Get Reading! February's Book Club

As is tradition in HME, we're holding a book club for February's evening meeting.

Teaching in the Art Museum: Interpretation as Experience 
 Rika Burnham and Elliott Kai-Kee

More details about the book here.

It's available from Amazon.ca and Chapters.ca.

We suggest reading the introduction, as well as Chapters 5 and 6.
(It appears that you can get the intro for free on Google Books.)

Despite the title, this book does contain information and suggestions that apply broadly to museum education, rather than being exclusively for art museums.

We're looking forward to a lively discussion!

Here are a few questions to get you started:

-In Chapter 5, "conversation, discussion, and dialogue" are outlined as different approaches to teaching and talking in a museum. Which do you find yourself doing most often? Which do you prefer as a museum-goer?

-Chapter 6 is thought-provoking; it questions the use of questions in museum education. "By not asking questions, it allows learners to ask their own questions". An example of this technique is provided in the chapter. Do you think you can apply this approach in your museum?

#socialmedia @hamed update: reaching your audience, membership, volunteers: HME Meeting Monday January 21, 2013

This Monday's evening meeting saw fruitful, lively discussion and delicious food at Thai Smile in Oakville.

Here are some key points:

-some of the larger institutions appear to be honing their social media interactions: see the Louvre and Met in NYC, which have fewer social media sites than only a year or two ago (in the Met's case, the social media links used to be right on the front page: now you have to dig to find them)

-Know Your Bone is a very interesting and useful site: "Successful nonprofit organizations do not choose between social mission and financial sustainability. Know Your Own Bone is a blog about online engagement strategies with a lean toward business-related best practices and achieving long-term organizational relevance."
See these recent posts!

-some institutions appear to be entering the world of Pinterest, including the National Gallery of Canada, Musées Montréal, the McMichael, and the Alhambra.

-the Bell Homestead adds fun and interesting content to their Facebook page, such as old telephone ads and videos (this one is particularly hilarious).

-Museums of Mississauga have podcasts posted to their site covering recent exhibits and artifacts.

-the UK's Geffrye Museum was sited as a great example of how to use social media.

January Evening Meeting

Join us for the first HME meeting of 2013!

The topic is "#socialmedia @hamed update: reaching your audience, membership, volunteers".

This is a topic we have visited in past years, but as we all know, social media changes rapidly and updates are perennially required!

Attend, share, and learn about your colleague's experiences with this dynamic medium.

We'll be meeting at Thai Smile in Oakville. 

HME members: please RSVP to one of the HME coordinators by Friday, January 18.

In case of inclement weather, please refer to our meeting cancellation procedure.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Meeting Cancellation Procedure

 

In the past, there have been instances where inclement weather has forced the cancellation of HME meetings.
 
Here is where you can read about last minute cancellations:

1) HME blog
2) HME twitter feed
3) HME facebook page

If you are interested in being contacted via cell phone text, please email your contact number to one of the HME coordinators.

2013 Schedule: Looking Forward

Hi everyone!

I hope you all had wonderful holidays.

This is just a quick note to mention a few updates to the January-June 2013 HME meeting schedule, which you can find here.

1) An HME member very kindly pointed out that we had originally scheduled our Feburary meeting on Family Day. The meeting has now been moved from the 18th to the 25th.

2) January's meeting, which is quickly approaching!, has the topic of "#socialmedia @hamed update: reaching your audience, membership, volunteers". Email invitations will be going out soon!

Celebrating Anniversaries: HME Evening Meeting November 19, 2012

Monday we met at the warm and bustling Queen's Head pub and had a lively discussion about how museums celebrate.

Some highlights:

Ruthven Park's Education Coordinator shared the recent success of the innovative story-telling medium of puppet shows.
Partnering with Studio Babette, Ruthven Park produced "From Ruthven to Passchendaele":
"From the splendour and natural wonder of the Ruthven mansion, to the destitute fields of mud in the Somme, to the healing hospitals of Britain, From Ruthven to Passchendaele commemorates the upcoming 100 year anniversary of World War I with a touching, vividly realized portrait of Canadian bravery and sacrifice."

This play was made possible by a grant from Veterans Canada.

In 2010, the Bell Homestead held their centenary celebrations. Two years in the planning, it was a three-day weekend including a gala dinner, a book launch (with actors performing readings from Bell family letters),and an historic 1910 picnic with horse & buggy rides and period appropriate foods.

Discussion surrounding the centenary of WWI; what is everyone planning?
This anniversary may have a greater connection to people today than 1812.
There are a number of committees forming to share information: if you are part of a committee, please share your information here and let HME know!

Historic Merchants Christmas Gift-Market

Saturday, November 24th, 2012, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m
~ at ~
Royal Botanical Gardens,
680 Plains Road West, Burlington, Ontario, Canada Discover a Christmas Market straight from the times of
Jane Austen and Charles Dickens

Join us for one of the premiere shopping events of the season, as some 30 historic merchants and artisans get together to recreate an Upper Canadian Christmas Market from the early 19th century. All of the merchandise dates from the period 1700-1919, which means that this is a terrific place to find gifts for those impossible to buy for people on your holiday list. Wandering the aisles filled with historically-themed booths staffed by vendors in period dress and filled with treasures from the past, you might well expect to run into Jane Austen or Charles Dickens browsing the books, choosing a period garment, or selecting the perfect bauble.

The Gathering is being held during the separately run Royal Botanical Gardens' annual holiday season " Holiday Traditions" event, featuring cleverly themed, decorated doors throughout RBG Centre. The day is filled with seasonal activities, musical entertainment, local school and adult choirs, an entire room full of light and model train displays, and, of course, Santa and his real, live reindeer!

With the Bicentennial of the War of 1812 upon us for the next few years, this is also the perfect place to find out about some of the wonderful upcoming events and how to get involved with them. It’s also just about the best place going to get yourself fully kitted out with everything 1812, so you’ll be ready in fine style, no matter what the bicentennial might bring!

For those wishing for lunch or afternoon tea, Royal Botanical Gardens boasts a full restaurant as well as a juice and sandwich bar for light refreshments. We hope that you'll join us for what promises to be an exciting day of shopping, camaraderie, and fun!

One admission gives entry to both events. Admission is free of charge to those in period dress, and also to Members of the Royal Botanical Gardens. Regular RBG admission will apply to those in modern clothing, as follows: 
Adults: $12; Senior/Student: 
$10; Child (5-12): $7; 
Child (under 5): free; 
Family (2 adults, 2 children): $30.00. 

Further information on the event may be found at http://historicmerchants.com/xmasgathering.htm, or by email at info@spencersmercantile.com, as well as through RBGs' site at http://www.rbg.ca.