Program Archive
Below is an archive of past Cultural Connections programs and the notes from several programs. The notes
are in Adobe PDF format. If you don't have the PDF reader software, you can download it free here. Cultural Connections uploads presentations
from past programs to slideshare.
Nightlife or Nightmare: After-hours Events
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
3:00–5:00 pm
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Samsung Hall
200 Larkin St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
(Near Civic Center BART station)
http://www.asianart.org/
Recession and Rebirth: Museums in Tough Times
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010
3:00–6:00 pm
MOCHA: Museum of Children’s Art
After two years in a severe recession, museum professionals reflect on what they’ve learned, and what it means for the future of our field. Join a discussion moderated by museum leaders, exploring questions such as:
- What do you wish you’d known two years ago?
- What key decisions have helped museums and museum professionals navigate the recession?
- How have administrators had to adjust their management style to keep up attendance, funding, staff morale, and visitor services in the face of financial challenges?
- Where have change and instability helped reveal new opportunities and seeds of creativity?
- How will the experiences of the past two years shape your organization’s future?
- Has the economic crisis changed your thinking about museums’ role in their communities?
20x20: Rapid-Fire Presentations on Technology and Inspiration in the Digital Age
Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2010
4:00–7:00 pm
at The Lab in San Francisco
Please join Cultural Connections for our annual “Feast of Ideas” and networking event:
This year our speakers will use the fast-paced “PechaKucha” format—20 seconds per slide, and a maximum of 20 slides each—focused on Technology and Inspiration in the museum world. Topics will include social networking, on-line curatorial tools, and public uses of digital collections.
After the presentations, let us buy you a drink! We’ll continue the discussion over wine or beer, with Cultural Connections hosting the first round.
Cultural Connections is also seeking new volunteers to help shape the programs for the coming years. This gathering is the ideal opportunity to learn more about the joys of board involvement before our 2010 elections. Grab a board member and let us know you’re interested, and we’ll be happy to answer any question you might have about how Cultural Connections works to support our community of museum professionals.
Behind-the-scenes Tours
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
1:30–3:00 PM
Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology’s off-site storage
3:00–5:00 PM
JFK University Berkeley Campus
This program will give Cultural Connections participants an opportunity to examine innovative approaches that redefine the conventional boundaries between public and off-limits areas of museums.
Participants will first tour the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology’s off-site-storage location. After the tour, attendees will reconvene at JFK University. Panelists from three different institutions will discuss how their behind-the-scenes tours have expanded access to their collections and facilities. We will also examine how these tours can enhance public engagement, build opportunities for in-depth programming, and can be an additional revenue source.
School Program Evaluation: Reports from the Field
Wednesday, June 3, 2009 1:00 - 5:00 PM
San Jose Museum of Art
Join us for a discussion about planning and implementing evaluation studies that measure the effectiveness
of school programs in museums. What were the biggest challenges in the process? Did the evaluations and the
programs meet their objectives? How will the evaluation findings help inform future strategic planning? Answer
these questions and more as our panel of visitor studies experts address the evaluation process?from goal
setting and methodology to analyzing results. Case studies include the evaluation of school programs at the
Asian Art Museum, NASA at Moffett Field, and the Guggenheim Museum.
Going Green: Museums as Leaders in
Sustainability
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 1:00 - 5:00 PM
California Academy of Sciences
Join us to discuss ways museums can "walk the talk" of environmental sustainability both
programmatically and operationally. From the local to the national, our panel will provide an overview of
recent green museum initiatives including the Green Museums Accord and explore the opportunities for and
challenges of reducing and recycling museum waste. Learn about the California Academy of Sciences'
efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and raise visitor awareness with their LEED Platinum certified
building and public programs.
Serving New Audiences: Wallace
Grantees Tell Their Stories
Thursday, February 12, 2009 2:00 - 5:00 PM
Contemporary Jewish Museum
Join our panel of museum and cultural professionals to learn about their efforts to reach new audiences
through their participation in the Wallace Foundation's Excellence Awards Program. Facilitator John
Killacky, Arts & Culture Program Officer at the San Francisco Foundation, will lead a discussion about
lessons learned and larger issues/themes raised in the collective work. Together we will explore strategies
for how to reach new audiences and apply Wallace trends, research or evaluation data to our own work.
