Class of 2000 Master's Projects
Rachel Orlins Bergman
Venture Philanthropy and its Implications for Art Museums in the United States This research project is an effort to understand what venture philanthropy-a high-engagement foundation grantmaking model loosely based on venture capital practices-is, who is doing it, why, how, and if it may be useful for art museums. Seeking answers to these questions, I queried venture philanthropy foundation officers and surveyed art museum development professionals nationwide to gauge their interest in establishing venture philanthropy/art museum grant relationships. Venture philanthropy's shift to focus on infrastructure capacity-building projects may be an opportunity for the needs of museums and the emphases of foundations to converge and strengthen one another. Venture philanthropy may help museum professionals bolster their institutional finances and alleviate resource dependency so that museum leadership can select holistic and healthy opportunities to gain contributed income. Toward furthering that goal, this report outlines potential projects, practices, and possible obstacles to mutually beneficial working relationships between art museums and venture philanthropists. This project does not delve into the intricacies of applying a for-profit model to the nonprofit sector or widely survey stakeholders other than development staff in art museums and venture philanthropy foundation officers. It does not propose venture philanthropy will be a good funding match for all museums. Nor does it assume that all foundations will or should use venture philanthropy giving methods, or that they will be interested in working with museums. Rather, it seeks to discern the opportunities venture philanthropy may provide for art museums. Lara Bjork
Wildlife Dioramas and Natural History Museums: In Theory and Practice This master's project explores the current state and future prospects of wildlife dioramas through a review of wide-ranging perspectives. Drawing on critical analyses (from academic anthropologists and historians), popular accounts (taken from newspapers and general interest magazines), and the writings of museum professionals (including scientists who report their own reactions to dioramas and visitor studies researchers who document the reactions of thousands of visitors to these exhibits), this study assesses theoretical and practical commentaries on wildlife dioramas. With the recognition that both viewpoints-academic and operational-come to play when planning any modification of wildlife dioramas, the product of this project is a reader targeted towards exhibit teams that are renovating or reinterpreting this type of exhibit. The reader includes suggestions for team processes, annotated articles about dioramas, and discussion questions that are designed to give an exhibit team a way to bridge the gaps between reading about dioramas and working to improve the dioramas in their museums. A reader was chosen as the product for this project because the literature review indicated that: the range of literature about dioramas was wide, with theoretical pieces being difficult to understand and visitor studies difficult to obtain; despite their differences in focus, academics and museum professionals have much to offer each other when dioramas are being considered; and the potential of dioramas to communicate to visitors, when their interpretation is given thoughtful consideration, is strong. Jeremy Clark
Devotional Heritage: The Practices and Collections of Regional Jewish and Christian Historical Societies in the United States Religious historical societies-organizations that preserve, celebrate and disseminate information, traditions, objects and/or sites regarding localized religious histories-have unique challenges to overcome, including negligent collections management practices and an exclusionary focus on core communities. Such issues threaten important artifacts and prohibit faith-based museums from securing both local (i.e., voluntary staff) and professional (i.e., strategic and financial) support. This project seeks to raise the profile of the important work conducted by regional Jewish and Christian historical societies in the United States and mitigate their isolation by encouraging discussion among museum professionals about their purposes and practices. Examination of five case study institutions (the Peninsula Jewish Historical Society, Newport News, Virginia; the St. Alphonsus Art and Cultural Center, New Orleans, Louisiana; the Arthur J. Moore Methodist Museum and Library, Epworth-By-The-Sea, Georgia; St. George's First United Methodist Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the Virginia Baptist Historical Society of Richmond) spotlights five factors that critically affect these types of organizations. Subsequent recommendations aim to better the practices and professional situations of faith-based museums. Hallie Gilbert
