Museum Samplers

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The Minnesota Association of Museums (MAM) hosts monthly Samplers, free get-togethers for people working at Minnesota museums. Samplers are great opportunities for museum professionals and volunteers to visit other sites and find out what their colleagues are up to. A formal program is balanced with time to socialize- usually with treats!

To receive regular Sampler notifications, be sure to sign up for the MAM enewsletter.

Would you like to host a Sampler? Contact Amber Stevenson.

July Sampler

Tour the archaeology and evolutionary anthropology labs at the University of Minnesota:

  • Hear about several ongoing research projects, from 3D artifact scanning to unraveling the history of maize in the Americas based on examining the cooking residue on the interior of prehistoric ceramic pots.
  • Look at the reference and teaching collections, which include materials as diverse as stone and antler axes from European lake-dweller sites, Bronze Age spearheads, Middle Paleolithic stone tools, animal bones from a Medieval Irish monastery, and re-assembled table settings from the sites of nineteenth century Minneapolis households.
  • See a demonstration of flintknapping -- or stone tool making, a technology dating back over two and a half million years.
  • Get a first hand look at the lab's collection of high quality casts of fossils of our ancient ancestors, from australopiths to neanderthals, Peking man to Homo Erectus -- including the famous Lucy.
  • And you can see how we are working to introduce our students to the responsibilities and techniques of curation.

RSVP

To RSVP, contact Jada Hansen at (612) 870-1329 or e-mail jada.hansen@hennepinhistory.org.

Know anyone interested in becoming a MAM member? Bring them along, too!

 

August Sampler

Please join us this August as we "sample" the exhibits at the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum. The Weisman is a teaching museum for the University of Minnesota and is central to the museum’s mission to make the arts accessible – intellectually, emotionally, and physically – to the University and public communities.

Major milestones in the museum’s history include significant contributions from Frederick R. Weisman and Frank O. Gehry. Frederick R. Weisman, a Minneapolis native, entrepreneur, and noted philanthropist, provided generous financial gifts and other support to the museum. Internationally acclaimed architect Frank O. Gehry designed the museum’s glimmering residence along the Mississippi River. Home to the museum since 1993, this important architectural achievement has become a landmark for the University of Minnesota and the Twin Cities.

“Like a Duchamp painting made real, the design…exudes energy and dynamism as it descends the bluffs of the Minneapolis campus overlooking the Mississippi River. The museum’s undulating forms forcefully mark the symbolic crossroads of the University’s main urban campus.” Progressive Architecture, January 1992

After the tour we will take advantage of one of Minneapolis’ premier views as we sit on the balcony overlooking the Mississippi River enjoying wine and cheese compliments of the Weisman.

Featured exhibits:

  • Stories of the Somali Diaspora: Photographs by Abdi Roble
  • Au Courant: Robert Rauschenberg’s Features from Currents
  • Surface Quality
    Surface Quality showcases examples of such diverse attitudes about surface in works of the Weisman collection

Parking

The parking garage is located beneath the museum on East River Road. Public parking is available in the museum ramp at a rate of $3.00 per hour with a daily maximum of $12.00. The parking ramp and the museum are both handicapped accessible.

RSVP
e-mail Jada Hansen at jada.hansen@hennepinhistory.org.

Past Samplers

2009 Joint Meeting with AMM

Sept. 27 - 30, 2009

MAM and AMM will hold a joint meeting in St. Paul in 2009. Put it on your calendar!

Mighty Rescue Crew

In conjunction with the 2009 AMM /MAM Annual Conference in St. Paul, the Midwest Registrars Committee is offering institutions in the Twin Cities area an opportunity to host registrars, collections managers, conservators, curators and others in a day-long on-site work project. Duties for visiting professionals can include anything from cataloging and data entry to re-housing, object labeling, photography, or storage reorganization.

Applicants must be voting members of the MRC ($10.00 yearly fee). Selections will be based on materials submitted to the Mighty Rescue Crew Committee. The recipient will be expected to organize and supervise work, provide necessary supplies and workspace, and write an article for the MRC Courier about the experience. Lunch will be provided by the MRC.

Poster Sessions

Have you ever wanted to be part of a museum conference but not really a speaker? Have we got the deal for you! Bring a poster on a topic of your interest and have a chance to talk to your peers.

Please submit any and all ideas for approval to Jackie Hoff at the Science Museum. We hope to see you there!

2008 Annual Meeting

Monday, May 19, 2008
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

"Mix & Match: Minnesota Museums Collaborate"
Continuing Education and Conference Center
University of Minnesota, St. Paul Campus

Keynote Speaker: Cathy Wurzer, host of Morning Edition on Minnesota Public Radio

The 2008 Minnesota Association of Museums Annual Meeting highlighted collaboration in Minnesota museums. Minnesota museums often create programs and exhibits together with individuals and groups from outside their institutions. Collaborators may be visual artists, scientists, documentary film makers, performing artists, writers, craftspeople, librarians and social scientists, not to mention other museums. Organizations small and large leverage both audiences and creative energy with cross-disciplinary activity. The result is often a boost to the museum’s mission, but there can also be challenges to choosing partners and negotiating relationships. This meeting is open to all interested participants.

Minnesota museums “play well with others,” creating programs and exhibits together with individuals and groups from outside their institutions. Collaborators include artists, scientists, filmmakers, writers, librarians and scholars, not to mention other museums. Cross-disciplinary activity helps organizations small and large leverage audiences and creative energy. How do you boost your museum’s mission, choose partners and negotiate relationships?