Subject: Online course on museum artifacts
There is still space available in this online class that gives a good overview of all the materials likely to be found in any collection: MS213: Museum Artifacts: How they were made and how they deteriorate Instructor: Helen Alten Price: $475 Sep. 6 - Oct. 14, 2011 Location: online at <URL:http://www.museumclasses.org> Description: Every museum object is unique, but items made of similar materials share characteristics. Museum Artifacts gives participants an understanding of the materials and processes used to make objects--knowledge that better prepares them to decide how to care for their collections. Participants study two objects that represent all materials found in our museums. Through an in-depth analysis of their components, participants explore all possible objects found in any museum. Logistics: Participants in Museum Artifacts work through 12 sections on their own. Instructor Helen Alten is available for scheduled email support. Materials and resources include online literature, slide lectures and dialog between students and online chats led by the instructor. The course is limited to 20 participants. Museum Artifacts runs six weeks. To reserve a spot in the course, please pay at <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html> If you have trouble please contact Helen Alten at helen<-a t->collectioncare< . >org The Instructor: Helen Alten, is the Director of Northern States Conservation Center and its chief Objects Conservator. For nearly 30 years she has been involved in objects conservation, starting as a pre-program intern at the Oriental Institute in Chicago and the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania. She completed a degree in Archaeological Conservation and Materials Science from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of London in England. She has built and run conservation laboratories in Bulgaria, Montana, Greece, Alaska and Minnesota. She has a broad understanding of three-dimensional materials and their deterioration, wrote and edited the quarterly Collections Caretaker, maintains the popular <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org> web site, lectures throughout the United States on collection care topics, was instrumental in developing a state-wide protocol for disaster response in small Minnesota museums, has written, received and reviewed grants for NEH and IMLS, worked with local foundations funding one of her pilot programs, and is always in search of the perfect museum mannequin. She has published chapters on conservation and deterioration of archeological glass with the Materials Research Society and the York Archaeological Trust, four chapters on different mannequin construction techniques in Museum Mannequins: A Guide for Creating the Perfect Fit (2002), preservation planning, policies, forms and procedures needed for a small museum in The Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums' Collection Initiative Manual, and is co-editor of the penultimate book on numbering museum collections (still in process) by the Gilcrease Museum in Oklahoma. Helen Alten has been a Field Education Director, Conservator, and staff trainer. She began working with people from small, rural, and tribal museums while as the state conservator for Montana and Alaska. Helen currently conducts conservation treatments and operates a conservation center in Charleston, WV and St. Paul, MN. Brad Bredehoft for Helen Alten Northern States Conservation Center *** Conservation DistList Instance 25:12 Distributed: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Message Id: cdl-25-12-007 ***Received on Wednesday, 24 August, 2011