Slides from the presentations are available at slideshare:
Let Them Be Heard: Visitor
Participation in the Museum Experience
Tuesday, December 2, 2008 2:00 - 5:45 PM; Networking event 6:00 - 8:00
PM
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Join four museum professionals as they share insights into ways visitors to exhibitions can not only
participate in but also contribute to the museum experience. Stephanie Pau will share SFMOMA's
cross-departmental efforts to promote visitor participation and inquiry during the exhibition The Art
of Participation: 1950 to Now, a survey of participatory artworks from Fluxus to present.
Managing When You're Not a
Manager
Wednesday October 15, 2008
Our panel of museum professionals will share the snares and victories of designing and developing exhibits
"in-house"! Together we will explore how to reach our team goals regardless of our role or
seniority within the collaboration. Our facilitator, Amy Kweskin, of Quinn Associates, will offer practical
and tactical strategies to enhancing working partnerships across museum departments.
Speakers:
Rachel Meyer, Director, Coyote Point Museum
Elizabeth Scott, Design and Technical Associate, Fine Arts Museums S.F.
René de Guzman, Senior Curator of Art, Oakland Museum of California
Facilitator:
Amy Kweskin, Manager of Consultant Services, Quinn Associates
Fast Faces, Startling Balloons, and
Sour Death Balls: Using Film and New Media to Create "Minds-On" Exhibits
Wednesday, June 11, 2:00 - 5:00 PM
Exploratorium
Join the Mind Project team as they share insights into the development of Mind, the Exploratorium's
new exhibit collection. Project staff will present examples of exhibits that utilize video and new media to
give visitors opportunities to directly experience selected cognitive processes. Learn about the team's
experimental approaches to creating "minds-on" exhibits and join in a conversation about what
worked—and what didn't.
Peer Reviews: Taking the Torture out
of Docent Evaluation
Wednesday April 9, 2008
This nuts-and-bolts program will provide steps for introducing a peer review program to your docent
program, and will include break out discussions with docent leaders from the Asian Art Museum and SFMoMA,
among others, who have instituted and evaluated such programs.
Cultural Connections: Exhibition
Conversation
Wednesday February 13, 2008
We visited the Chabot Space & Science Center to view and discuss the exhibition "Beyond
Blastoff: Surviving in Space." After visiting the exhibition independently, we used Beverly
Serrell's Excellent Judges Framework to discuss and evaluate the exhibition. Exhibition Description:
http://chabotspace.org/visit/exhibits.asp
Cultural Conections Networking Happy Hour
Monday December 17, 2007
Minna Gallery and Cafe
Beyond these Walls: New Ways to
Connect Onsite and Online Visitor Experiences
Wednesday October 10, 2007, 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Oakland Museum of California
Jim Spadaccini of Ideum and Ethan Wilde of Mediatrope will present case studies of projects that bridge
onsite and online museum visitor experiences in new and interesting ways. Join Jim and Ethan to discuss the
opportunities and challenges of creating interactive media that extend the visitor experience beyond the
museum's walls?from social networking tools for teens and art-making for toddlers, to personalized
collections scrapbooks.
Inspiring Visitor Action: Museums as
Catalysts of Social Change
Saturday, June 23, 1:00 - 4:00 PM
Monterey Bay Aquarium
What is your museum doing to inspire visitors? Have you seen exhibits or heard about programs that
challenged the status quo, or made you want to live, work, or act differently?
Museums can be wonderful forums for the discussion of social and environmental topics relevant to their
communities. Some museums also hope to enable or inspire visitors to take action on important issues, using
exhibits and programs to further their social justice and environmental missions. Panelists from Monterey
Bay Aquarium and the Capital Unity Council will discuss their efforts to communicate a strong message that
inspires their visitors to take specific actions while at the museum or in their community.
