A Christmas Carol in St. Louis

The remarkable Etc. Senior Theatre Company is adapting Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol for six presentations in The Robert Campbell House Museum on December 7-8-9. We've heard raves about this group's work and we're happy to be able to support this production with grant funding.

"Consulting Days" at Museums

Are you confused by the term, "charette?" Are you worried that outside consultants will say things that will make you feel bad? These are the usual obstacles to asking about our free consulting service for local museums and cultural institutions. We schedule these "consulting days" on a rolling basis with no deadlines, and we have a great record of helping people see more of their own potential and take immediate steps toward upgrades in the way they operate. The 2008 calendar is open, and I await your call. Information is on our web site.

Workshops for Museums, Historical Societies

We are now booking workshops to help museums, historical societies, and historic houses upgrade their thinking about using their assets to create great visitor experiences. Read on ...

Free! Connecting to Collections Bookshelf

Small to Mid-size museums and libraries should take note of a "bookshelf" of resources about taking care of collections. Now though November 15, the Institute of Museum and Library Services is accepting applications for this free collection of resources. I heard about this in early September from AASLH (The American Association for State and Local History). The information, plus links to IMLS, are at the AASLH web site. There's a second application period next spring, March 1 through April 15, but I imagine you'll be preoccupied with your tax return to jump on the bandwagon at that time, so act now if you're so inclined!

(txt) McPherson's Antietam Lecture, MHC Grants, Chautauqua, On-Line Courses, St Joe, Neosho, AASLH

Volume 4, No. 6: June 14, 2007
Monthly E-News from Michael Bouman, Executive Director
and the Missouri Humanities Council



McPherson's Antietam Lecture in Digital Audio Podcast
Somehow, I got on the e-mail list of The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York City. The Institute was formed in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman. Gilder and Lehrman were awarded the National Humanities Medal by President George W. Bush in 2005. The work of this organization is national in scope, influencing the teaching of history in American schools and the appreciation of history by the general public.

They have begun to create an interactive way for people to listen to and exchange ideas about lectures by prominent historians. An e-mail in early May caught my attention. It offered me a chance to hear James McPherson talk about his book, Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam shortly after its publication in 2002. McPherson is one of my favorite authors, and I've heard him "live" only once. This digital audio brought back memories of the pleasure his books have given me over the years.

What I like especially about the web page is the way it allows you to play the audio file, to download it, and to subscribe to new lectures. But that is not the only great feature of this web site. There are a number of on-line exhibits, and some of them are interactive.

The URL of the Gilder Lehrman Institute is http://www.gilderlehrman.org/institute/index.html



Amazing Array of New Activities
The Missouri Humanities Council has just funded a large number of exciting projects. The 2007 grant budget has been fully expended. We are now accepting grant applications for activities that will take place after November 1, 2007, the beginning of a new fiscal year.

I've created a quick summary of each new project on a June-grants page at http://mohumanities.org/E-News/June07/june-grants.htm




Chautauqua 2007 and 2008
Several organizations have made use of our National Directory of Chautauqua Performers since we put it on line last August. Our regular touring Chautauqua is taking a year off for redesign. This year two communities have created their own Chautauquas:

"Celebrating Our Missouri Heritage" is the theme of the Warrensburg Chautauqua on October 5-7. A grant of $5,000 to the Greater Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau made this possible. We'll provide details in our September E-News.

"A Taste of Chautauqua" is a "starter" Chautauqua for Jefferson County. A one-day program on September 15 will feature Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, and we will provide details in our August E-News. A grant of $6,000 to The Highway 30 Foundation supports the Chautauqua and its related local programming.

Congratulations to our 2008 Missouri Chautauqua towns hosting "That's Entertainment!" next summer:

* Carthage- co-hosted by the Powers Museum, Carthage Public Library, Friends of the Carthage Public Library, and Friends of the Webb City Public Library
* Kirkwood- hosted by the Kirkwood Public Library
* Osage Beach- hosted by the City of Osage Beach
* Pike County- hosted by the Pike County Museums Association

Free On-Line Courses
My colleague, Beth Felice, is very tuned-in to finding interesting things on the internet. This morning she gave me a link to a web page that lists 236 "open courseware" collections. The page is titled, "Take Any College Class For Free."

http://oedb.org/library/features/236-open-courseware-collections



Neosho's Living History Festival, June 23
The City of Neosho in southwest Missouri is holding its second annual living history festival on June 23. Among the scenes depicted this year are an Osage Indian scene, a mountain man scene, an early surveyor's scene, a covered wagon homestead scene and lastly, a scene depicting the homestead of Moses Carver.

