the war but his tombstone has a Christian cross on it, problematic for Sikh soldiers

Questions

•  conscious of Peter's background in how he is portraying this history -- Peter sought partners immediately to put this exhibition together
• 90% of artefacts are borrowed
• wanted to get personal stories to tie to Mississauga local history
•  these kinds of exhibitions will bring new audiences, new insights and awareness of our community’s shared history (and unknown history!)
•  could this be a travelling exhibition?!

Shannon Prince (Buxton Museum)

http://www.buxtonmuseum.com/

All of their educational programs are available on their website

The Elgin Settlement, also known as Buxton, was one of four organized black settlements to be developed in Canada.

The black population of Canada West and Chatham was already high due to the area's proximity to the United States. The land was purchased by the Elgin Association through the Presbyterian Synod for creating a settlement. The land lay 12 miles south of Chatham.

In case you didn’t know… Simcoe Day (August 1) holiday in Ontario, the holiday was renamed Simcoe Day in Toronto effective 1969 in honour of the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada and the promulgator of the Act Against Slavery (the Scotiabank Caribbean Cultural Festival, formerly known as Caribana, is held this holiday weekend in Toronto, coinciding with Emancipation Day)

•  Buxton is a community museum with small population, descendants of settlers from the Underground Railroad are majority of the community
•  Buxton was the largest Black settlement in Canada West, totally Black owned and operated
• Shannon is a descendant, the ability to share stories that are very personal and intriguing
•  in the past, visitors had issue with interpretive staff being of white, Dutch background -- why do we have these problems? (she married into Buxton family so this was her history, too)
• context and understanding of history is necessary – there was slavery in Canada and Canada was not welcoming to slaves
•  who tells the story needs to be okay because story needs to be told and it’s all part of our shared history
•  William King, a white Presbyterian minister who owned slaves was founder of Buxton – he believed slavery was wrong and Buxton is where he took his slaves so they could be free
• 9000 acres was given to him, nobody wanted it
• opened it to Underground Railroad slaves to settle and offered education and religion here as well
•  important to note that people in area didn't like Blacks settling there
•  King built a school, opened to everyone who wanted to come
•  taught Classical education and a great school, turned minds of opposed settlers who ended up sending their children to the school which solidified the community
• alumni of Buxton school include Anderson Abbott, Canada's first Black doctor, met Lincoln, surgeon in the Civil War, became Chatham's first coroner
•  Buxton school has taught many – must remember that Blacks were not allowed to go to school in the south, and it was illegal to educate them as well, many went north to Buxton
• Buxton still exists as a school, where the museum is (grades 1 to 10, 100 students taught at one time)
•    teachers bring classes here now because they are uncomfortable teaching this history themselves
• Tour activities http://www.buxtonmuseum.com/education/education.html
•  have replica of slave ship at Buxton to get a good sense of history
•  engaging in living history is great learning resource
•  objects such as iron neck collars and objects that can be handled or worn for good lessons
•  difficult task in how to talk to small children about slave history and the Underground Railroad, suggest a book Barefoot Underground to Freedom book http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-027137-4
•  games like Jeopardy for older kids to engage them in learning
•  tackling this difficult history with education and entertainment
•  role playing for older kids gets discussion going and problem solving scenarios to get young people to try to understand hardships
•  allows teaching for schools that are afraid of teaching difficult history
•  Buxton website has personal stories of past students at Buxton School over the past century, students will role play these students, researching them to prepare for visit, research allows visitors to imagine a future as well, since some became family members, married, etc. (link to cemetery there as well to find the students buried there)
•  get about 40 classes per year at Buxton from Canada and the US (lots from Chicago)

Bev Dietrich and Dillon March (Museums of Guelph)