Please come prepared to discuss examples of projects you've done, seen, or hope to get off the
ground some day.
Speakers:
Jenny Sayre Ramberg, Exhibit Developer, Monterey Bay Aquarium
Jon Dueul, Audience Research Assistant, Monterey Bay Aquarium
Stephanie Francis, Assistant Director, Capital Unity Council
Professionally Speaking: A Workshop
on Preparing and Delivering Effective Oral Presentations
Monday, May 21, 2007, 1:00 PM-5:00 PM
San Francisco Public Library
Main Branch at the Civic Center
100 Larkin St. (at Grove St.)
Latino / Hispanic Community Room B
REGISTRATION LIMITED TO 30 PEOPLE
Do you ever have jitters when standing up to speak in front of a crowd? Do you need to brief the Board
on your program but feel worried about your public speaking skills? You're not alone! Almost everyone
has some form of stage fright, but this fear can be tackled and overcome.
Join us for an inspiring and encouraging half-day workshop on public speaking skills. Learn about the
causes of stage fright and strategies for handling these very common fears. This workshop will include the
following:
- Lecture presentation
- Opportunity to speak in front of a group to receive feedback
- Coaching and techniques for improvement
- Chance to learn from others in breakout groups
Doree Allen received her M.A. in Film and her Ph.D. in English from Stanford University. After teaching
for several years in Stanford's "Cultures, Ideas, and Values Program," she was hired to
design, and now directs, the Center for Teaching and Learning's interdisciplinary program in Oral
Communication, in which she teaches a variety of courses on public speaking and oral interpretation.
Recently, she has worked with docents and staff at the Cantor Center for Visual Art as well as at the Asian
Art Museum of San Francisco.
Book signing with Stephanie Weaver, author of Creating Great Visitor
Experiences
Friday, June 1, 5:30 - 7:30 PM
John F. Kennedy University, Berkeley Campus
Please join us for a special book signing with Stephanie Weaver, author of Creating Great Visitor
Experiences: A Guide for Museums, Parks, Zoos, Gardens & Libraries, published by Left Coast Press.
Program information and directions
Blog that Wiki with a Podcast! Making
sense of Web 2.0
Wednesday, April 11, 2007, 2:00-5:00 PM
Zeum, San Francisco
There's a lot of talk these days about "Web 2.0," but what does that actually mean? This
program will help unlock the mysterious world of social networking, user-generated content, and other
emerging web technologies while examining some successful ways to use these tools in museums. Please join
us for this special opportunity to learn more about innovative museum projects in London and
Minneapolis.
Meeting notes from Blog that Wiki with a
Podcast!
Learning at Any Age: Creating Museum
Programs for Age-specific Audiences
Monday, February 26, 2007, 9:00 AM-12:00 PM
Hayward Area Historical Society
** Note: Monday day and morning time. Based on your feedback, we are offering a new day and time for
this program only.**
Museums and cultural organizations are meant to welcome everyone. But, how can a variety of programs
meet the needs of multi-age audiences? What are the needs of these audiences? How can museums create
developmentally appropriate programs that make use of their resources and collections? How do museums reach
these diverse audiences?
Several Bay Area Educators will share how they have used principles of child and adult development to
inform their practices of creating age-appropriate museum programs. They will share strategies for
planning, implementing, and adapting museum programs for specific target audiences. They will also discuss
teaching approaches, curriculum design, and challenges of working with different age groups.
Jump Start Your Museum Marketing
Efforts: Tools and Strategies to Use in 2007!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006, 2:00-5:00 PM
Triton Museum of Art (Main Classroom)
Please join us for a Feast of Ideas program to jump start your museum’s marketing
efforts. Whether you work in a large institution or a small museum, we will provide you with tools,
strategies and some new ideas for successfully promoting your institution and its educational programs in
2007.
Cara Storm, Principal of Marketing by Storm, a marketing and public relations consulting firm for arts
organizations seeking audience and revenue growth through better marketing, will kick off this year's
Feast of Ideas program. Cara will begin the program by sharing expert tips about how to
reinvigorate your marketing efforts, from learning the basics to using "guerrilla" marketing
tactics, followed by a question and answer period. Enjoy delectable holiday treats and network with
colleagues while gathering marketing tips from both Bay Area cultural institutions and for-profit
companies.
