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webinars and workshops

upcoming events

Postponed: Recalculating, recalculating… Using the Museum Assessment Program (MAP) as your museum’s GPS on the road to excellence

Presenter: Brianne Roth, Program Officer, MAP

The Museum Assessment Program from American Alliance of Museums is a year-long process of self-assessment activities, a peer reviewer site visit and a final assessment report with prioritized recommendations. Thinking about applying? This webinar provides space for Oregon museums to ask the questions you want and get into the nitty gritty of the application and the process with the Program Officer.

Past EVENts

OMA webinars and workshops are now available for viewing through our online store. These are available for OMA members only.

Visit the program archive

Interpretive training: Basics and beyond, July 12, 2023

This webinar will address interpretive training – what it is, why it is effective, and how using it imparts a message on your guests that they can then relay to others. This will be an overall discussion on what interpretive options are available and what it means to have an interpretive plan. This will give museums insight as to why an interpretive plan is beneficial and plant the seeds on the need for their institution to develop one. 

Presenter: Stacy Nalley, Public Outreach Coordinator, Oregon State Capitol and OMA board member.

Sponsored by Historical Research Associates

You are not alone! Working with consultants to support your museum, Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Join our panel of experts in the Oregon museum community to hear about how to work with consultants: how to find them, fund them, work with them and get the expert support you want. We'll also hear from a small, all-volunteer museum on their experience with consultants.

Sponsored by Indow

Watch the webinar

Overcoming barriers to museum fundraising success, Thursday, January 19, 2023

Join fundraising master trainer, Chad Barger, CFRE, for a presentation focused on actionable solutions to common fundraising problems.  Chad will reveal the most common barriers to effective fundraising at the museums that he has worked with and provide tips for overcoming them.  Attendees will also be given free access to document samples and templates which will help to fast track the implementation of these solutions.  Ample time will be reserved for questions so that attendees can also pick Chad’s brain for solutions to their “not so common” fundraising challenges.

Beyond sticky traps: Practical tips for effective museum pest management Thursday, August 18, 2022, 12 - 1:30 pm

Presenter: Heather Christenbury, Curator, Coos History Museum

When it comes to museum pest management strategies, preventative care is the safest and most cost-effective option. Whether writing your first pest management policy or simply looking for methods to protect your collections from pests, this webinar will cover how to write a basic integrated pest policy, address pest concerns, and how to keep museum staff and volunteers invested in the process.

Hosted by OMA board member Ariel Peasley.

In-person workshop: Designing outdoor programs for youth Saturday, July 16, 2022, 11 am - 1 pm PDT

Presenter: Zachary Stocks, National Park Service Park Ranger; Executive Director, Oregon Black Pioneers; OMA board member and co-chair, Programs Committee.

Interested in creating outdoor interpretive experiences for kids and teens? Join Zachary Stocks for a workshop on best practices for creating engaging outdoor programming.

This program will be offered while hiking a portion of the Fort to Sea Trail at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Astoria, OR.

Creating a virtual tour for your museum Monday, May 23, 2022, 12 pm-1:30 pm

Join Visiting Media (True Tour) for a webinar on creating a virtual tour for your museum. We'll review pros and cons of virtual tours, how to plan for it, what to include, and how to integrate it into your museum's online presence.

Hosted by OMA board member Zachary Stocks.

Exactly how to fund and select your next collections management system (CMS). January 27, 2022, 12-1:30 pm

Presenter: Rachael Cristine Woody, Rachael Christine Consulting, LLC

In this online webinar, museum expert and consultant Rachael Cristine Woody will offer strategies and solutions for common challenges, including how to identify your unique CMS needs, how to create CMS specifications that lead you to the right fit, and importantly, how to fund it.

Sponsored by Lucidea

Workshop: How to plan a digitization project. November 9, 2021, 10 am-12 pm

Are you struggling with where to start when it comes to digitizing your collections? Then join Northwest Digital Heritage in this online workshop on how to plan a digitization project. Ross Fuqua  will discuss how to identify priority collections, setting realistic goals for your project with the capacity your organization has, what it means to establish a work flow, the importance of meta data, and more. We will also give an overview of Northwest Digital Heritage and how it can factor in to your digitization efforts. A representative from University of Oregon will give a brief overview of the Historic Oregon Newspapers program.

