This session will explore the following: innovative ways that museums can supplement learning and differential learning styles; how classroom visits and museum field trips can improve the impact that a museum has on education in a community; how museums can address the needs of the instructor when collaborating; and opportunities for schools to connect and access primary source material for building curriculum.

At a time when the country is becoming increasingly more diverse, especially ethnically, museums need to be pro-active and inclusive to continue serving their broadening constituencies. This panel will discuss projects addressing these issues in their institutions, other ways museums can address this challenge, and why it’s important.

LUNCH 11:45 - 12:45 p.m. ($15)

1:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. Workshop: “Make No Little Plans: Interpretive Exhibits for the Small Museums,” Dan Bartlett, Curator of Exhibits, Elmhurst History Museum

Good exhibits don’t happen by accident. They come from thoughtful preparation, careful writing, and focused design. This session will introduce the basics of planning, writing, and layout out exhibits for maximum effectiveness with limited budgets.

3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. Panel:  “Museums at the Bicentennial,” Karen Everingham, President, Illinois Association of Museums; Susannah Munson, Curator, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Museum; and Adrienne Horrigan, Archivist, Lincoln Park Zoo; and Ben Hunt, Manager of Interpretive Content, Lincoln Park Zoo

This panel will discuss the origins of museums as “cabinets of curiosities” to the high tech, interactive museums of today. It will also look at the changing methodologies used in the accession and curation of museum objects.