COVER:
2015 Iowa Museum Association Annual Meeting & Conference
“Unique Places: Sharing Your Story”
October 4-5-6, 2015 Pella & Knoxville, Iowa
Co-Hosts: Pella Historical Society & Museums, Pella, and
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum, Knoxville
Cover or Inside cover:
Conference Sites: Graham Conference Center, Central College, Pella; Pella Historical Society &
Museum; National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum.
Parking at Central College: You may park across the street from the Graham Center in the parking lot
south of University Street or in adjacent lots marked for students, other lots on campus marked for
students/staff/faculty, or curb side on streets where parking is permitted.
Conference Hotel: Royal Amsterdam, Pella, Iowa.
Conference Planning Committee: Kathleen Miller, Pella Historical Society & Museum; Thomas J.
Schmeh, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum; Allison Limke, Pella Historical Society & Museum;
Kevin McQuade, Pella Opera House; Jill Vandevoort, Pella Convention & Visitors Bureau; Carla Eysink,
Marion County Development Commission; Lowell Olivier, Central College; Kelly Halbert, Nelson Pioneer
Farm.
Iowa Museum Association
The mission of the Iowa Museum Association is to provide quality training and development, advocate for
support of Iowa’s museums, and build a strong community of museums and museum supporters in Iowa.
Iowa’s museums include art centers and museums, botanical gardens, children's museums, history
museums, historic sites, historical societies, living history sites, nature centers, natural history museums,
planetariums, science and technology centers, and zoos.
www.iowamuseums.org
319.239.2236 or e-mail imasweet@cfu.net
PAGE 1:
Welcome to the 2015 Iowa Museum Association Annual Meeting and Conference. This annual event
brings together museum staff and volunteers from across the state for two and one-half days of engaging
and informative sessions, specifically chosen to enhance and assist them in their daily work. Speakers are
chosen across a wide spectrum of subjects that appeal to administrators, educators, curators, registrars,
board members, marketing and development personnel and more. Keynote and plenary speakers are
chosen to share thought provoking and inspiring messages.
The conference is held at a different Iowa location each year, hosted by members of the Iowa Museum
Association who submit a proposal several years in advance to bring the conference to their community.
Locations are chosen that are easily accessible, have adequate facilities for both the conference and
housing, and are home to a variety of museums with staff members who have time and desire to assist the
IMA in providing this conference for you, their colleagues.
The conference planning team is happy to welcome you to Pella and Knoxville, sister communities each
with special attractions and amenities. The IMA Conference will take you to both communities and to
different types of museums within the communities, which share the common purposes of serving the
public, holding collections in trust for generations to come, and sharing their stories through a variety of
programs and media.
During the course of the conference you will meet speakers who will share their personal stories and
experiences related to the themes of story and discovery. For some, including our keynote speaker Dr.
Ronald Rietveld, the discovery process was life-changing. You will meet speakers who will share ideas
and resources that will help you in your daily work - for example, the use of story in developing exhibits, or
digital storytelling, or docent training. Finally, you will meet speakers with provocative and thought
provoking ideas that will prompt you to carefully consider the role of your museum collection and the
objects in it.
Enjoy the conference. Meet as many new colleagues as you can. Take part in the speed networking on
Monday. Hang out at the Jester Insurance Hospitality Suite at our conference hotel, the Royal Amsterdam.
Join us for a walking tour and taste of Pella Sunday night, and a crazy evening of go-karting and pizza
Monday night – what else would you expect at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum? Take
home new ideas, thought provoking conversations, and the warm feeling of having made new friends in the
museum community.
And save the date for 2016 – we’ll be at the Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames, October 16-18, 2016,
where we will help them celebrate their 50th birthday, as well as the IMA’s 40th!
Cyndi Sweet
Executive Director
Iowa Museum Association
imasweet@cfu.net
319-239-2236
PAGE 2:
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE and LOCATIONS
Sunday October 4 @ Scholte Church, Pella Historical Society & Museum Campus
Career Conversations 3:30-5:30 at Scholte Church, Pella. Students, emerging professionals, mid-career
job seekers, everyone is welcome to attend this event. A panel of currently employed museum workers
from various museums will share their educational background and career path with the audience and take
questions. Afterwards, museums with current openings for interns or employment will be available for oneon-one meetings.