This workshop is hosted by Oregon Heritage and Oregon Museums Association.

Watch the workshop and see resources

Sins of omission: Addressing the legacy of the Oregon Historical Society as a pioneer memorial association. June 23, 2021 11 am - 12:30 pm

The Oregon Historical Society’s roots stretch deeper than most cultural heritage institutions in the Pacific Northwest. With a history of over 122 years of active collecting, it holds one of the largest archival and museum collections in the region. OHS’ legacy of acquisition and description is skewed and narrowed by its origins as a pioneer memorial association. It is incumbent on OHS leadership and staff to confront and address the various expressions of this legacy. Staff members from several departments will discuss ways they incorporate radical empathy in the work they do to address the issue. The panel was recently presented as part of the Northwest Archivists 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting.

Presenters:

  • Laura Cray, Digital Services Librarian at OHS
  • Eliza E. Canty-Jones, Editor of the Oregon Historical Quarterly and Director of Community Engagement at OHS
  • Nicole Yasuhara, Deputy Museum Director at OHS
  • Erin Brasell, Managing Editor of the Oregon Historical Quarterly and Managing Editor and Co-founder of Dear Oregon, OHS’s blog
  • Dana Miller is Collection Management Librarian at OHS

Watch the archived webinar

Will the last person leaving please turn off the lights? How to properly disband a museum and liquidate its assets. Wednesday, April 28, 2021, 12-1:30 pm

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced some museums to permanently close, presenting their staffs and boards with unexpected legal and ethical questions about what would become of their assets. This program will use examples from shuttered museums to address how to go about dissolving a collection and liquidating its assets. Resources from museum workers and state agencies will help institutions take steps now to prepare for an unexpected closure in the future.

Presenters:

  • Joseph Govednik, Museum Director, Cowlitz County Historical Museum
  • R. Lewis Ferguson, former Director, World of Speed Museum (now closed)
  • Jenn Clemo, Director of Nonprofit Leadership & Resources, Nonprofit Association of Oregon
Watch the archived webinar

Listening to help integrate values-based equity: Guest curator Stephanie Littlebird in conversation with Five Oaks Museum - February 23, 2021

Presenters
  • Stephanie Littlebird Fogel (Grand Ronde, Kalapuya) is a visual artist, professional writer and curator of “This IS Kalapuyan Land” at Five Oaks Museum.
  • Molly Alloy and Nathanael Andreini are Co-directors at the Five Oaks Museum.

Five Oaks Museum uses a values-centered and heart-centered approach to their work. They have switched to a guest curator model, allowing curators to decide the exhibition, which, in turn, has implications for how that exhibition affects the structure of the museum.

You don’t do equity in bits and pieces. By collaborating with others to explore how art, culture and history shape the past and influence the future, Five Oaks helps visitors connect to a collective local history made up of community voices and the important stories they tell.

Join Stephanie, Molly and Nathanael as they talk about the process of curating and exhibiting “This IS Kalapuyan Land.” Bring your own personal value(s) you hold close and discuss how to institutionalize them in your museum and work.

Watch the archived webinar

Disaster Preparedness and Resilience for Collecting Organizations - December 2, 2020, 9 am - 12:30 pm

Presenters:
  • Matt Brown, Oregon State Archives
  • Robert Parker, University of Oregon Institute for Policy Research & Engagement (IPRE)

Join Oregon Heritage and Oregon Museums Association for a free workshop to explore action you can take to plan for a disaster in order to limit damage and recover quickly.

The first half, presented by Oregon State Archives, will focus on disaster preparedness for essential records and archival collections.

The second half, presented by IPRE, will share a new model of community-wide disaster resilience planning for heritage resources. Learn how to team up with other heritage organizations in your community to develop a plan and move forward mitigation efforts. This session will explain what a community plan includes, explore the guidebook to developing the plan, and the value to collecting organizations to participate in a community plan.

Moving Forward with NAGPRA Virtual workshop - November 10, 2020, 9 am - 12:30 pm

Presenters

  • Deana Dartt, Principal, Live Oak Consulting
  • Pamela Endzweig, Anthropological Collections Director, Museum of Natural and Cultural History, University of Oregon
  • Robert Kentta, Cultural Resources Director, Siletz Tribe
  • Dana Whitelaw, Executive Director, High Desert Museum

Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2020, 9:00 am - 12:30 pm

This workshop focuses on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) enacted in 1990. The law’s precise impact on museums will be examined.