Designing Spaces to Fit Programs and
Programs to Fit Spaces
Thursday, October 19, 2006, 1:30-4:30 PM
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Koret Visitor Education Center (enter main museum lobby to check in)
Many museums are going through physical changes—retrofitting, expanding, rebuilding, or
relocating—that have major implications for programs. How can new spaces be designed to maximize
visibility and enhance the visitor experience? How can existing spaces be adapted to serve new educational
uses? How can we design programs that acknowledge the limitations and strengths of our workspaces?
Three Bay Area art museums—The San Francisco Museum of Modern
Art, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco-de Young—will outline their
educational and architectural planning processes and philosophies, share visitor evaluation results, and
discuss the challenges of and adaptations to their new programs and education spaces.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006, 2:00-5:00 PM
Making Money and Meeting the Educational
Mission
Auditorium, de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara University
Financial sustainability is a constant balancing act for museums.
Increasingly, museum education departments are being asked to present
programs that make a profit, a challenge which adds to the demands
already faced by staff. Presenter Val DeLang will lead a discussion on
the big issues to consider when assessing your education department’s
capacity for building revenue. How can you think creatively about the
resources you do have, and ways to build on resources already in place?
How can you realistically plan new initiatives that meet the
educational mission and make money? Come learn new planning strategies
for creating this new museum program "animal"– the program in touch
with the educational mission and institution’s earned revenue goals.
Meeting Notes from Making Money and Meeting
the Educational Mission
Monday, May 15, 2006, 1:00 PM-5:00 PM
Professionally Speaking: A Workshop on
Preparing and Delivering Effective Oral Presentations
* LOCATION CHANGE: San Francisco Public Library
Main Branch at the Civic Center
100 Larkin St. (@ Grove St.)
Special Cultural Connections Workshop
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED - Workshop limited to 30 people
Professionally Speaking: Preparing and Delivering Effective Oral Presentations
with Doree Allen, Oral Communication Program, Stanford University
at the
Do you ever have jitters when standing up to speak in front of a crowd? Do you need to brief the Board on
your program but feel worried about your public speaking skills? You’re not alone! Almost everyone has
some form of stage fright, but this fear can be tackled and overcome. Join us for an inspiring and
encouraging half-day workshop on public speaking skills. Learn about the causes of stage fright, and
strategies for handling these very common fears.
Wednesday, February 8,
2006
Writing for Your Peers in Museums
JFK University, Berkeley
Are you working on a great project? Interested in starting a dialogue with your colleagues in other
cultural institutions? Wanting to bring new ideas to the forefront? Publishing can push you to new heights
in your museum work. It can help you be more organized, succinct and focused in your professional
endeavors, and can benefit the field as well as your career.
Please note that this program begins and ends earlier (1-4 pm) than most Cultural Connections events, in
order to accommodate the JFK University class schedule.
Meeting Notes from Writing for Your Peers in
Museums
Wednesday, December 14, 1:00-5:00 PM
The New de Young Museum
NEW DeYoung Museum, San Francisco
Are you curious about that looming Aztec tower in Golden Gate Park? The education staff of the de Young
Museum have invited us in to see their new space and regale them with our questions. Learn more about their
transition process, including challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned. Panelists will include:
Sheila Pressley, Director of Education
Renee Baldocchi, Public Programs
Gina Tan, Director of Membership
Debbie Frieden, de Young Project Director
October 19, 2005, 2:00 PM-5:00
PM
Creating Optimal Conditions for
Learning
Samsung Hall, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco
Scattered attention. Dwindling focus. Sporadic reading. Museum fatigue.
Average adult museum visitors often behave as if they have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder.
Their reading and concentration is sporadic, despite average to high intelligence. So why not turn to true
"at risk" learners to look for solutions to these perennial problems?