Taste of Pella Progressive Walk 5:30 – 8 p.m. Enjoy a taste of Pella’s Dutch heritage as you walk
through the Historical Village Museum in Pella, Iowa, ending at the museum’s Sterrenberg Library for a
wine tasting. This event is provided by the Pella/Knoxville Convention & Visitors Bureau with walking tour
maps furnished by the Pella Historical Society. Entertainment courtesy of the Pella Historical Society.
Jester Insurance Hospitality Suite, Royal Amsterdam Hotel, Room 1520. Drop by for informal networking!
PAGE 3
Monday, October 5 @ Graham Conference Center, Central College, Pella
Parking at Central College: You may park across the street from the Graham Center in the parking lot
south of University Street or in adjacent lots marked for students, other lots on campus marked for
students/staff/faculty, or curb side on streets where parking is permitted.
8:15- 8:50 a.m. Registration – see building #19
Graham Conference Center on map.
8:50 a.m. Welcome, Vermeer Banquet Room,
Graham Conference Center.
Cynthia Sweet, Executive Director, Iowa Museum
Association.
9:00-10 a.m. Keynote Address, Vermeer
Banquet Room, Graham Conference Center. Dr.
Ronald D. Rietveld, Professor Emeritus,
Department of
History, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, California.
Dr. Rietveld is well known nationwide as a Lincoln scholar. He
began studying President Lincoln and collecting Lincoln artifacts as a
teen-ager. A discovery made when he was 14 years old and
encouragement from adult mentors in the field to continue his education
provided the basis for a career of research and scholarship. Dr.
Rietveld will share his story of discovery and how it has impacted not
just his life, but the lives of other Lincoln scholars.
Take advantage of breaks between sessions to visit with the exhibitors and place your bids for the silent
auction.
10:15- 11 a.m. Breakout Sessions - Graham Conference Center, Central College, Pella.
1 Continuing the Keynote. Conference Room #1. Dr. Ronald D. Rietveld, Professor Emeritus,
Department of History, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, California, will expand on his keynote
address, sharing Being in the right place at the right time with the right amount of curiosity: The
background story and what circumstances led to the actual discovery of an important presidential photo
missing for 87 years.
2 The Scholte House: Questions Asked and Answered. Conference Room #2. Susan Price Miller,
former curator of the Scholte House Museum. Susan Miller will explain how one question in 1998, about
the original style of the house started her investigation of its history and occupants. She approached the
subject of architectural style in a variety of ways, found some answers, more questions, and the need to
revise long-accepted ideas. The house itself provided substantial clues. Traditional materials, such as
photographs, documents and newspaper accounts in local libraries and archives turned up new as well as
forgotten, information. The growth of the Internet during the last decade provided increasing access to
distant sources not available in the past. Miller’s background in art and quilt history enabled her to discover
the significance of many objects in the house. She will present distinctive Pella answers to the types of
questions that local and social historians raise about the lives of people in the past.
3 Teaching Iowa History in Partnership with Local Museums. Sutphen Room, across the courtyard.
Pam Schwartz, Director, Boone Co., Historical Society and Secretary, Iowa Museum Association. The
need to teach Iowa history to formal educators has been identified by the Iowa Department of
Education/Social Studies. To assist in meeting this need, the Iowa Museum Association has developed a
new program which incorporates two elements - an Iowa History Curriculum and a Resource Guide.
Members of the IMA Continuing Education Committee who developed this project will present on the
project and how museums can get involved.
11:15-11:45 a.m. Speed Networking – please check your name tag for the room to which you are
assigned.
Take advantage of breaks between sessions to visit with the exhibitors and place your bids for the silent
auction.
12-1 p.m. Luncheon and 2015 Iowa Museum Association Annual Meeting, Vermeer Banquet Room,
Graham Conference Center, Central College, Pella. Entertainment by the Pella Dutchesses who will
perform Dutch wooden shoe dances and sing their stories, courtesy of the Pella Historical Society. Table
centerpieces donated by Pella Historical Museums and Historic Pella Trust.
1:15- 3 p.m. Breakout Sessions - Graham Conference Center, Central College, Pella.
1 The Story’s the Thing – Using Story to Develop Meaningful Exhibits and Interactives. Sutphen
Room, across the courtyard. Josh Waddle and Rosa Grant, Curators, John Deere Tractor & Engine
Museum, Waterloo.