Immersive Exhibitions and the American Natural History and Science Museum Experience This master's project focuses on immersive exhibitions, investigating how and why these exhibitions are being developed in increasing numbers in American natural history and science museums. Based on historical investigations, museum surveys, and interviews with professionals, this investigation examines what constitutes an immersive exhibition, and determines which museums are employing this method and why. Three in-depth case studies explore some of the specific benefits and challenges involved with designing these exhibitions, to give professionals a better general understanding of how and why they might employ this exhibit technique. Recommendations are then presented as to how exhibition teams may better assess when to use the immersive mode. Finally, as there has been very little fieldwide discussion or consensus about what constitutes immersive exhibitions and the motivations and assumptions underlying/driving them, this project culminates in a proposed session on immersive exhibitions for the 2001 Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) conference and an article prepared for Exhibitionist. This project does not explore the actual process of constructing immersive exhibitions, or if they, in fact, further the educational mission of the museum. Nor does it conduct visitor studies to evaluate particular immersive exhibitions. Meredith M. Kleinschmidt
After the Activism, What Comes Next? Examining the Development of Culturally Specific Museums Since the 1960s This master's project presents the findings of a study of culturally specific museums in the Western United States. The study investigated the history and development of these museums, as well as their current practices, trends, and guiding philosophies, gleaned through literature reviews, interviews, and case studies. It found that many culturally specific museums begun in the 1960s during the heights of social activism have grown more professionalized and more inclined to experience tension between maintaining their local grass-roots, activist heritage and their desire to perform as more mainstream, even world-class museums. A concurrent trend indicates that many culturally specific museums are positioning themselves as tourist destinations, moving to downtown areas near other mainstream museums and cultural areas. Moreover, many culturally specific museums, which were originally more focused on visitors from a specific ethnic or cultural group, are changing their mission statements to include new audiences from outside the primary cultural or ethnic group. John C. Lamberson
Preserving Sporting Traditions: A Business Plan for the Creation of A Bay Area Museum of Sport The San Francisco Bay Area has a long and rich tradition of sport. Modern sport supplies a set of common historical and cultural reference points, and has been a significant contributor to the development of a regional identity for the Bay Area. However, no museum in Northern California is devoted to sport. A sport-specific museum would create a central archive for a part of Bay Area history currently in danger of being lost. At the same time, a Bay Area museum of sport offers multiple opportunities to interpret history, culture, art, and science through the thematic use of sports. Through research of the historical implications of sport in American culture, evaluating contemporary sports museums in the United States, interviewing museum and fund-raising professionals, and the use of Bay Area demographic data, this project develops the concept of a local museum dedicated to sport. The product of the research is a detailed business plan for the establishment of the Bay Area Museum of Sport-a museum that will have a strong and positive impact across the many generational, cultural and gender lines in the San Francisco Bay Area. Allyson Lazar
Repatriating More Than You May Know: The Problem of Native American Objects and Past Museum Practices Between the mid-nineteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries, it was a common practice among museums and private collectors to treat ethnographic objects made of organic materials with pesticides. The result of those treatments was that today many Native American cultural items may have poisonous residues on them. These poisoned objects pose a health threat to museum collection professionals. In 1990 the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was brought into law, mandating the repatriation of cultural items to Native American tribes. Since that time, pesticide-treated Native American cultural items repatriated under NAGPRA have also posed a health threat to unsuspecting tribes. At the heart of the problem of repatriating pesticide-treated Native American cultural items is the distinction between museum care and traditional care. Treating objects with pesticides was one form of museum care, which dictates that objects be treated and cared for in such a way so as to preserve them for posterity. The presence of pesticidal residues on these objects may preclude some kinds of traditional care once they are repatriated. Objects treated with pesticides are unsafe to wear, hold with bare hands, or bury as traditional care may mandate. A growing number of museum professionals and tribal members are aware of the potential dangers of handling pesticide-treated objects, but there are still many questions to be answered:
Bringing the Outsiders In: Responsible Collecting, Preserving, and Exhibiting of Folk Art Environments in Museums This master's project focuses on the preservation history of folk art environments in the United States and the potential role of the museum in this process. Folk art environments are the creations of individuals whose endeavors to decorate, embellish, sculpt and construct their homes, woods or secret spaces transform them into unique artistic expressions. The purpose of this project is to advocate for the preservation of folk art environments and to determine what appropriate roles can museums play. In order to accomplish this I researched both successful and unsuccessful preservation efforts over the past fifty years. Additionally, I conducted site visits to folk art environments, preservation organizations and museums. Interviews with individuals active in the preservation of these sites and museum professionals helped determine the most critical issues facing institutional involvement. This research will aid in the development of guidelines and recommendations for museums' participation in preserving, collecting and presenting the unique work of folk art environments. Courtney Spousta
Culture, Cocktails, Meeting, Mingling: The Phenomenon of Art After Hours Programming Currently, the art museum field is witnessing a rise in public programming developed especially for a non-family, adult audience, one which accompanies new features of the museum experience: dining, shopping, relaxing, seeing and being seen. What programming reflects and responds to these new developments? The emergence of innovative program concepts targeted specifically to young and single adults, ages 25 to 35, Art After Hours is transforming the museum into a venue for meeting and mingling, where the essence of the place and its inherent rituals are the impetus. This study explores and analyzes how this specific type of programming is redefining visitor expectations. By conducting a national survey of 100 art museums, ten interviews, one case study and several site visits, I examined the multiple reasons art museums organize these events and why people attend. As the art after hours phenomenon attests, the museum can be an innovative and hip destination. By mounting a festive and flirtatious social event in the context of a culturally refined and elite institution, the art museum's image is evolving. As this study substantiates, although art after hours programs are not church socials or bar cocktail hours, their commonalities to both are proving to be a successful program paradigm for the twenty-first century. Marcelene Trujillo
Managing Tour Development in U.S. Art Museums Today, traveling art exhibitions are experiencing unprecedented success. The 1999 blockbuster Van Gogh's van Gogh's alone attracted 480,000 visitors at the National Gallery and 820,000 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. As a result of this increased potential for revenue, museums are devoting an increasing amount of their resources to organizing traveling exhibitions. Consequently, the proper management of these resources is a key issue in the museum field. Managing Tour Development in U.S. Art Museums identifies the challenges art museums face when developing traveling exhibitions. Interviews with twenty-four exhibition managers nationwide were conducted in order to evaluate how successfully art museums plan tours, project expenses, and set guidelines for tour development. Among the issues affecting the success of traveling exhibitions are time constraints, financial negotiations, keeping staff to a schedule and getting venues to commit to a tour. Based on my assessment of the strategies currently used by exhibition managers throughout the U.S., I offer recommendations on how these museum professionals can improve the tour development process at their institution. My recommendations include a specific timeline of the tour development process itself which can serve as the foundation for more efficient management of traveling exhibitions. My research, including the timeline, are reformulated into an article for publication in a museum studies journal. Bethany Watkins Sugawara
Setting the Scene: The Use of Props in United States Historic House Museums They are not reproductions. They are not period-appropriate antiques. They certainly are not original objects. They are props. And they are on display in nearly half of the historic house museums in the United States. Props are simulated, often disposable items used in period room displays in historic house museums. Many props are created for purposes other than museum display and purchased new by museum staff. Why do museum professionals use these non-authentic items in room displays, and what do professionals who choose not to use them think about the practice? Does the use of props undermine the museum's claim to provide an authentic experience for visitors? What types of props are most commonly used in historic house museums? How can museums use and interpret props responsibly? This master's project explores this practice in detail. In particular, it investigates the rationales for-and prejudices against-props by surveying educators and curators in over 200 historic house museums across the United States. From those survey findings, conclusions and recommendations are drawn that outline techniques for utilizing props responsibly as part of an overall interpretation strategy. The development of historic house museums in the United States is also explored, along with the complex and evolving place of authenticity and simulation in American culture. Nina Zagaris