Coming Out | Queer History in Guelph

http://guelph.ca/museum/

• commemorate milestone, history of pride, social programs and timeline of political and social history of queer and out individuals in Canada
•  positive feedback from press and community, museum visitors
•  developing the idea -- Dillon approached Bev at Guelph Museums who were welcoming of the idea
•  how the exhibition aligned with Guelph Pride and Civic Museum missions, was an easy process
•  who was involved -- community members and organizations, Museum staff
•  conducted interviews with LGBQ community and organizations, looked at newspaper records, articles, especially history of the University of Guelph LGBQ groups who formed in the 1960s, one of the first in Ontario and the Grand River Rainbow Historical Society
•  information- based exhibition, not a lot of artefacts/objects
•  Out on the Shelf Queer community in Guelph http://www.outontheshelf.ca/s supplied a lot of resources and original articles
•  Museum didn't have anything in their collection
•  to make it more visually appealing (for lack of objects) Dillon used lots of colour, vibrant exhibition boards to make it engaging
• reaction was very positive, lots of people came specifically to see the exhibition and  regular visitors to the museum loved the exhibition as well
•  allowed for different community voices to be heard and benefitted both parties
•  advice --  be open to suggestions for exhibitions, there are interesting stories to be told about your community
•  ensure you have Board support for exhibitions
•  Guelph Museums keen on celebrating anniversaries in the community
•  proposals are taken to curatorial meetings for discussion and approval
• reflections- - before this project, Dillon didn’t have much experience writing text for exhibits, but taking the time to work with him through the editing process was worth it.
•  Symposium went along with the exhibition, programming is important to exhibition success
• exhibition held near education area of the Museum
•  exhibition also included books, lots of literature and information pamphlets
•  participatory aspect for visitors to share a Guelph Pride memory on post it notes, no trouble, only positive notes left and will be kept in exhibition archive
• Problematic Exhibition at Guelph: Falun Dafa exhibition
• warning -- do not offer them an exhibition!
• Chinese religion http://en.falundafa.org/
•   they rented programming space – not Museum-created/supported
•  artworks were images which were gruesome because they are tortured and persecuted in China, problematic exhibition because it’s a public space, mostly for children’s programs
•  covered up images during school programs
•  Falun members were in the gallery during the day speaking to visitors but trying to get them to convert and sign petitions
•  this exhibition actually pushed Museum to change policy- problem of Museum associated with the exhibition -- policy for how to use space had to change to avoid anything like this again
•  must have risk management for exhibitions to avoid problematic groups
• visitors’ privacy issues need to be taken into account

John Keeshig, Sandra and Art Lucs

Region of Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA)

“We Are Here: The Story of Aboriginal People in Peel Region: A Case Study in Inclusive Consultation”

http://www.pama.peelregion.ca/en/exhibitions/thepeelstory.asp#We%20Are%20Here

•  Sandra and Art from design company asked to develop an exhibition on Aboriginal history for Peel Region
•  vision for the role of a museum to benefit the public and create a setting for the authentic voice
• 2.5 year process, Peel Aboriginal Network was active in planning and consultation -- took on life of its own, became guided by the Aboriginal advisory committee which included members of the Haudenosaunee, Inuit, Metis and Anishinaabe communities
•  intense active role, etiquette evolved, meetings began with smudging, ended with a prayer very much like aboriginal council meeting, properly paced, lots of time spent at meetings and always sought consensus
•  not necessarily smooth running meetings, but consensus was always achieved
•   offered tobacco and smudging to ancestors to join us
•   talked until we reached the "good mind"
•   tables are not used in lodges so everyone can be open – belief that tables, podiums hide the truth
•  the term “aboriginal” seems to be the most inclusive and a goal was to not exclude  -- includes all Indigenous people
•  exhibition decided to include section on genocide (residential school system as genocide) despite possible controversy
•  never use the term "pre-history" as history has always been
•  “pre-history” assumes a privileged view and assumes a written history not an oral history as is Aboriginal tradition
•   Advisory Committee created core statement for then exhibition to guide their work – one which recognizes the uniqueness, diversity and identity linked to land as creation of Aboriginal people, recognized ancestors and families and to honour them (presence of ancestors is important)
• ancestors gallery was included in the exhibition
•  personal stories are included throughout the exhibition, John Keeshig’s is one of them
•  Vision quests and animal guides you can choose with their meanings, use as a feedback forum to open discussion and give feedback at the end of the exhibition for audience participatory engagement
• activity kits for school groups, want to be family friendly exhibition
•   terminology was a major consideration for the exhibition, chose “Aboriginal” as an umbrella word and a word  most on the Advisory Committee could live with although not all agreed on it but did reach consensus
• exhibition focuses on living history
•  Peel Region is artificial geographical construct
•  items are not referred to as “artefacts,” another problematic word which suggests Aboriginal objects are from a “dead culture”
•  Peel Region is regarded as traditional territory of the Mississauga and New Credit
•  Land claim settlement just signed, highlight of the exhibition working process and acknowledged in the exhibition
•   talking thumb touch screens, original film footage created for the exhibition and designed to be viewed by many people at once
• videos are candid, emotional and allows for face to face interaction with the viewer
•  “a world in balance,” the term balance is used to discuss the role of the teaching lodge, John's poem is here
•  the teaching lodge is a place of healing, part of the exhibition which follows the genocide sections
•   enter the exhibition through the eastern doorway and exit through the west, like you would the teaching lodge
•  John wondered why he was asked to come to the Advisory Committee
•  who was going to tell the story? who's version gets told?
•  where would we go if we wanted our story to be told? recognized problem of our grandparents, our elders who are leaving us and we need to reach back and find our words
•  our history is not in books
•  where would we go to learn our history and continue our story telling?
•  history and storytelling traditionally happened in the winter in the teaching lodge
•  we have to go to the lodge to learn from our elders, elders do not discriminate and always listen carefully, they will never talk badly and always have a gentle way
•  the Creator taught us to be gentle
•  dancing is mindful and remembers the first one who walked carefully
•  structure of the teaching lodge could be a house, anywhere teaching and storytelling happens which tells us of our language, culture, and tradition
•  path the creator gave us is East to West, and as we walk forest protects the pathway
•  four races of man in the Creators image, how could he bring life into them, a voice came to him, “how can I help you?” which was the little shell speaking to the creator who used the little shell to blow life into the humans
•  shell has two doorways, dome shaped like the lodge
•  the Creator gives us nothing by mistake – all nature is planned and has meaning
•  John carries the shell as a reminder of who we are and whose words are better than those who have come before us?
•  life is a trail that we walk
•  policies of residential school, attack our culture, language and history, the lodge will bring it back, we take ownership of it -- this is why I came to talk here, I was led to these people
•  I was speaking for those who have left, have passed through the Western doorway
•  true value of any gift is in the sharing of that gift and our history is the greatest gift to be shared
•  exhibition opened a year ago, lots of attendance and programming
•  Peel Aboriginal Network has a weekly drumming group and is now looking into exhibiting artwork and beadwork
•  PAMA is successful with this exhibition, they weren't shy about presenting this difficult history as a way to accept history and move forward
•  through our path in life we have obstacles, we have to see the real truth in what is placed in front of us but it is a gift and we must find the value of obstacles
•  taking of our culture through residential schools ensures we'll never lose them again, taught us value of our culture