How do you ensure that your unique story remains succinct and true to your mission? Join Rosa
Grant and Joshua Waddle, researchers and designers of the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum, as
they provide real world examples of planning and organizing exhibits.
For almost four years Rosa and Josh researched and developed the content for the Museum. Over
that time the project faced many challenges but the major themes and messages remained unchanged.
This is due in large part to the creation of exhibit documents and a master plan that the team could
frequently refer to during development. This kept the project on task even as other designers, developers,
and contractors got involved. Regardless of size and budget these key steps can strengthen your exhibits
and ensure that your unique story is told
2 Content is King: Attracting New Audiences with Digital Storytelling. Conference Room #1. Panel
featuring: Tony Jahn, State Archivist, State Historical Society of Iowa - Position digital archives as valuable
content for creators and consumers; Leo Landis, Curator, State Historical Museum of Iowa - Innovate the
visitor experience through digital engagement; Jessica Rundlett, Special Projects & Outreach Coordinator,
State Historical Museum of Iowa - Grow your social media following using engaging storytelling.
.
As a museum or cultural institution, you’re sitting on a gold mine of content: photos, artifacts, documents,
and narratives that house your history and define your identity. Alone, these items may simply sit waiting to
be discovered. But repackaged with the right technology, they can tell powerful stories that attract new
visitors. Using examples from the Iowa Dept. of Cultural Affairs, see how you can leverage resources
already at your fingertips to engage new audiences in the digital age.
3 Please DO Touch: Education and Demonstration Collections. Conference Room #2.
Panelists: Gail Barels, Jennifer Kovarik, and Joshua Siefken; Moderators: Jessica Peel-Austin and Karen
Smith. While many of us have learned the best practices for managing our permanent collections, knowing
what to do with hands-on objects, educational materials, or demonstration artifacts can be much more
difficult. For this panel, we have brought together three experienced education professionals from a nature
center, cultural museum, and art museum. They will share their expertise on how to establish, catalogue,
and care for an education collection. Join us to learn how you can enliven your museums and educational
programs with artifacts and hands-on learning opportunities.
3:15- 4:15 p.m. Breakout Sessions - Graham Conference Center, Central College, Pella.
1 Cultural Resource Management Stories – Is King Edward under YOUR Parking Lot? Conference
Room #1. Brennan Dolan, Cultural Resources Project Manager, Iowa Department of Transportation. A
road needs to be widened, a bridge needs to be rebuilt, an interstate is being designed. How does the
Iowa Department of Transportation identify the cultural features that may be damaged in the process? How
does IDOT learn the stories behind those features and determine which are important enough to be
preserved? In this session you’ll learn how IDOT discovers the stories and how to work with IDOT to
protect the cultural resources in your community.
2 Discovering an Iowa Master, Right Here in Pella. PLEASE
WALK TO MILLS GALLERY in Building 28. Kathleen Miller,
Executive Director of the Pella Historical Society and Museums, will
discuss her discovery of Gerhard Nollen, an extraordinary artist
who emigrated from the Netherlands to Pella, Iowa in 1854,
bringing with him a multi-layered story of a painter and his influence
on community artists. Miller’s desire to bring Nollen’s abilities to
28 Lubbers Bldg
light culminated in an exhibit at Central College entitled “Gerhard
Nollen: Pella Iowa’s Dutch Treasure.” Barry Bauman, painting
conservator, will discuss his 2007 introduction to Nollen when he
was asked by Central College to conserve four Nollen portraits from
their holdings. The following year, he was contacted by the PHSM’s
Scholte House Museum to conserve Nollen’s “Farm Scene.”
This initial 2008 treatment for the Museum has led to an on-going
conservation program that has now included over 35 paintings.
Bauman will offer a short biography of the artist and his personal
discovery of Nollen’s remarkable abilities through images from the
collections of Central College, the Pella Historical Society &
Museums, the Scholte House Museum, the Lee County Historical
Society (Keokuk), and the State Historical Society of Iowa, Des Moines.