Fundraising and Friend-Raising in Cyberspace: How Community Museums Can Enhance Their Fundraising Programs This master's project examines the phenomenon of fundraising on the Internet and how community museums in the U.S. can effectively utilize this tool in their overall fundraising efforts. Focusing on community museums in California, it identifies the ways these museums are currently raising contributions online, through web site membership and donation pages, online corporate donor programs, and non-monetary contributions such as volunteer recruitment. Examples of successful online fundraising by nonprofit organizations are also examined. Finally, this project develops ideas that can be used by community museums to enhance the membership and fundraising content of their web sites. At the heart of this project is an assessment of 54 community museums for the fundraising content of their web sites; a series of five interviews with museum fundraising professionals; a review of current literature on Internet-based fundraising (including online membership programs); and a product in the form of a professional museum journal article. The study found that 74 percent of the sampled museums have web sites with some kind of membership and donation information, and that these online fundraising programs were found on interactive web sites that utilize hypertext link and email communications to museum staff. Several ways to join or donate were looked at, including print and mail online membership forms, online information submission forms, and secure credit card transaction forms. This latter method was found in only 9 percent of the study sample. The study also looked at online donor recognition, corporate donation programs, volunteer recruitment, and the presence of museum mission on the web site. Elida Zelaya
Agents Provocateurs: Interpretive Floor Staff in Museums with Interactive Exhibits In this project, I examine the experiences of interpretive floor staffs and their roles in creating a learning environment in three San Francisco Bay Area museums with interactive exhibits. As agents of museums, this staff works with visitors daily, explaining exhibits and facilitating, if not provoking, the visitor's museum experience. One resource that museums possess to build a learning environment, but often undervalue, is the interpretive floor staff. A brief history of the development of museums as educational organizations and the traditional role of floor staff is followed by an overview of my case study museums-the Children's Discovery Museum, San Jose, the Exploratorium, San Francisco, and the Lindsay Wildlife Museum, Walnut Creek. The Background illustrates the need for interpretive staff (even among interactive exhibits) by linking learning and developmental theories with the responsibilities of floor staff. The Findings report the experiences of these staffs; the Conclusions and Recommendations analyze these experiences and suggest how museums can capitalize on the perspectives and services of this staff to maximize learning experiences for visitors. The product is a session proposal for the American Association of Museums Conference in St. Louis, Missouri in May 2001, the theme of which is The Spirit of Community. The audience will be educators and others involved in education/exhibition development from medium to large-sized institutions.
Venture Philanthropy and its Implications for Art Museums in the United States This research project is an effort to understand what venture philanthropy-a high-engagement foundation grantmaking model loosely based on venture capital practices-is, who is doing it, why, how, and if it may be useful for art museums. Seeking answers to these questions, I queried venture philanthropy foundation officers and surveyed art museum development professionals nationwide to gauge their interest in establishing venture philanthropy/art museum grant relationships. Venture philanthropy's shift to focus on infrastructure capacity-building projects may be an opportunity for the needs of museums and the emphases of foundations to converge and strengthen one another. Venture philanthropy may help museum professionals bolster their institutional finances and alleviate resource dependency so that museum leadership can select holistic and healthy opportunities to gain contributed income. Toward furthering that goal, this report outlines potential projects, practices, and possible obstacles to mutually beneficial working relationships between art museums and venture philanthropists. This project does not delve into the intricacies of applying a for-profit model to the nonprofit sector or widely survey stakeholders other than development staff in art museums and venture philanthropy foundation officers. It does not propose venture philanthropy will be a good funding match for all museums. Nor does it assume that all foundations will or should use venture philanthropy giving methods, or that they will be interested in working with museums. Rather, it seeks to discern the opportunities venture philanthropy may provide for art museums. Lara Bjork
