Online courses at museumclasses.org

March Online Course offerings from Northern States Conservation
Center

MS 108: Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs
March 2-27, 2015
Instructor: Karin Hostetter
Location: <URL:http://museumclasses.org>

    Description: Volunteers are essential for most non-profit
    institutions.  But good volunteers aren't born--they are made.
    Even though they don't get paychecks, it takes time and money to
    have effective volunteers.  Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer
    Programs teaches the basics of a strong volunteer program.
    Topics include recruiting, training and rewarding volunteers, as
    well as preparing staff.  Instruction continues through firing
    and liabilities.  Participants will end up with sound
    foundational knowledge for starting a new or strengthening an
    existing volunteer program based on a nine-step process.

    For more information or to sign up:
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/fundamentals-museum-volunteer-programs-line-course>

MS 205/206 Disaster Plan Research and Writing
March 2 - April 24, 2015
Instructor: Terri Schindel
Location: <URL:http://museumclasses.org>

    Description: Every museum needs to be prepared for fires,
    floods, chemical spills, tornadoes, hurricanes and other
    disasters.  But surveys show 80 percent lack trained staff,
    emergency-preparedness plans for their collections, or both.
    Disaster Plan Research and Writing begins with the creation of
    disaster-preparedness teams, the importance of ongoing planning,
    employee safety, board participation and insurance.
    Participants will learn everything they need to draft their own
    disaster-preparedness plans.  They also will be required to
    incorporate colleagues in team-building exercises.  A written
    disaster-preparedness plan is not only a good idea, it's also a
    requirement for accreditation.  In the second half of the
    course, instructor Terri Schindel reviews and provides input as
    participants write plans that outline the procedures to follow
    in various emergencies.  The completed plan prepares museums
    physically and mentally to handle emergencies that can harm
    vulnerable and irreplaceable collections.  You will have a
    completed institutional disaster-preparedness and response plan
    at the end of the course.  Once completed with this course, we
    recommend the Disaster Preparation and Recovery course taught by
    Helen Alten to provide more information about staff organization
    and management during and after a disaster.

    For more information or to sign up:
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/disaster-plan-research-and-writing-line-course>

MS 215: Care of Archaeological Artifacts from the Field to the Lab
March 2-27, 2015
Instructor: Diana Komejan
Location: <URL:http://museumclasses.org>

    Description: Archaeological finds come out of the ground
    fragile--and they often stay that way.  Yet archaeologists and
    museum professionals have few clear guidelines for handling,
    moving, storing and displaying such materials.  Participants in
    Care of Archaeological Artifacts From the Field to the Lab learn
    techniques for safely lifting and packing artifacts, safe
    transportation and temporary and permanent storage.  The course
    also covers a broad range of excavation environments, including
    the Arctic, wet sites, tropical and temperate.  Though Care of
    Archaeological Artifacts is not intended to train archaeological
    conservators, it is designed to help participants understand
    what can and can't be done to save the artifacts they unearth.

    For more information or to sign up:
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/care-archaeological-artifacts-field-lab-line-course>

MS 243: Making Museum Quality Mannequins
March 2 - April 10, 2015
Instructor: Helen Alten
Location: <URL:http://museumclasses.org>

    Description: A good mannequin makes an exhibit look
    professional.  Unfortunately, most museum staff do not know how
    to make a costume look good on a mannequin.  The result is that
    costumes look flat, provide incorrect information or are being
    damaged.  Buying an expensive "museum quality mannequin" is not
    the solution--garments rarely fit without alterations to the
    mannequin.  Learn how to measure garments and transfer that
    information to construct a new form or alter an old form so that
    it accurately fits the garment, creating an accurate and safe
    display.  Learn about the materials that will and won't damage
    the textile.  Making Museum Quality Mannequins provides an
    overview of all of the materials used to construct mannequins in
    today's museums.  Learn inexpensive mannequin solutions and how
    different materials may use the same additive or subtractive
    construction technique.  Fabrication methods for many mannequin
    styles are described.  Finishing touches--casting and molding,
    hair, arms, legs, stands and base, undergarments--are discussed
    with examples of how they change the presentation of a garment.

    For more information or to sign up:
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/making-museum-quality-mannequins-line-course>

MS 303: Found in the Collection: Orphans, Old Loans and Abandoned
    Property
March 2 - April 3, 2015
Instructor: Lin Nelson-Mayson
Location: <URL:http://museumclasses.org>

    Description: Every museum has a few stray items.  Some lost tags
    long ago.  Others turn up as surprises during inventories.  A
    few are all that remain from long-ago exhibits.  While you'll
    want to keep some, others may be deteriorating.  Even worse,
    some pose significant hazards for staff and the rest of the
    collection.  All raise legal and professional questions.  How do
    you deal with objects that have no records?  Or loans from
    unidentified or deceased lenders?  Found in the Collection
    addresses how to identify abandoned objects and old loans.  It
    further covers the application of state laws and rules for
    identifying owners or establishing ownership.

    For more information or to sign up:
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/found-collection-orphans-old-loans-and-abandoned-property-line-course>

MS 008: Buy In: Getting All of Staff to Support Preservation
March 16-20, 2015
Instructor: Helen Alten
Location: <URL:http://museumclasses.org>

    Description: To get anything done in your museum, you often need
    to get other staff to support the idea.  All too often,
    preservation is left to one or two staff members and others
    believe it doesn't apply to them.  For example, it is hard to
    successfully implement a pest management plan without full staff
    support.  Everyone must buy into the notion of preservation.
    But how?  Readings will introduce some ideas and participants in
    this course will brainstorm with Helen about what works, what
    might work--and what doesn't.

    For more information or to sign up:
    <URL:http://www.collectioncare.org/buy-getting-all-staff-support-preservation-line-short-course>

Feel free to contact me with questions.

Helen Alten
Northern States Conservation Center


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 28:35
               Distributed: Wednesday, February 11, 2015
                       Message Id: cdl-28-35-015
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