3 CSI Dubuque: Community Search and Investigation. Sutphen Room, across the courtyard. Cristin
Waterbury, Dubuque County Historical Society and National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. The
Dubuque County Historical Society recently celebrated the city and county’s namesake and founder, Julien
Dubuque, by launching an exhibit aimed at solving the mystery of who was the real Julien Dubuque and
what did he actually look like. Many artistic renderings of Dubuque exist, but the accuracy of those
depictions is suspect. In one case, the image of Julien Dubuque bears a striking similarity to the artist. The
Historical Society contracted forensic artist Karen Taylor, who used images of Julien Dubuque’s skull to
recreate a scientific and realistic image of Dubuque’s appearance. Taylor’s artwork has aided many law
enforcement agencies and has been featured on several television programs including America’s Most
Wanted and CSI. The Historical Society further “cracked the case” of Julien Dubuque by allowing visitors
to use audio wands to “interview” Dubuque’s contemporaries and used Taylor’s artwork to create a threedimensional video rendering of the real Julien Dubuque. The result of the project was a new twist on a wellknown community story.
4:00 p.m. opening: Jester Insurance Hospitality Suite Royal Amsterdam Hotel, Room 1520. Drop by for
informal networking! Open to all registrants, no charge.
5:00- 8 p.m. Monday Night Reception @ National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum “Sprint Over to
Knoxville” for a fun, casual night of racing and history. Meet at the National Sprint Car Museum at 5 p.m.
and be divided into two teams: Challengers and Champions. Teams take turns a) go-karting at Slideways
Karting Center, and b) touring the National Sprint Car Museum. At 7 p.m., everyone meets at the Peace
Tree Brewing Company for pizza, beer, trophies and a live IMA-benefit auction. Guaranteed to be a fun,
relaxing night in the “Sprint Car Capital of the World.” All events in Knoxville. $35 per person(IMA
members); $45 per person (non-members); must pre-register.
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Tuesday, October 6 @ Graham Conference Center, Central College, Pella
Parking at Central College: You may park across the street from the Graham Center in the parking lot
south of University Street or in adjacent lots marked for students, other lots on campus marked for
students/staff/faculty, or curb side on streets where parking is permitted.
9:00-10 a.m. Plenary Session, Vermeer Banquet Room, Graham Conference
Center. Active Collections: Rethinking the Role of Collections in Your
Museum. Trevor Jones, Director, Museum Collections & Exhibitions, Kentucky
Historical Society. Jones will base his address on the Active Collections project
(www.activecollections.org) and working with museums to prompt them to rethink
how they acquire, store and use collections. During this challenging and thoughtprovoking session Jones will ask us to think about whether our collections are
working for us or against us. Storing and housing collections has a significant
cost in time, personnel and real estate for all museums. If collections are not
actively supporting the mission, are they stealing resources from programs that
do? This session will raise important issues and present bold solutions that not everyone will agree with,
but will prompt discussions that hopefully will continue throughout the conference.
Please pick up your silent auction items and pay now.
10:15- 11:00 a.m. Breakout Sessions - Graham Conference Center, Central College, Pella.
1 Practical Ways to Make Your Collections Active. Conference Room #1. Trevor Jones, Director,
Museum Collections & Exhibitions, Kentucky Historical Society. In this session we’ll discuss ways to deal
with pressing collections concerns and make sure that artifacts support your museum’s mission. We’ll look
at some good first steps -- focusing your collecting plan and getting started on deaccessioning. Bring your
questions and ideas for a lively follow up to the plenary session!
2 Sharing Your Story with Visitors. Conference Room #2. Jill Featherstone, Director of Education, and
Haley Babcock, Studio Education Coordinator, Des Moines Art Center. Educators from the Des Moines Art
Center will share approaches for how they engage visitors young and old, novice and expert, to the stories
behind some of the artwork in their museum and how those stories are shared through studio art classes,
docent training, and guided tours.
3 Send Your Story Home with Visitors. Sutphen Room, across the courtyard. Polly Clark and staff at
The Iowan Press will share benefits of having something to hand out or sell in the gift shop for extending
the visitor experience and bolstering earned income.
11:15-12 Breakout sessions - Graham Conference Center, Central College, Pella.
1 QR Codes - Using technology as a tool to tell your story. Conference Room #1. Eric Anderson,
Blanden Art Museum. You can use QR codes to help visitors understand content and fully explore
museum exhibits and stories. This will be a discussion on how to use technology on a budget. We will walk
through the process of creating a QR code, explore different ways to use the QR, and provide insight on
some success of using the QR.
