February 8, 2008

ACM NEWS

InterActivity Post Conference: Healthy Partnerships Build Healthy Communities
Saturday, April 26, 12:30-4:45 p.m.
Preregistration required; cost is $50 and includes lunch and all materials. Participation limited to 80 individuals on a first-come, first-served basis.

Chris Walker, director of research for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, will discuss conditions for partnership success, finding a partner and community mapping - with an emphasis on the process and challenges of collaboration. Mr. Walker has led numerous projects on policies to strengthen low-income communities, stressing the role of community and economic development programs, community-based organizations and cultural institutions in fostering community change.

Whether embarking on a new partnership or seeking to "tune up" an existing one, workshop panels and discussions will help you hone partnering practices and learn about new opportunities for community partnerships. Register today on the ACM Web site!

Early Bird Registration Deadline: February 22
Just 14 more days left for you to take advantage of the best registration rates for InterActivity. Save up to $100 per person, register today! And yes, you can use your American Express, Visa, MasterCard, Discover or pay by check when registering online!

Several Award Opportunities Still Available
Deadlines have been extended to Friday, February 15, 2008, for the following award programs:
-2008 Universal Design for Learning Award
-2008 Promising Practice Award
-2008 Promising Practice Replication Award

Remember, you can't win if you don't apply! Click below to access ACM's Online Award, Recognition and Scholarship Applications.
www.ChildrensMuseums.org/programs/awardapplication.htm

Good to Grow! News
Healthy Happenings: Pick Up Some Healthy Ideas for Your Museum
Check out the latest additions to the Healthy Happenings at Museums Web page:
-Lil' Sprouts program - Kidspace Children's Museum
-Workout with Stuffee - Children's Museum of South Carolina

Want to add a happening from your museum? Log on at www.GoodToGrow.org/museum_member.aspx
(Username: ChildrensMuseums; Password: Play2Learn)

Sign to be a Contributor; and post your information and pictures.

Online InterActivity Exhibitor MarketPlace Directory
Take a gander at the posse of exhibitors heading out west to Denver for InterActivity 2008. ACM's rootin'-tootin', high-falutin' online MarketPlace Directory gets down to the nitty-gritty; find out who's coming, what they offer and just where exactly they plan to set up camp.
P.S. - There's still room for a couple more exhibitors, but act quickly!
www.ChildrensMuseums.org/conferences/exhibit.htm

OPPORTUNITIES

Apply for a Museum Assessment Program (MAP) Today
There's an affordable way for you to:
-strengthen your museum's operations;
-build your capacity; and
-establish priorities.

For 26 years, museums of all sizes and types have used MAP to attain excellence in operations and planning. MAP is a low-cost, confidential process of guided self-study that includes consultation with a museum professional. Check out the current ACMForum, posted online, profiling ACM members who've gone through the MAP process. www.ChildrensMuseums.org/docs/4Q07ACMforum.pdf

Postmark Deadline: February 15, 2008. Questions? Contact MAP Staff at map@aam-us.org or 202-289-9118. The application and guidelines are available for download at www.aam-us.org/map

ACM Ally Events
Take advantage of hosting a community event tied to an ACM allied organization. All allies offer online resources to help you plan a successful event, including media relations support. Additionally, email ACM to let us know if you are hosting an event in conjunction with any of these organizations.

March 3: Read Across America
Event Resources: www.nea.org/readacross/index.html

April 13-19: Week of the Young Child
Event Resources: www.naeyc.org/about/woyc/

April 21-27: TV Turn Off Week
Event Resources: www.tvturnoff.org/

April 25-27: National Youth Service Day
Event Resources: http://ysa.org/NatlGYSD/tabid/59/Default.aspx

Asian Children's Museum Conference
The Museo Pambata, a children's museum in the Philippines, is hosting the first-ever conference for children's museum professionals in Asia. The conference theme, Children's Museums as Bridges of Peace, explores how children's museums, families and their communities build peaceful connections.

The conference will be held in Manila, Philippines, February 23-26 and will bring together museum professionals, educators, peace builders, parents and students from across Asia. For more information, including registration, visit www.MuseoPambata.org/acmc/index.htm.