Charles Brown, Park Director for the Newton County Historical Park invites one and all to call for a free ticket for this evening event. Call 417 451 4940.



New Exhibits Opening at the St. Joseph Museum
The St. Joseph Museums, Inc., will open a new series of exhibits dedicated to the early years of the museum on Friday, June 15, at the 3406 Frederick Avenue site. The exhibition is being presented to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the St. Joseph Museum, which was founded in June 1927.

Many of the items that will be on display were donated by the founding members of the St. Joseph Museums, Inc., such as a candlestick mold and a South African war club, which were donated by Dr. F.P. Cronkite, the grandfather of Walter Cronkite. Other items relate to the businesses created by the founding president of the museum, William Geotz and the founding vice-president, N. S. Hillyard. These artifacts will be displayed against a backdrop of photographs of each of the locations that have housed the St. Joseph Museums, Inc., over the years, along with photographs of early festivals, crafts classes, and other museum sponsored events.

Other exhibits will include 1920s items from the St. Joseph Museums, Inc., collections such as clothing and accessories, newspapers, magazines, records, and Noma decorative Christmas lights. Many of the items relate to the history of St. Joseph such as high school yearbooks and a Krug Park Bowl program on the “Passion Play” that was performed in 1928. One exhibit case will be devoted to the history of early St. Joseph companies such as the Hillyard Chemical Company, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

To give visitors an idea of the technology and the new products that were introduced to the public in the 1920s, there will be an exhibit of the modern representations of those products. Items such band-aids, Q-tips, and aerosol products are just a few of the items that became available during the 1920s.

“I think visitors will be amazed at the products that first became available in the 1920s that we take for granted today,” said Sarah Elder, Curator of Collections, the St. Joseph Museums, Inc. “These exhibits also offer a look at what St. Joseph residents were interested in collecting during the early years of the St. Joseph Museum which is also fascinating. They donated items from all over the world.”

The new exhibits will be open through December during the regular museum hours of 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday through Saturday and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $3 for adults, $1 for students, and free for museum members. Admission includes the Black Archives Museum and the Glore Psychiatric Museum. For more information, call 816-232-8471.



AASLH Scholarships
The Small Museums Committee of the American Association of State and Local History is offering two $500 scholarships for individuals to attend the 2007 Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Applications must be postmarked or received (via email or fax) by June 30, 2007 to be considered.

This scholarship is available to a full or part time paid or volunteer employee of a small museum (annual budget of up to $100,000) and will cover the cost of registration, plus $300 to assist with travel and/or lodging expenses. The scholarship is open to AASLH members and is a benefit of membership.

To apply, email Bruce Teeple, Small Museum Scholarship Committee Chair, at mongopawn44@hotmail.com for a copy of the application and then mail, fax, or email your completed application to: AASLH Small Museum Scholarships, 1717 Church St., Nashville, TN 37203; fax to: 615-327-9013; email to: beatty @ aaslh.org. Notification will be made by August 16, 2007. Deadline for Applications: June 30, 2007.



Person-To-Person in the Museum
A couple of weeks ago I heard an amazing story about a transformation in the experience of volunteers at a house museum. I've written a short piece about what's going on there at my blog, creatinginterest.blogspot.com.

(audio) Creating Interest: Silly/Serious Sloganeering

Volume 4, No. 5: May 2007
By Michael Bouman




A friend once told me about a sign outside the local "no-tell Motel." It said, Now rat-free!

OK, it's not very good advertising, but let's look on the positive side. That slogan reflects the visitor's needs. A lot of motels are advertising Free internet or Free breakfast. Visitors to this motel probably just needed a clean room without unanticipated life forms! Too bad the owner had to mention the absence of rats. Just try not to imagine a rat when I assure you that the bedroom won't have one!

