Emerging Museums Pre-Conference Session: Universal Design

Speakers: Ingrid Kanics, OTR/L, Kanics Inclusive Design Services, LLC

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thursday, May 19, Plenary Keynote Speaker

Keynote Speaker: Steven Berlin Johnson, author of Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation

Steven Berlin Johnson is the best-selling author of six books on the intersection of science, technology and personal experience. His writings have influenced everything from the way political campaigns use the Internet, to cutting-edge ideas in urban planning, to the battle against 21st century terrorism.Johnson also has co-created three influential Web sites: the pioneering online magazine FEED, the Webby-Award-winning community site, Plastic.com, and most recently the hyperlocal media site outside.in. Additionally, he maintains a blog/Web site: www.StevenBerlinJohnson.com.

Steven Berlin Johnson Keynote IA2011 Houston, TX from Assoc. of Children's Museums on Vimeo.

Keynote Speaker: Milton Chen, PhD, author of Education Nation: Six Leading Edges of Innovation in our Schools

Dr. Milton Chen is senior fellow and executive director, emeritus at The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF), a non-profit operating foundation that utilizes its multimedia Web site Edutopia.org and documentary films to communicate a new vision for 21st century schools. He served as executive director of GLEF for 12 years. In his book, Education Nation: Six Leading Edges of Innovation in our Schools, Dr. Chen explores the “edges” in education — the places where K-12 learning has already seen revolutionary changes through innovative reform and the use of technology, and he offers a clear vision for tomorrow’s classrooms that will enhance learning opportunities for all children.

 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Saturday, May 21, Plenary Keynote Speaker

Keynote Speaker:Lisa Henson, Chief Executive Officer of The Jim Henson Company

ACM present its 2011 Great Friend to Kids Award to The Jim Henson Company. The Great Friend to Kids Award is presented annually at InterActivity conference. The award honors those who have made significant contributions to strengthening education and advancing the interests of children. ACM selected The Jim Henson Company for its longtime commitment to producing innovative family programming that creatively addresses a range of topics and issues with compassion, humor and whimsy.

Below is the question and answer portion of Lisa Henson's keynote address.

Lisa Henson Q&A IA2011 Houston, TX from Assoc. of Children's Museums on Vimeo.

 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Introducing ACM’s Benchmarking Calculator • L

Speakers: Jeannette Thomas, ACM; Jeanie Stahl, White Oak Associates, Inc.; Neil Gordon, The Discovery Museums (Acton, MA)

On average, what percentage of a museum’s budget is spent on personnel expenses? Compared to other children’s museums in similar sized communities, how does your museum attendance compare? ACM’s Benchmarking Calculator allows members to
compare peer museums’ operations data. Learn how to use ACM’s Benchmarking Calculator to generate on-demand reports and how to interpret this data for your museum, community, funders and other stakeholders.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Marketing Strategic Partnerships • MPR

Speakers: Lauren Rose, Please Touch Museum®; •Michelle Winner, Port Discovery Children’s Museum; Maureen P. Mangan, Long Island Children’s Museum

Marketing Strategic Partnerships

Learn how to create new revenue streams and expand member benefits by negotiating strategic partnerships. Panelists will share experiences leveraging their children’s museum brand assets with media, community organizations and affinity groups. Come
prepared to share your success stories in stretching your marketing budget to achieve big results through partnerships.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mission Mobile •MPR

Speakers: Rick Berg, Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose; Donna Butcher, Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose; Henry Yau, Children’s Museum of Houston; Aaron Long, Schipul: The Web Marketing Company

Mission Mobile

Mobile site or mobile app? As museums weigh where to allocate resources, this session gives you valuable insights to streamline your decision making. Learn the “why and how” considerations for your mobile site. Already there? Find out how to take it to the next level! Hear how one museum has packaged its existing Intellectual Property into a mobile app that not only drives revenue to its bottom line, but creates financial support for the interactive museum community. Participants will be taken through all aspects of app
development and will be challenged to think beyond the traditional podcast and museum tour approaches to mobile applications.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Design an Inclusive Museum • EE

Speakers: Ingrid Kanics, OTR/L, Kanics Inclusive Design Services, LLC; •Frank A. Rulli, Faniro Architects, Inc.

