The Great Recession: creating and running quality educational programs on a budget: HME Meeting Monday March 18, 2013

Unfortunately, we had to cancel last Monday's meeting due to the weather.
There's still a couple things I'd like to note for our members.

First, a Smithsonian Study (2004) outlining a national survey on evaluations and museum programs.

From the forward:
At the request of the Smithsonian Institution (SI) National Board’s Education Committee, the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies (SCEMS) asked the Smithsonian’s Office of Policy and Analysis (O P&A) to undertake a study of ev aluation in museum education programs in the United States. The main purpose of th is report is to describe the extent to which systematic and effective program evaluation is currently being used. The results will be reviewed internally to identify be st practices that may be applicab le to education departments at SI.

Second, there's an upcoming OMA Course in Sarnia, which might be of interest:

Education Programs
Location: Judith & Norman ALIX Art Gallery, Sarnia, ON
Registration Opens: March 11. 2013 Registration form here.
"Participants will identify the basic learning principles affecting different groups of museum visitors and will acquire the knowledge required to design and implement education programs for their own museums. Core topics: Interpretation & Education Policy & Standards; programming for the public; the ins & outs of interpretation; learning principles for students K-6; adolescent learners; museums and school curricula; practical program development for museums; teachers & museums; adult education; developing visual literacy skills."

You are invited to HME's April PLC

Hamilton Area Museum Educators

invites you to our April 2013 Peer Learning Circle

Environmentalism and Sustainability:

How our sector is promoting green awareness

Monday, April 15, 10:00am-3:00pm

Ruthven Park National Historic Site

243 Haldimand Hwy 54, Cayuga, ON

(directions at bottom of post) 

This session is FREE!

Presenters and topics include:

Exploring an early settler’s life to discover how they embraced ‘Reduce, Reuse & Recycle’. Presented by Merri Fergusson and Lindsay Doren

Merri Fergusson longs to own a heritage home, live off the land and preserve time honoured ways of doing everything! Till then she works at the Museums of Mississauga as the Education Program Supervisor helping visitors connect their own experiences with the past and sometimes pretending she lives in Bradley House!
Lindsay is the Lead Historic Interpreter at the Museums of Mississauga.  She started with the Museum’s 4 years ago as a historic interpreter and has held a variety of roles there including Acting Collections Assistant. She is a graduate of Fleming’s Museum Management & Curatorship program. Feel free to ask about her zombie apocalypse survival plan.


Environmental education within the public school board and other opportunities for cross-curricular (esp. historical) involvement.
Presented by Katie Hashimoto

Katie is the Supervisor of Energy & Environmental Conservation with the Grand Erie District School Board. Katie graduated from Laurier and Nipissing University Brantford’s Concurrent Education Program with minors in History, English and Religion. Her role as the Environmental Officer involves energy monitoring and conservation, water regulation and conservation, coordinating waste (solid and hazardous), recycling, environmental education, school ground greening, and other environmental initiatives.

Chiefswood’s restored tall grass prairie program and how environmental educational programming has been built around it.
Presented by Karen Dearlove

Karen Dearlove was born and raised in Cambridge, Ontario. She received a PhD in History from McMaster University, and while in graduate school was active in public and local history. She worked as an interpreter and supervisor at McDougall Cottage, a community museum owned and operated by the Region of Waterloo. She also served on the steering committee for the recently opened Waterloo Region Museum in Kitchener.  Karen chaired the City of Cambridge Archives Board for several years, and with the archives board spear-headed two local history symposiums held in Cambridge in 2007 and 2009. After graduating from McMaster University, Karen worked in the Brantford area as Executive Director of the Canadian Industrial Heritage Centre and Executive Director of the Living History Multimedia Association. Karen is a managing editor and regular contributor to the Active History website. Since May 2011 Karen has worked as Curator for Chiefswood National Historic Site on the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory.


...and a special environmental program presented by our host site, Ruthven Park!

Registration is limited! Check your email for your registration form, and return it by April 5.

We will try to arrange a carpool for attendees.

Directions

From Toronto:

(mapquest is better than google maps at finding Ruthven).

Take the QEW west to the 403 Hwy. west.  Stay on 403 west through Hamilton. Take the HWY-6 S/Garner Road exit, exit 61, toward Airport/Caledonia/Port Dover.  Take #6 South. Turn left onto RR-66.  Turn right at McClung Road and left on Hwy. #54.  It is approximately 15km (past York) to Ruthven Park which is on your right. 

Directions from Niagara:
Take QEW heading East (towards Toronto). In Vineland take Victoria Ave exit and proceed South through Vineland to Hwy 3. Turn right onto Hwy 3 and proceed straight to Cayuga. Turn right onto Hwy 54 (also called Munsee St.). Ruthven Park is 5km outside of Cayuga.

From Brantford:
Take Hwy. #403 to the Garden Ave Exit.  Turn Right (south) on Garden Ave (which turns into highway #18)  to Hwy. #54.  Turn left at highway #54 – and proceed south through Caledonia and York. Ruthven Park is on your right hand side approximately 5 kms from York. If you go into Cayuga you have gone too far.

Lunch
For lunch there is a Tim Horton's, Subway, Godfather's Pizza, or Foodland in Cayuga (just a 3 min drive down the road).  The Back 40 pub is probably the only restaurant open on a Monday.

Tonight's Meeting CANCELLED

Unfortunately, the weather forecast is calling for snow and freezing
rain for this late afternoon and evening. We don't want to send anyone
out to drive in these conditions, so have had to call off tonight's
meeting.

Please respond to this email when you receive it. I will also try to
call all those who have rsvp'ed.

Since there was such interest generated in this topic, we're hoping to
either reschedule it for later this year, or move the topic into the
2013-2014 schedule.

Thanks everyone!

Teresa