Slogans come at us like pollen in the April air! I even hear double slogans from the sponsors of The News Hour. I can't say they make twice the impression. To the contrary, they are twice as forgettable.

A slogan says what you are. Writing a good one is an art. You have just a phrase or two, just a little nibble of sound. Since it's an art, I have created a small "slogan museum" in unused space inside my head. Want to see the first display? Remember when Subaru was "inexpensive...and built to stay that way?" Can you identify the company that promised "Better living through chemistry?" Ah.....leaving so soon??

Outside a museum I like very much is a wry little slogan that you see as you leave. It says, "Thanks for visiting our town's best-kept secret." You could say the same for any humanities council. Like Dr. Pepper, we're "so misunderstood." Even worse, we're "under the radar" for almost everyone.

Two weeks ago I thought of some slogans in connection with a visit to The History Museum for Springfield-Greene County. It's an organization that does almost everything right.

Their exhibits are beautifully lit, tastefully designed, multi-dimensional. The room on Native American history far exceeds the norm. It traces the Native American presence in the area from the distant past up through the 19th century.

With such a detailed story line, the Native American room is a strong asset to build on. One idea would be to check the census figures and begin a public conversation about Native Americans in Greene County today. That county enjoys almost twice the state average Native American population, at slightly under 1 per cent. Another idea is to update the information on the Delaware people by forming a relationship with the museum at The Delaware Nation in Oklahoma. Each of those ideas could lead toward a fascinating future.

That's what this museum wants, a future that fascinates the entire population. To deserve that future, the Springfield museum has to be consistently wonderful without making excuses. Sure, it would love to have more parking space, more storage space, more space for programming. It wants to generate more revenue and solve the challenge of too few workers. But operating a museum is never about what you want. It is always about what people want.

What I admire so much about this operation is the drive to create new ways for people to become involved. In fund-raising, money follows meaning. A museum that wants to grow must learn to flood its community with value.

The slogan of this museum is, "The place we call home." It has charm, doesn't it? It implies the involvement of people rather than lifeless things. What you don't want in a slogan are words like "collecting" or "preserving." You don't want to invite people to imagine a community attic.

The Springfield group could improve their good slogan and make it a great one if they could convey energy; the energy of people in the community, people gaining fulfillment through their participation in telling the stories of "the place we call home." The best museum slogan reflects a benefit to the energized stakeholder. "Better living through chemistry" is all about the benefit to the stakeholder. "So misunderstood" is on the opposite pole; its purpose was to stimulate curiosity.

Over lunch we chatted again about the limitations in the building. There are three flights of stairs to get to the museum, or one elevator. It's in good order and might hold six people without crowding. Moving a group to the third floor is a challenge.

I quipped a new slogan, Worth the climb! OK, it's not much better than "rat-free," but imagine this as an un-published slogan, something just for the insiders. If this is your slogan, then everything you do has to result in a visitor experience that is "worth the climb."

Take that slogan one step further and say, Always worth the climb! Now it describes a place that changes things. It wants to attract the repeat visitor. This actually fits the current mode of operation at the Springfield-Greene County Museum. While the main displays do not change, the museum creates new interest with a cycle of changing exhibits. These changing exhibits invite the community to add value to an interpretation. The new display is partly a mirror of community response.

For example, the recent ice storm led to a photo exhibit on Disasters. People contributed photos from the ice storm in a judged competition. Local businesses provided prizes. The museum will have rights to keep copies of the pictures. Much more important, many people saw their own lived experience transformed into "history." I think they will hold the museum in high regard for reflecting their wonder, and often their sufferings.

The "disaster photo" exhibit in Springfield is just one way that a place with "impossible" limitations finds a way around them. If you're anywhere near Springfield, a visit to that museum is not only worth the climb (or the elevator ride!), it's worth meeting the Director, John Sellars, and finding out how the museum touches people's lives every day of the week.

http://www.springfieldhistorymuseum.org/home.htm

[Michael Bouman organizes workshops year-round to help heritage organizations imagine a better future. See the guidelines for "charettes" at the Council web site.]