Questions

• who does the interpretation? John does some presentations there and throughout the GTA
• wanted to create a chronological path through the exhibition and incorporated the story of  the time when the Creator wanted to take humans away, the animal guides asked,  “who they would now be able to live with as their human partners?”
•  the Creator agreed with the animals and the animals became the clans, different than the spirit animals but also very similar
•  diversity of population in Peel region was the reason to do such an exhibition – the issue of hidden Indigenous people
•  need for cultural space to seek out their culture, titled "We are here."
•  exhibition design captures twists and turns of the forest leading to the lodge, sacred walk

April 14 Meeting CANCELED

Hi everyone,

This is just to let you know that the April 14 meeting, "Dealing with Media, Film Crews and Photographers" in Waterdown has been canceled.

Hope to see you at a future meeting!

May 2014 PLC Invite

Hamilton Area Museum Educators

invites you to our May 2014 Peer Learning Circle

Privilege and role of museums 
in presenting different cultures, socio-political,

and accessible exhibitions and objects

Monday, May 5, 2014, 10:00am-3:00pm

Woodland Cultural Centre

184 Mohawk Street, Brantford, ON

This session is FREE!

Please contact one of the HME Coordinators to register before April 26.

Presenters and topics include:

Shannon Prince
Curator of the Buxton National Historic Site & Museum
“Something to Hope for…”
You will learn about the educational opportunities that were offered to blacks once they arrived in freedom at the Buxton settlement. A brief background history of the founding of the settlement, a power point discussing the value of education and the lesson plans we have created that are accessible on line and correlate with the curriculum will be provided. Also artifacts will also be displayed which also enhances the experience.

Bio
Shannon is a 6th generation descendent from the Elgin Settlement and Buxton Mission, which was a haven for fugitive slaves prior to the American Civil War. She is the curator at the Buxton National Historic Site & Museum.
She is a graduate from the Museum Studies Program through the Ontario Museums Association; Chair of the National Historic Sites Alliance of Ontario; the Ontario Trillium Fund Grant Review Team; a member of the Chatham Kent Economic Advisory Committee; a member of the Chatham Kent Community Leaders Cabinet; a member of Ontario’s Underground Railroad Alliance and is a historical storyteller.
She is involved in joint UGRR projects with York University, Toronto, The Underground Railroad Freedom Centre in Cincinnati, with Millersville University, the Network to Freedom program with the National Parks Service and several historical organizations in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
She and her husband Bryan have received numerous awards including YMCA of Chatham Kent’s Peace Medallion and the Underground Railroad Free Press international prize for “The Advancement of Knowledge”, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.

She actively farms with her husband Bryan & their four children, & grandchildren and she enjoys cooking, reading and playing baseball.