Professional Development Conference for Nonprofit Leaders
The 2008 Foundation and Nonprofit Performance Conference will be held in Arlington, VA, March 3-5 at the Performance Institute. The theme for the conference is Building Organizational Capacity and the Effectiveness of the Charitable Sector with Proven Performance Management Strategies. Upon completion of the conference, participants will receive 18 CPE credits. Download the conference brochure for more information: http://InstituteWeb.org/brochure/N300-JW.pdf

For registration discount passes, email ward@InstituteWeb.org

IMLS WebWise Conference - Free Registration Available
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and The Wolfsonian-Florida International University announce open registration for the 2008 WebWise Conference on Libraries and Museums in the Digital World. The main conference takes place March 6-7 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, FL, with a day of pre-conference workshops on March 5.

The WebWise Conference is a premier forum for nationally recognized experts to address the emerging issues and implications of digital technologies for libraries, museums and other institutions. There are no registration fees for the WebWise Conference, but early registration is recommended as space is limited. For more information about this year's conference, including the agenda, online registration and information about travel and lodging, visit http://WebWise2008.fcla.edu.

Free Webcast: The Role of Museums in Informal Educational
The Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies cordially invites museum professionals to attend the next G. Brown Goode Education Lecture, Learning Across Time and Place: The Role of Museums in the Informal Educational Landscape. This program will look at the role learning plays in informal settings - at home, in museums, in afterschool programs and online - in developing students' interest, readiness and capacity to succeed both in school and as lifelong learners.

View the live Webcast on Monday, March 3 from 2-4 p.m. Click the below link to view the Webcast and access the archive of previous Webcasts: http://museumstudies.si.edu

All Kids Can: A National Call for Art
VSA arts and CVS Caremark All Kids Can seek artwork created by children for "All Kids Can… CREATE!," an exhibition encouraging learning through creative expression. All children ages 5-15 living in the US are eligible to apply. One representative artwork from each state and the District of Columbia will be selected for display during May 2008 in Washington, DC. Ten of the selected young artists will be invited to Washington to be honored in a congressional reception. For more information, including entry instructions, please visit www.vsarts.org/allkidscan or contact Jennifer Wexler, visual arts manager, at jcwexler@vsarts.org.

Fundraising Summit
The Center for Nonprofit Success is pleased to invite you to the Fundraising Summit, bringing together a group of experts in an interactive format to discuss the latest developments in grant-making and fundraising. Since attendance for this event is limited, early registration is strongly encouraged. The Summit takes place in Atlanta, GA, on March 18-19. For more information please visit: http://www.cfnps.org/atlanta2008.aspx

Communicating the Museum Conference
The Communicating the Museum Conference will explore the following areas: Audience Research and Development, Advertising, Programming and New Media. Each area will be broken down into keynote speeches and interactive sessions, with the goal of deconstructing success stories so that museums may apply them to future communication strategies.

The conference will take place June 25-28 in Venice, Italy. For registration and other information, please visit: http://www.communicatingthemuseum.com/registration.html

CLASSIFIED

There are 11 grant and award opportunties on the National Grants and Awards Calendar. Here are some upcoming deadlines:
Association of Children's Museums and MetLife Foundation - Promising Practice Award [February 15]
Institute of Museum and Library Services - Build and Share Knowledge of Good Practice [March 3]

There are 15 openings on the ACM Museum Jobs section. Here are some of the latest postings:
Explorium of Lexington [Development Director] (Lexington, KY)
San Antonio Children's Museum [Executive Director] (San Antonio, TX)
Portland Children's Museum [Director of Programs and Outreach] (Portland, OR)

There are 55 exhibits on the ACM Exhibits Marketplace. Here are some of the latest postings:
"Mexico: Festival of Toys" - 2,500-3,000 sq. ft.
"Alice's Wonderland" - 2,500 sq. ft.
"Secrets of Circles" - 2,000 sq. ft.

All E-Updates are available online. We welcome member contributions: press clippings, exhibit information, major announcements. Please forward all materials for the E-Update and ACMForum to acm@ChildrensMuseums.org.