Dyslexics and persons with ADHD are from all walks of life, all ages, all backgrounds. What they share
is a neurological difference that brings into sharp relief how the brain reads and understands, and how it
focuses and attends. Since the 1990s, new technologies have revolutionized our understanding of how the
brain perceives, remembers, and learns. By considering these at-risk learners our "canaries in the
coal mine," museum professionals may better understand what conditions the average visitor needs in
order to learn symbolically without feeling overwhelmed or put off.
Paul Gabriel—a learning specialist who has conducted preliminary research with learning disabled
persons in museums—will lead this forum about "brain-based learning." He will briefly
present how the field of educational therapy has aggressively moved to imbed its theory and practice in the
recent findings of neuroscience research. To provoke dialogue, he will then suggest how this theory and
practice might be applied to present museum practice—and directly elicit your thoughts, feelings, and
reactions about how all of this might apply directly to the work you do.
Come challenge what you think about how people learn and question what you know about what people
know.
Meeting Notes from Creating Optimal Conditions for
Learning
June 29, 2005, 2:00 PM-5:00 PM
Artists-in-Residence, SF
Recycling and Disposal, Inc.
Get your creative juices flowing at the next Cultural Connections program, and learn about the
unexpected benefits that Artists-in-Residence (AIR) programs bring to both visitors and staff. Presenters
will include AIR program staff from the Headlands Center for the Arts, the Exploratorium, the Bay Area
Discovery Museum, the Pacific Film Archive, and SF Recycling and Disposal, Inc. Participants will also be
treated to a special garden tour of sculpture made from recycled material! This program will be held at the
SF Recycling and Disposal, Inc. site in San Francisco, off of Bayshore Blvd. near the Cow Palace.
Link to SF Recycling and Disposal's AIR program: http://www.sunsetscavenger.com/artist_in_residence.htm
April 12, 2005, 2:00 PM-5:00 PM
Going Free: The Pros and Cons of Offering Free
Admission to Our Museums
San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose
What if all museums were free? Consider the pros and cons of museums offering free admission in an
afternoon discussion. Dan Keegan, Oshman Executive Director of the San Jose Museum of Art, will share why
SJMA stopped charging admission and the results of that decision. Marjorie Schwarzer, Chair of the
Department of Museum Studies at John F. Kennedy University, will share another point of view, one that
questions offering free museum admission.
A session moderator will challenge both presenters to delve into the issues, ensuring a lively
discussion!
Meeting Notes from Going Free
February 9, 2005,
2:00 PM-5:00 PM
Strategies for Balancing Your Personal
and Professional Lives
Discovery Theatre , Bay Area Discovery Museum, Sausalito
Presentations and break-out group work with Lori Fogarty, Executive Director of BADM and "Life
Coach" Velora Lilly, PhD.
Follow-up conversation at:
The Cat & The Fiddle
303 Johnson Street, on the waterfront in Sausalito
December 8, 2004
Feast of Ideas
Maddie Education Center, Oakland Zoo,
Knowland Park
Diane B. Frankel, founding member of "Museums Affiliated with Public Schools" (MAPS)–the
organization that became Cultural Connections over 25 years ago–will kick off this year's Feast
of Ideas program, which celebrates museums and educational institutions forging connections with their
surrounding communities for their mutual benefit.
Diane was founding Executive Director of the Bay Area Discovery Museum and Director of the Center for
Museum Studies at John F. Kennedy University. In 1993, she was appointed Director of the Institute of
Museum and Library Services by President Clinton . Returning to the Bay Area, Diane served as Program
Director at The James Irvine Foundation, providing nearly $4 million to ten California museums through the
Museum Youth Initiative,** so that they might deepen their roles as community-based organizations. Diane is
now Senior Vice President for Museum Management Consultants, Inc. in San Francisco.