Marty Brent, John Keeshig, Carolyn King, Sandra Lucs
Region of Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA)
“We Are Here: The Story of Aboriginal People in Peel Region: A Case Study in Inclusive Consultation”
From November 2010 until the official opening date of February 16, 2013, an Aboriginal Advisory Committee composed of members of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Métis communities, PAMA staff and exhibition planners met numerous times with the goal of creating a permanent exhibition about the history of Aboriginal people who lived, and continue to reside in, the Region of Peel.
As the development process proceeded, Aboriginal Advisory Committee members assumed an increasing level of responsibility for both meeting structure and exhibition content. Meetings began with the Anishinaabe tradition of smudging and a talk about the value of The Good Mind approach, and concluded with a prayer. Meeting etiquette ensured that each participant had the opportunity to express themselves fully, without fear of interruption. This highly inclusive process, modeled upon Aboriginal council meetings, contributed to productive discussions which continued until members reached  consensus on the interpretation and presentation of the exhibition themes, including the most contentious and difficult — the genocide of Aboriginal people.
The end product of this inclusive consultation process — a 1000 s.f. permanent exhibition in the newly renovated PAMA complex — tells the story of Aboriginal people in Peel Region from the perspective of the Aboriginal Advisory Committee. Set within a spiritual framework centering upon their relationship to land as the Heart of Creation, it celebrates their unique identity and cultural endurance despite centuries of domination, displacement and forced assimilation.

Bios
Marty Brent joined Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives in 2011 as Supervisor of Museum and Archives.  Tasked with opening 5,000 sq ft of new exhibitions following PAMA’s recent retrofit project,  her team successfully moved the collections, and planned and launched its diverse new galleries to tell the stories of the people of Peel.  Recently appointed Manager at PAMA, Marty’s earlier career includes positions at Black Creek Pioneer Village and the Ontario Ministry of Culture.

Maya-waasige, also known as John Keeshig, is from Neyaashiingaminng (Cape Croker). He was a member of, and the spiritual advisor for the We Are Here exhibition Aboriginal Advisory Committee throughout the duration of the project. John has worked at Pearson International Airport since 1983 as a Canada Border Service Officer. He is frequently called upon by the Canada Border Services Agency to give presentations and share his knowledge about Aboriginal culture and traditions with fellow employees. 

Carolyn King, a resident and member of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, has been involved in First Nation community development for most of her working life and brings her experience in administration, planning, public relations and cultural heritage preservation to the table. In 1997 – 1999, she was the first woman to hold the position of elected Chief in her community. She currently works for the First Nation in the consultation and outreach office.

Sandra Lucs is an interpretive planner and partner in the exhibition planning and design firm of Vilnis Cultural Design Works, which was responsible for the research, interpretive planning, design and production of the We Are Here exhibition.

Peter Monahan
Museums of Mississauga
“South Asians in The Great War”

A discussion of developing and presenting an exhibition on the role of the British Indian Army in 1914-15.   Aimed at the considerable South Asian population of Mississauga and Peel Region, this exhibit breaks new ground in engaging a group not typically involved in the Museums of Mississauga and serves as a  counterpoint to the largely Anglo-centric ‘pioneer history’ which is the Museums’ main focus.

Bio
Peter Monahan is a part time interpreter with the Museums of Mississauga, a retired teacher of History and re-enactor of the Wart of 1812 and World War One and recently received his certificate in Museum Studies from the OMA.   He co-founded the Indian Military History Society in 1985 and is a life-long student of military.

Dillon March

Bev Dietrich Guelph Civic Museums
"Showcasing a Hidden History"; Out on the Shelf (Guelph Pride)

A video presentation of the process by Dillon Marsh, guest curator, with a commentary about the process from the institution point of view by Bev Dietrich, Curator of Guelph Museums. This presentation will cover topics regarding the project including the purpose, research questions, working with the GCM, research methods, working with uncooperative organizations, and reactions to the project.


Bios
Dillon has been the Chair of the Guelph Pride Committee over the past two years and has been involved with Guelph Pride activities for the past four. Dillon is currently completing his undergraduate degree in French and Italian studies at the University of Guelph and finishing up a certificate in Adult Education at Humber.

Bev Dietrich is the curator of Guelph Museums which includes the new Guelph Civic Museum and McCrae house, birthplace of WWI poet John McCrae of “In Flanders Fields” fame. Bev graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a B.A. in history and attended the Museum Technology Program at Algonquin College. She has completed the Ontario Museum Association’s Certificate in Museum Studies course of which she is now a course director for the Collection Management course.

Registration is limited! Contact one of the HME coordinators to register BEFORE APRIL 26.

Further Details:

Directions:
See this link for directions.
When you come up the drive, it is the huge three storey building Mohawk Residential School. You can park in the front parking area, or behind/ to the side of the building.

When you come up the stairs in the main building, you will turn to the left hallway and the board room is directly in front of you.

Lunch:

Lunch from The Pita Pit will be provided, sponsored by Carr McLean.
If you have any dietary restrictions or concerns, please note this on your registration form.

On lunch break – we will have a guided tour of Woodland Cultural Centre.

Interested in more about the Woodland Cultural Centre? Check out their website.