2 Concerts in the Museum Conference Room #2. Elaine Raleigh, Des Moines Metro Opera; Martin
Arthur, Hearst Center for the Arts; Darren Raleigh, Museum House Concerts webmaster & artist contact.
Learn how the IMA can provide connections and resources to help museums to build partnerships with
artists and patrons. House concerts can work for almost any size museum and provide an opportunity to
showcase your unique space with fun, low-risk performances that can help bring new patrons in, increase
guest engagement, and generate some additional funding.
3 What’s Your Story Worth: How to Raise $1 Million With A Unique Story. PLEASE WALK TO The
Pella Opera House, 2nd floor (main floor of theatre). Kevin McQuade, Pella Opera House. A cliché of
fundraising is: “people give to people, not causes nor places.” So how do you use the story of your unique
museum or place to raise funds? Kevin McQuade will lead participants on a tour of the Pella Opera House
during which he will share an effective strategy for finding and sharing the personal stories associated with
a unique place that, used effectively, transform prospective supporters to actual donors.
Tuesday Tours (free with conference badge). Tours start at noon. Finger foods and “to go” snacks at
each museum!
Pella Historical Museums & Vermeer Mill
Scholte House Museum & Gardens
Fire Station Museum
Vermeer Manufacturing Co. Global Pavilion & Museum
Rolscreen Museum (Pella Corp.)
Historical Pella Trust Office Building
Historical Pella Trust Log House aka Tuttle Cabin
Amsterdam School
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THANK YOUs
Co-Hosts: Pella Historical Society & Museums, Pella, and National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum,
Knoxville.
Conference Sites: Graham Conference Center, Central College, Pella; Pella Historical Society &
Museum; National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum.
Conference Planning Committee: Kathleen Miller, Pella Historical Society & Museum; Thomas J.
Schmeh, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum; Allison Limke, Pella Historical Society & Museum;
Kevin McQuade, Pella Opera House; Jill Vandevoort, Pella Convention & Visitors Bureau; Carla Eysink,
Marion County Development Commission; Lowell Olivier, Central College; Kelly Halbert, Nelson Pioneer
Farm.
Benefit Auction Chairs: Lindsey Smith, Exhibitsmith and Lori DeMoss, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame
& Museum.
Major Conference Sponsors:
The Iowan/Pioneer Graphics
Jester Insurance
M. Catton & Co. LLC
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area
Pella Corporation
Applied Art & Technology
University of Northern Iowa History Department
Conference Supporters
Central College
Pella Historical Society & Museums, Pella
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum, Knoxville
Pella Historic Trust
Pella/Knoxville Convention & Visitors Bureau
INSERT APPLIED ARTS LOGO
2015 Iowa Museum Association Sponsors & Supporters
(Every attempt has been made to be sure this list is correct. If your name has inadvertently been left off please
accept our apologies and inform us of the error.)
Aficionado ($2,500-$4,999)
Jester Insurance
Patron ($1,500 - $2,499)
Enthusiast ($750-$1,499)
Gaylord Archival
The Iowan/Pioneer Graphics
M. Catton & Co. LLC
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area
Friend ($250-$749)
Anonymous
Applied Art & Technology
Pella Corporation
University of Northern Iowa History Department
Supporter (under $250)
Adel Historical Museum
Ankeny Area Historical Society
Aurora Historical Society
Belle Plaine Historical Society
Willard Boyd
Buffalo Center Historical Society
Nathan Buman
Carnegie Historical Museum, Fairfield
Dunlap Historical Society
Farmall-Land USA
Kate Feil
Al Harris-Fernandez
Iowa 80 Truck Museum
Kalona Historical Village
Kossuth County Historical Society
Mitchell County Historical Society
Montgomery County Historical Society
Mother Mosque of America Museum
Plymouth County Historical Museum
Prairie City Historical Society
Prairie Trails Museum of Wayne County
Elaine Raleigh
Schroeter Diesel Technology Museum
Shelby County Historical Museum
Pamela Schwartz
Angela Stanford
Casie Vance
Webster County Museum
Sandi Yoder
2015 IMA Newsletter Sponsor
MSS – Museum Storage Solutions, Inc.