Blogging with the "Technical Tourist"

Dr. Allison Marsh, the newly-hired Museums Studies professor in the Public History Program at USC is on the road this summer and blogging about her adventures. Her journey will take her through Canada, along the Alaska pipeline, and back to the east coast -- visiting cool sites along the way.

Her posts are entertaining - and will show you places i'm sure you've never heard of - so be sure and check it out here. So far she has journeyed from Richmond, VA through West Virginia and is making her way through Canada.

New Ways to Engage

Is culture getting cooler? It seems that museums are always searching for new ways to engage new audiences, keep regular visitors coming back for more, and more generally, finding means for the institution to stay fresh and cutting edge. I just came across an article and an opportunity I thought I would share...

First, this article, which profiles institutions across the country (and beyond) who are introducing innovative programming to shake their stuffy, "ivory tower" reputations. I think some of these offerings sound great - but I'm always trying to think of ways for history museums and related organizations to adapt this strategy...surely innovative programs don't just spring from art museums, right? If you know about/have experienced cool programs going on in Columbia or beyond, post a comment below!

Second, an opportunity! Nina Simon, a museum consultant who specializes in visitor engagement (and is always giving great talks & posting great blog entries) is doing a presentation for Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History on May 18th called "The Multi-Platform Museum." You can watch this presentation online here @ 3PM on the 18th. To read more about the talk (to find out what you're in for) check out her blog Museum 2.0

Post by Jan Levinson, Public History Alum '08

Project 5: What's in the Box?

Project #5: Inventory at HCF

April 30, 2009
10AM - 3PM

On April 30th volunteers returned to Historic Columbia Foundation for their second project with the organization, and under the supervision of Collections Manager Alexis Thompson. From mid-morning to late afternoon the Collections Volunteer Group inventoried boxes from the Woodrow Wilson House that were moved recently into the Hampton-Preston Mansion of HCF. Members in attendance: Halie Brazier, Nate Johnson, Amanda Roddy,
and Sarah Scripps.

Alexis began by showing us some of the storage areas, where we discussed some issues that historic houses deal with, as well as some innovative measures HCF has taken. She showed us the new period room they are developing, wherein they will recreate a girl's dormitory from Chicora College which was housed in the mansion. Afterwards, we dove into the boxes, which contained lace table runners, women's clothing, purses, even natural history specimens (???) among other things. To assist in our inventory, Alexis demonstrated the PastPerfect (collections management) database for Nate and Sarah, who had never used it before. Using the computer and our paper materials, we worked in pairs to inventory the objects and make note of their condition. After a pizza lunch provided by Alexis, we finished up our inventory around 3pm. Thank you to all who were involved!

I want to echo Jan's congrats in the last post -- we have two new student coordinators for the '09-'10 school year and they have some great ideas for this group! Amanda Roddy and Sarah Scripps, both Public History/Museum Studies students -- I wish you the best of luck!

For more images from this project, click here

Post by Halie Nowell, 08-09 Student Project Coordinator

New Leadership for CVG

After a year of dutiful service as Student Project Coordinator, Halie Brazier will be graduating this summer and moving on to the greener pastures of professional life! Thanks to Halie for all of her hard work this past year, putting together great projects and bringing volunteer opportunities to a new class of students at USC.

I'm pleased to announce that in the Fall of 2009 CVG will have not one, but two brand new Student Coordinators: Amanda Roddy and Sarah Scripps. Under their leadership, this group will move into its 3rd year of service to Columbia area museums -- and who knows what new directions they might pursue. Congrats to Amanda & Sarah for taking on this challenge!

In other news, a recap of the group's most recent project (at Historic Columbia Foundation) is coming shortly... so stay tuned for that and other updates on projects for this coming Fall semester. If you have questions or comments about the group please email ilikeeurope@hotmail.com or jllevinson@gmail.com.

Next Project: Return to HCF!

The Collections Volunteer Group will participate in Project #5 next Thursday, April 30th from 10am-3pm at the Historic Columbia Foundation! We will be doing an inventory of objects from the Woodrow Wilson home. Here's what Alexis (Collections Manager, HCF) has to say:

"The project that I have in mind is to help inventory artifacts that came out of the Woodrow Wilson Family Home. John (Sherrer) and I will be moving these artifacts from one storage area to another (to make way for our Chicora College/CFW period dorm room in Hampton-Preston). The inventory will include assessing each box's contents, updating the location on paper and in PastPerfect, and renumbering and rehousing any artifacts that may need it. I have not even gotten into some of these boxes, so it should be a good experience for all of us."

There will be a free pizza lunch included! Meet in front of the Hampton-Preston mansion on Blanding street. If you can only come for a little bit, then that's perfectly fine. We hope to see you there, and we appreciate any time you can spare for a good cause!

Calling All Ideas!

Greetings! So, the last few posts have recounted our volunteer efforts thus far and provided a summary of what this group is and what it hopes to accomplish. Now i'm opening up the floor for your thoughts & suggestions on new projects!

Some thoughts Halie & I have tossed around:

• Should the group broaden its focus and look for projects outside of collections work?
• If so, what kinds of projects would serve a need in the community & interest volunteers?
• Is there interest in planning a project outside of Columbia?

If you have comments on any of these, or other ideas/suggestions...let us know!

Project 4: The Lexington County Museum

Project #4: Condition Reporting Edgefield Pottery at the Lexington County Museum

November 22, 2008, 12-4:30pm

Lexington County Museum director J.R. Fennell provided a pizza lunch for the group when we arrived at noon. Afterward, he took us on an informative tour of some of the 36 structures that belong to the museum. Although it was cold, the tour was worth it because the museum has some really interesting houses and collections. We also discussed some problems with the storage, protection, and presentation of some of the artifacts, and what special considerations a small museum has with these issues. Afterward, we worked in groups of two to condition report the museum's Edgefield pottery collection, which included a storage jar by the famous Dave. Alexis Thompson taught us how to condition report ceramics, and we learned some terminology to describe the jugs and other objects.