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Tuesday, 11am-12pm
The Day-To-Day of Collections Care
Lee Slusher, Edsel & Eleanor Ford House
Lindsay Zaremski, Edsel & Eleanor Ford House
Elisha Miles, Edsel & Eleanor Ford House
Join the collections team from the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House to learn about the day-to-day of collections care. The session will start with a presentation on collections care and why it is important. Elisha has the first segment, discussing and demonstrating safe handling of objects. Next, Lee will walk through some common techniques and tasks. Lastly, Lindsay will go over specific equipment and resources, including budget-friendly options. We will finish with Q&A and time for participants to visit each presenter for detailed questions and hands-on experience with tools and practice objects. Whether you’re new to collections or are looking to brush up on your skills, this session is for you.
Museums & Michigan History Day: A Match Made in Heaven
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Amy Bielat, Hamtramck Public Schools
In the Michigan History Day program, students learn to use the primary sources museums care for to form historical arguments like real historians. This session will examine an incredibly successful example of museum/classroom partnership that facilitated student learning and brought the community together to celebrate student work.
SPARK! A Creative Engagement Program for People with Memory Loss & Their Care Partners
Heather Placko, Muskegon Museum of Art
Interested in starting a creative aging program at your organization? Creative aging and museums are a natural pair. Any discipline of museum is able to participate and facilitate with proper training and respect for the group we serve. SPARK! is just one program in a myriad of creative aging options, from Meet me at MOMA and more. SPARK! is not an acronym, it’s something that happens between care partners when engaged in a stimulating and engaging experience – SPARKing a moment together – living in the moment. SPARK! is a creative engagement program for people with early to mid-stage memory loss and their care partners. Programs are designed to keep participants actively engaged in their communities by providing experiences that stimulate conversations, provide peer support and inspire creativity through creative engagement, workshops and programs in a comfortable environment led by specially trained staff and volunteers. Each program is unique and may be molded to a specific exhibition, art form, or institution. After leaving this session, participants will have a sense and the groundwork for a plan on how to create a creative aging program at their own institution, how to seek out and find partners in their communities, and how to receive training to respectfully lead programs like these in the future.
Stronger Preserving Together: How Museums use the Michigan Digital Preservation Network to Keep Collections Safe
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Chelsea Denault, Michigan Digital Preservation Network
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Rachel Stock, Sloan Museum of Discovery
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Maria Ketcham, Detroit Institute of Arts
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Regina Gorham, Kalamazoo Valley Museum
The Michigan Digital Preservation Network is a collaborative statewide initiative that provides access to an affordable and easy-to-use digital preservation service and brings cultural memory organizations into a community of practice to address preservation challenges as a collective. In a panel session facilitated by MDPN Coordinator Chelsea Denault, hear perspectives from staff at three museums about why they became MDPN members, how they integrate MDPN into their workflows, and how a community-centered approach to digital preservation allows them to preserve digitized and born-digital content stronger, together.
Beyond the Heyday
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Johanna Schurrer, Royal Oak Historical Society
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Donna Casaceli, Birmingham Museum
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Caitlin Donnely, Museum Specialist/Outreach Coordinator
When one visits many historical societies, it is noticeable that the history they present is often focused on the community’s most illustrious moments, often referred to as their “heyday.” Unfortunately, much of their history after this shining time is lost and rarely seen. This session will focus on institutions that are bucking that trend by creating exhibitions and public programming focused on events in their community in the more recent past, telling stories that sometimes are not pretty, simple or even happy, but give a fuller view of what makes their community unique and continually vibrant.
2026 Conference Partners
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The Michigan Museums Association is supported in part by an award from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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| 313-334-7643 | P.O. Box 5246 | Cheboygan, MI 49721 |