October 20, 2004, 2:00-5:00 PM
Challenging Assumptions in
"Question"
Cantor Art Center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Stanford University's Cantor Arts Center has turned their exhibition development process inside out
for an exciting new project, entitled "Question." Says Patience Young, the Cantor Center's
Curator for Education, "We are throwing out our assumptions in order to challenge ourselves and engage
visitors in new ways. As we distilled a list of queries from the general public and visiting students, we
discovered that some of the most basic questions are the most provocative. 'What is artistic
quality?'; 'Where is the meaning in the work?'; and 'Who decides what is art or who is an
artist?' have stimulated animated discussions among the staff."
Cantor Arts Center curators and other staff, working in teams, have selected objects from the
Center's comprehensive collection of 26,000 works to provoke and illustrate specific questions. Working
with exhibition designers Darcie Fohrman and Michael Brown, the Center devised an installation that raises
even more questions than it answers and that provides numerous ways for visitors to interact with the
artworks as they explore their own ideas about art and museums.
On Wednesday, October 20th, Cultural Connections invites you to view the exhibition and meet with the
project developers. We will discuss their challenges, successes and surprises, and hear how staff, visitors
and reviewers have reacted to the installation.
Meeting notes from Challenging Assumptions
in "Question"
June 9, 2004, 2:00-5:00 PM
Extreme Label Makeover: Tips for
Creating Interpretive Graphics with Compelling Writing, Graphic Design, and ADA Compliance
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Visitor Center
Join us for an afternoon of extreme fun and expert advice about interpretive graphics and labels. Using
select interpretive graphics at the SF Maritime National Historical Park, small groups will discuss tips
for combining compelling writing, approachable design and ADA guidelines to convey stories through
successful design.
Expert makeover specialists are:
— Frank Binney, Interpretive Writer, Frank Binney and Associates
— Tessa Lee graphic Designer, Public
— Margie Cochran and Armando Garcia, ADA Specialists, Center for Independent Living
Small groups will visit the Museum Building, but the program will be at the Visitor Center. Following
small group sessions we will unveil a newly-design interpretive graphic, a grand finale to the Extreme
Label Makeover program.
Interpretive Exhibit
Resources
Graphic Design Tips
Graphic Design Examples
April 14, 2004, 3:00-6:00 PM
Exploring Inquiry Based Learning (IBL)
Strategies
Headlands Institute, Marin Headlands, Golden Gate National Recreational Area
IBL is a form of teaching which involves the teacher as a ‘guide on the side’ rather than a
‘sage on stage’. In other words, students guide their discovery, by formulating questions and
figuring out how to answer those questions. In this way, students are invested in their learning and are
more motivated to get results.
-IBL Instructor,Yosemite National Institute Staff
Join us for an afternoon of stimulating discussion and inquiry based exploration in the
beautiful Marin Headlands. Learn more about IBL, why it is a valuable approach to teaching, and how it can
be utilized to engage participants in your museum programs. Please wear comfortable shoes, as we will be
walking outdoors.
February 11, 2004, 4:00-6:30
The Pursuit of Civic Engagement and a Culture of Sustainability: A Workshop
with Douglas Worts
JFK University Arts Annex, 2956 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley, CA
Co-sponsored by Cultural Connections and JFKU Department of Museum Studies
Museums are increasingly interested in community engagement and measuring program effectiveness.
Cultural Connections and JFKU’s Department of Museum Studies are pleased to offer this expert-led and
participatory workshop.
Douglas Worts addressed such questions as:
- What is civic engagement?
- What qualitative and quantitative measures and indicators will enable museums to understand community
needs and assess program impacts?
- What is sustainability?
- How does a larger view of sustainability—from global carrying capacity, limits to growth, and
the role of human consciousness in a globalized world—affect museums?
Presentation from The Pursuit of Civic
Engagement and a Culture of Sustainability
December 10, 2003, 2:30-5:00 PM
Stress Busters: Tools to Alleviate
Stress in Tumultuous Times
The Bay Area Discovery Museum, Sausolito
Are you stressed out at work from budget cuts, lay-offs, working overtime, and lacking the resources and
time necessary to get your job done? Would you like to learn how to reduce some of this stress? Join us for
a stress-busting afternoon with speakers who will provide advice for reducing stress, fun-filled
activities, and plenty of time for networking.
