Hi all,

In an effort to find cost-effective ways to provide services to our small museum partners, the MoMS team has been thinking for quite some time about what we can do with content from past MoMS exhibitions. We would love to get your reaction to the idea of MoMS Exhibition Starter Kits. We need your input about what role state humanities councils could play in this endeavor.

Drawing on content from past MoMS exhibitions, these skeletal, build-it-yourself exhibitions would be designed for small museums.  MoMS would provide the curatorial framework for the exhibition and host museums would be invited to add additional content--such as historical images, art and artifacts, video clips, and quotes from oral histories-that feature their local history and culture. The end result would be a unique exhibition developed in partnership with the Smithsonian that features collections and stories in an exhibition framework that gives national context to a local story.

The MoMS Exhibition Starter Kits would be a digital suite of items and instructions for developing exhibition and include such things as:

*        Digital files for curated text panels with a national scope

*        Sample photographs to supplement local collections

*        Digital audio-visual content relevant to the exhibition theme (hardware would be provided by the host museum)

*        Graphic package of design elements (such as logos, paint colors, build-it-yourself instructions)

*        Sample quotes for printing on vinyl for wall applications

*        Exhibition teacher guides

*        Suggestions for local research, story collection and suggested list of artifacts to include

*        Bibliography for books for adults, young readers, and children

*        Filmograhy, educational resources, and program ideas to complement the exhibition


By using MoMS Exhibition Starter Kits, host museums would have the opportunity to keep the exhibitions up for an extended period of time and plan to host other build-it yourself exhibitions in a rotating basis, in addition, of course, to hosting MoMS traveling exhibitions.

First, we would love to hear your reaction to this idea and how you believe host museums could or would use such a resource.

Secondly, we want to explore with you how state humanities councils could be involved. If it is decided that we move forward with these MoMS Starter Kits,

  1.  Do you want to be involved in promoting these kits within your state?
  2.  Do you see this as an opportunity for accompanying humanities public programs and to reach more communities?
  3.  Do you worry that these exhibits would compete against MoMS traveling exhibitions?
  4.  We anticipate the exhibition fee to license this content for the host museums would be about $500 per venue, plus construction costs. Does this seem reasonable for the size and budgets of typical MoMS venues?
  5.  Should we be thinking about a way for MoMS to develop exhibitions like this for councils to travel statewide? Or, do you like this model that results in non-traveling venue specific exhibitions that require less council support and staff time?

We look forward to hearing your good ideas and counsel as we think this out. Responding on the listserv will allow a good exchange of ideas.  However, if you prefer to reach out to us directly you can certainly respond to me at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> (please cc Selwyn Ramp at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>).

With warm regards,


Carol G. Harsh
Director, Museum on Main Street and Special Projects
Smithsonian Institution, SITES
P.O. Box 37012 MRC 941
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

Deliveries
470 L'Enfant Plaza, SW
Suite 7103
Washington, D.C. 20024

Tel: 202-633-5333
Fax: 202-633-5344
www.museumonmainstreet.org<http://www.museumonmainstreet.org/>