Panel members with specialized NAGPRA knowledge will share specific information—compliance requirements, collection evaluation, outreach to Native tribes—and share their tribe's and museum's experience with the repatriation process. Participants will come away with a better understanding of NAGPRA and how you can put these tools to use in your organization.

Watch the archived workshop

Talking with your museum community: COVID-19-friendly adaptations and considerations - Tuesday, September 15, 2020, 11 am–12:30 pm

Presenter: Taline A. Kuyumjian, Founder and Principal Evaluator, Kuyumjian Consulting, LLC

Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2020 11 am–12:30 pm

Six months into our new “COVID-19 normal,” many museums have dipped their toes into reopening and welcoming visitors back to their physical locations. Needs and expectations of cultural organizations have changed, as such methods for gathering feedback must change too. This webinar will discuss a range of ways you can safely engage with your community to hear what they’re thinking, feeling, and needing from your organization. Conversation will also include an overview of what kind of information might be most meaningful to your organization as you navigate COVID-19, and how to prioritize lines of inquiry so as not to burden or overwhelm. A discussion on the range of ethics and considerations to take when implementing COVID-19-friendly methodology will help ensure each organization is fully equipped to start talking with their community. 

This 90-minute, interactive webinar will offer an overview of traditional data collection; show how to adapt methods to be COVID-19-friendly; and identify new ways of talking to our communities across a range of platforms. We will discuss how to prioritize and be mindful in the questions we ask; and look at accessibility and ethical considerations of gathering feedback in the new “COVID-19 normal.”

Watch the archived webinar

Interpretive planning for a pandemic - Tuesday, August 25, 2020, 12-1:30 pm

Presenter: Kyrie Thompson Kellett, Principal and Certified Interpretive Planner, Mason Bee Interpretive Planning

Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2020, 12-1:30 pm

COVID-19 has changed so many things, especially for museums. How do we reach our audiences when our doors are closed? How do we tell our stories if our events are cancelled? Finding answers requires creativity and a critical, but often underutilized, museum toolinterpretive* planning. 

The interpretive planning process helps us outline the central story our museum wants to tell and the best ways to share that story with our key audiences. In this interactive workshop, we will go through the basic steps of the interpretive planning process and discuss how they can be adapted for the current coronavirus situation. The discussion will include thinking deeply about who our key audiences should be right now and sharing a variety of creative interpretive tools that we can use to reach them. In particular, we will explore how we can serve teachers and families yearning for engaging, safe learning experiences during the unprecedented school year ahead.

*Interpretation here means the mission-based communication that museums use to create emotional and intellectual connections between audiences and the museum’s focus.

Reopening webinar June 8, 2020, 12-1 pm

The Oregon Museums Association, Cultural Advocacy Coalition, and Oregon Heritage Commission hosted a webinar on Monday, June 8 to discuss the official statewide reopening guidance for zoos, museums, and outdoor gardens. The webinar provided a general overview of those guidelines and opportunity for questions and discussion.

2019 Spring Workshop - Danger! Handling Hazardous Materials

Monday, May 13, 2019, 9:30 am - 2:30 pm
Benton County Museum
1101 Main Street, Philomath, OR

Presenters: Joseph Govednik, Director, Cowlitz County Historical Museum, and Sarah Samson, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Renton History Museum

Read Helen Fedchak's article about the 2019 Spring Workshop in Registrar's Quarterly from the Registrar's Committee Western Region.

Spring Workshops 2015-2018

2018 Spring Workshop - Albums of Ephemera with Elizabeth Chambers

May 21, 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Willamette Heritage Center, Salem, OR

2017 Spring Workshop - Basketry with Margaret Mathewson

May 22, 2017, Philomath, OR

2016 Spring Workshop - Basics of Archives

April 18, 2016, Prineville, OR

2015 Spring Workshop - Interpretation and Collections Care at Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center: A Tribal Perspective on Collaborating with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde

March 9, 2015, Grand Ronde, OR


Mailing Address: P.O. Box 8604, Portland, OR 97207
Contact: connect@oregonmuseums.org 
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