Meeting notes from Stress Busters
October 8, 2003, 2:30-5:00 PM
Orientation & Wayfinding in
Museums
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
We all strive to create meaningful learning experiences for visitors. However, orientation and
wayfinding obstacles can interfere with visitorsí overall positive experiences. Join us for an
afternoon of surprising findings about orientation and wayfinding and for creative ways of improving
communication within our learning environments.
June 11, 2003, 1:30-5:00 PM
Behind the Scenes at the New Asian Art
Museum
Asian Art Museum/Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture, Civic Center, San Francisco
Moving an institution to a new facility presents great opportunities and challenges. Join us as we
explore the new Asian Art Museum. Arrive early and participate in exclusive tours with Asian Art Museum
Staff and hear the inside story on how they planned and prepared for expanded facilities and programs at
their new site. Forrest McGill (Chief Curator), Brian Hogarth (Director of Education), Deborah Clearwaters
(Manager of Public Programs), and Alina Collier (Resource Center Coordinator), will discuss the surprises
and insights discovered in the process of opening their new museum location.
Meeting Notes from Behind the Scenes at the New
Asian Art Museum
April 9, 2003, 2:30-5:00 PM
Planning Your Museum Career:
Professional Development Organizations & Strategies
Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University
Where will you be in five years? Are you so buried in your daily tasks that you feel that you have no
time to think about your next career move? Get information and tips from experienced colleagues and develop
a professional development game plan for yourself.
Handouts from Planning Your Museum Career:
Professional Development Action Plan
Self-Assessment: Big Museum/Small Museum -
Which is Right For Me?
February 12, 2003, 2:30-5:00 PM
Before and After the School Visit: A Pre
and Post-Visit Materials Roundtable
MOCHA, The Museum of Children's Art, Oakland, California
Pre-visit and follow up materials can greatly enhance the value of a museum visit. How can museum
educators create materials that teachers will actually use? Participate in small group discussions and gain
valuable insights about the process of creating exciting, relevant, and useful pre- and post-visit
materials.
Meeting Notes from Before and After the School
Visit
December 11, 2002, 2:30-5:00 PM
Beyond the Walls: Tapping into Outside
Expertise
Presidio Officers' Club, San Francisco CA
As museums slash budgets, many institutions have turned to consultants to help them fulfill program and
exhibition commitments. Come meet some of the Bay Area firms that are working with museums on programs,
evaluation, exhibit design, and curriculum development. If you wish to exhibit please RSVP to ccprograms@yahoo.com so we
can save you some table space.
Meeting Notes from Beyond the Walls
Exhibitor List from Beyond the Walls
October 9, 2002, 2:30-5:00 PM
Program Evaluation: What, Why, and
How
Children's Discovery Museum, San Jose
Feeling stressed about that upcoming outcome evaluation report required by your program funder?
Don't know where to start? Wondering about evaluation techniques? Learn how evaluation can improve your
program from a panel of experienced professionals including museum, evaluation, and foundation
representatives and gain practical tools for assessment through a small group breakout session.
Meeting Notes from Program Evaluation
June 12, 2002, 2:30-5:00 PM
Interpreting the Outdoors
Lawrence Hall of Science, Room 150
What challenges are present when designing exhibits in different outdoor environments? Come explore the
possibilities.
April 10, 2002, 2:30-5:00 PM
Docent Diversity: Recruiting, Training,
and Maintaining Volunteer Docents
Location: Oakland Museum of California, James Moore Theater
As museums strive to engage the diverse audiences in their communities, docent training and recruitment
is essential to these efforts. Join us in an exchange of ideas about managing volunteer docents.
Meeting Notes from Docent Diversity
February 12, 2002, 2:30-5:00 PM
Discovering Discovery
Rooms
Location: Chabot Science Center
Come join us as we investigate and explore Bay Area Discovery Rooms. Find out how these special learning
environments promote learning for parents and their young children.
Meeting Notes from Discovering
Discovery Rooms
December 12, 2001, 2:30-5:00 PM
Feast of Ideas: Marketing Materials for
Programs and Events
Location: Hiller Aviation Museum
Are you looking for new ways to market your school and public programs? This Feast of Ideas showcased
innovative tools and methods in use around the Bay Area.