Learn about the principles of Universal Design and how its use can create an innovative place where all visitors can play. Panelists will discuss the cost and long term benefits of designing for inclusion, share practices that support children with autism spectrum disorder and engage participants in an interactive game, “Barriers to Avoid,” which highlights the process of designing an inclusive museum.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Teaching the Whole Child • EE

Speaker: George Carey, Just Kid, Inc.

What does an education encompass for today’s child? Some expect children to develop leadership, civic responsibility and healthy social relationship skills, as well as master traditional academic subjects. A recent multi-country survey found that parents prioritized their children’s emotional development above good grades in school. Just Kid, a strategic research and innovation team focused on children under the age of 12 and their parents, will lead a thought-provoking discussion about a new educational framework and programs designed to help kids succeed in the real world.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Loose Parts Play • EE

Speakers: Wendy Blackwell, National Children’s Museum (Washington, DC); Tanya Andrews, Children’s Museum of Tacoma; Jennie Sumrell, PlayCore; Hattie Coppard, Snug & Outdoor; Tim Coppard, Snug & Outdoor

It is important for children to be able to alter and shape their play space. Modular elements and loose parts provide unique and innovative opportunities in play environments that inspire creativity, imagination and discovery. Learn how both designers and the playground industry are using outcomes from The Experimental Playground Project in the United Kingdom to create loose parts and modular elements that children can use to design their own exciting, sociable playscapes and how children’s museum professionals are creating and evaluating loose part play in a museum environment.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Courage in Design and Community Collaboration • EE

Speakers: Nancy Stice, Children’s Museum of Phoenix; Brenda Baker, Madison Children’s Museum

Courage in Design and Community Collaboration

In this session two case studies illustrate innovative exhibit development and extraordinary community collaboration. Hear how a new museum was created with the help of 125 artists and more than 13,000 school children. Discover how another community created a one-of-a-kind climbing sculpture by engaging contractors, corporations and more than 50 local artists. Panelists will talk about building a consensus of daring vision, overcoming and embracing risk (and budget constraints) and ultimately reaping the benefits of completing successful projects with huge community ownership.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Wellness Programs Seasoned to Taste • PE

Speakers: Billie Little, Discovery Center at Murfree Spring; Liza Blair, Creative Discovery Museum (Chattanooga, TN); Christina Seidel, The Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley; Wayne LaBar, Liberty Science Center

Want to integrate nutrition classes and wellness programs at your museum? Panelists will provide visual images, sample lesson plans and event promotional materials for hands-on cooking lessons, culinary art demonstrations and health-related programs for small and large museums. Gain insight into the conceptual and fabrication process of building a test kitchen and a food-based exhibition.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Making Heads or Tails of the 990 • FA

Speakers: Jody Blazek, Blazek & Vetterling, LLP; •Amanda Adams, Blazek & Vetterling, LLP

The new 990 form demands more comprehensive reporting to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about an organization’s policies. There are new schedules and required answers to policy questions, which could reveal possible shortcomings about your museum. Considering the information disclosed in the 990 is important. This session outlines best practices and ways to present your museum’s financial story to the IRS
and others.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Boom! The New Retired Volunteer • VSO

Speakers: Walt McFadden, Jewish Community Center of Houston; •Gwyndlen Holt, Houston Area Women’s Center; Joseph Olson, Minnesota Children’s Museum

Boom! The New Retired Volunteer

Baby Boomers are beginning to transition out of their professional careers and into retirement. Many Boomers anticipate volunteering, but only if it fits into their busy lifestyle. Before recruiting and engaging Boomer volunteers, make your children’s museum Boomer-friendly. This session will explain the different motivations of this volunteer demographic and the need to adjust management styles to attract and capitalize on Boomer volunteers.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________