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    21st Century Ideas: The Museum Collaborative

    coordinate efforts among museum and heritage superstructs

    Started by: suzanne Raves:8

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    We have lots of great ideas about the challenges facing museums in 2019. How can we leverage our group intelligence, energy and networks to work together? In the spirit of PlatonicJensen, how can we facilitate higher-level collaborations among museums and museum superstructs?

    Museums are an incredible source of information and expertise. I used to work at the Smithsonian and was in awe of the \\\"mold\\\" guy and highly appreciated the ornithologists, the fishes curators, the mammals curators, and their scientific insight and curiosity. Museums have great information databases that enable us to understand the planetary resources. How can we mash up knowledge about dead birds to support the surival of living migratory birds? Could you provide me with information about resources to better understand the potential effects of avian flu?

    They could be used as examples from history that had slightly similar problems. A lot of these troubles originated in the twentieth century and all. The really intriguing thought is that, if the industrial age couldn\\\'t think of the global warming that occurred from it, what occurred after it that led to the situation where we are now?

    Some Native American traditional stories go back to the last ice age. These are stories about change, survival, and resiliance. Perhaps we may not all survive this time, how do we encode our values, knowledge, and lessons for future generations? What information is most meaningful for the future of humanity? How can museums assist in the survival of critical information?

    We can also use museums to teach people important survival skills such as farming and animal husbandry, creating non-electrical tools, and clothing production. Inevitably with the lack of electricity (rolling blackouts and rationing) new skill sets will be needed and museum educators can help.

    The museum community has been very successful in traditional venues for collaboration (meetings, committees, etc.) These become more problematic as travel becomes prohibitive (due to the cost of fuel and prevalence of ReDS). We have to move our discussions more completely into the virtual realm, and form local consortia that can meet face to face without excessive travel. Within the superstructs, we should form a mutual collaboration pact to reinforce our missions and share content and expertise. Do we need a meta-superstruct encompassing these causes?

    Perhaps Museums could be used as broader educational venues. E.g. teaching/workshoping survival techniques from the past and how they can be applied to the present or just as a venue to teach high school subjects to teenagers who have been displaced.

    At Flag Mountain we've used the Museum of Northern Arizona a a source of both information and experts. Their focus in the Colorado plateau, and thus have great ecology and biology collections. They also have connections to native communities that have helped us dissiminate the knowledge of textile production, traditional agriculture, and natural medicine. The facility has also served an invaluable function in community building.

    Museums can also be a way of preserving past stories of hope - Like Stalingrad, the American Revolution, and the like. People faced with monumental problems but worked together to push through adversity. These stories and artifacts can inspire the next generation.




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