Suggestions from the Melbourne Museum,
Australia
October 10, 2001, 2:30 - 5:00 PM
Creating Educational Materials: Tips for
Writing Engaging Programs
Location: Asian Art Museum
Bert Bower of Teachers' Curriculum Institute (TCI) will introduce strategies for creating innovative
curricular materials. Attendees will participate in "Body Language: The Human Form in Asian Art"
a grade-6 school program developed with the Asian Art Museum, and then will utilize some of the strategies
in a curriculum development exercise.
Meeting Notes from Creating Educational
Materials
Body Language Docent Script
Handout
June 13, 2001, 2:30 - 5:00 PM
The Art of Art Projects: Hands-On Activities for Kids of All Ages
Location: San Jose Museum of Art
Join us for an afternoon filled with art and experimentation. Local Bay Area artists will lead a
discussion about successful art project techniques and then put these techniques to the test and you and
your colleagues create truly original art projects. Bring reusable objects, ideas and a creative
spirit.
Meeting Notes from The Art of Art Projects
April 11, 2001, 2:30 - 5:00 PM
Designing Exhibits for People
Location: The Balcutha, San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park
"Visitors are at the heart of the museum experience." The opening words of Kathleen
McLean's book Planning for People in Museum Exhibitions serves as a reminder of how to design
meaningful exhibits. Join us for an afternoon at the SF Maritime National Historic Park, to examine the
exhibit ideas for the newly renovated sailing vessel Balclutha.
February 14, 2001, 2:30 - 5:00 PM
Accessibility in Exhibitions for Blind
and Deaf Visitors
Location: Asian Art Museum
How can an individual who is blind experience a painting? How can a visitor who is deaf participate in a
docent tour? Two museum professionals will discuss program ideas and useful materials for visitors with
these special needs. In the galleries of the Asian Art Museum people with disabilities will share their
museum experiences and offer suggestions. Participants will discuss challenges and opportunities, and
brainstorm ideas using the existing displays.
Meeting Notes from Accessibility in
Exhibitions
December 13, 2000, 2:30 - 5:00 PM
Feast of Ideas: Educational Kits that
Work and Don't Work
Location: Oakland Zoo
Take advantage of this opportunity to inspire excellence in education by sharing educational kits of all
sorts--those used in your organization and in outreach programs. Bring your kits, show other participants
how to use them, and what you feel works and doesn‰t work. But if your organization does not have
one yet, come for some good ideas.
Meeting Notes from Educational Kits that Work and
Don't Work
October 28, 2000, 5:00 - 8:00 PM
A Gala Fundraiser at the San Jose Museum of Art
Location: San Jose Museum of Art
Starting at 5 p.m., enjoy complimentary champagne, wine, and hors d'oeuvres while mingling with your
colleagues in the Charlotte Wendel Education Center. From 6-8 p.m., the main galleries of the SJMA, will be
opened for your viewing pleasure featuring a cash bar and an exclusive preview of the new exhibition, Dale
Chihuly: The George R. Stroemple Collection. Docent-guided tours will be available. Tickets for the
fundraiser are $30. All proceeds will go towards general operating fund and future programs for Cultural
Connections.
October 4, 2000, 2:30 - 5:00 PM
Tapping Into The Silicon Valley Gold Rush
Location: Intel Museum
Most educators are familiar with established funders such as the NEH and CAC, but don't know where
to begin when it comes to making connections with Silicon Valley money. This program will feature speakers
familiar with Silicon Valley philanthropy and will explore strategies for finding hi-tech supporters.
Meeting Notes from Tapping into the Silicon
Valley Gold Rush
June 14, 2000, 2:30 - 5:00 PM
What's So Controversial About Revealing Bodies
Location: The Exploratorium
The program consisted of remarks by five Revealing Bodies exhibition team members followed by a
question and answer session.
Meeting Notes from What's So Controversial
About Revealing Bodies
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