Wildlife Dioramas and Natural History Museums: In Theory and Practice This master's project explores the current state and future prospects of wildlife dioramas through a review of wide-ranging perspectives. Drawing on critical analyses (from academic anthropologists and historians), popular accounts (taken from newspapers and general interest magazines), and the writings of museum professionals (including scientists who report their own reactions to dioramas and visitor studies researchers who document the reactions of thousands of visitors to these exhibits), this study assesses theoretical and practical commentaries on wildlife dioramas. With the recognition that both viewpoints-academic and operational-come to play when planning any modification of wildlife dioramas, the product of this project is a reader targeted towards exhibit teams that are renovating or reinterpreting this type of exhibit. The reader includes suggestions for team processes, annotated articles about dioramas, and discussion questions that are designed to give an exhibit team a way to bridge the gaps between reading about dioramas and working to improve the dioramas in their museums. A reader was chosen as the product for this project because the literature review indicated that: the range of literature about dioramas was wide, with theoretical pieces being difficult to understand and visitor studies difficult to obtain; despite their differences in focus, academics and museum professionals have much to offer each other when dioramas are being considered; and the potential of dioramas to communicate to visitors, when their interpretation is given thoughtful consideration, is strong. Jeremy Clark
Devotional Heritage: The Practices and Collections of Regional Jewish and Christian Historical Societies in the United States Religious historical societies-organizations that preserve, celebrate and disseminate information, traditions, objects and/or sites regarding localized religious histories-have unique challenges to overcome, including negligent collections management practices and an exclusionary focus on core communities. Such issues threaten important artifacts and prohibit faith-based museums from securing both local (i.e., voluntary staff) and professional (i.e., strategic and financial) support. This project seeks to raise the profile of the important work conducted by regional Jewish and Christian historical societies in the United States and mitigate their isolation by encouraging discussion among museum professionals about their purposes and practices. Examination of five case study institutions (the Peninsula Jewish Historical Society, Newport News, Virginia; the St. Alphonsus Art and Cultural Center, New Orleans, Louisiana; the Arthur J. Moore Methodist Museum and Library, Epworth-By-The-Sea, Georgia; St. George's First United Methodist Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the Virginia Baptist Historical Society of Richmond) spotlights five factors that critically affect these types of organizations. Subsequent recommendations aim to better the practices and professional situations of faith-based museums. Hallie Gilbert
Immersive Exhibitions and the American Natural History and Science Museum Experience This master's project focuses on immersive exhibitions, investigating how and why these exhibitions are being developed in increasing numbers in American natural history and science museums. Based on historical investigations, museum surveys, and interviews with professionals, this investigation examines what constitutes an immersive exhibition, and determines which museums are employing this method and why. Three in-depth case studies explore some of the specific benefits and challenges involved with designing these exhibitions, to give professionals a better general understanding of how and why they might employ this exhibit technique. Recommendations are then presented as to how exhibition teams may better assess when to use the immersive mode. Finally, as there has been very little fieldwide discussion or consensus about what constitutes immersive exhibitions and the motivations and assumptions underlying/driving them, this project culminates in a proposed session on immersive exhibitions for the 2001 Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) conference and an article prepared for Exhibitionist. This project does not explore the actual process of constructing immersive exhibitions, or if they, in fact, further the educational mission of the museum. Nor does it conduct visitor studies to evaluate particular immersive exhibitions. Meredith M. Kleinschmidt
After the Activism, What Comes Next? Examining the Development of Culturally Specific Museums Since the 1960s This master's project presents the findings of a study of culturally specific museums in the Western United States. The study investigated the history and development of these museums, as well as their current practices, trends, and guiding philosophies, gleaned through literature reviews, interviews, and case studies. It found that many culturally specific museums begun in the 1960s during the heights of social activism have grown more professionalized and more inclined to experience tension between maintaining their local grass-roots, activist heritage and their desire to perform as more mainstream, even world-class museums. A concurrent trend indicates that many culturally specific museums are positioning themselves as tourist destinations, moving to downtown areas near other mainstream museums and cultural areas. Moreover, many culturally specific museums, which were originally more focused on visitors from a specific ethnic or cultural group, are changing their mission statements to include new audiences from outside the primary cultural or ethnic group. John C. Lamberson
Preserving Sporting Traditions: A Business Plan for the Creation of A Bay Area Museum of Sport The San Francisco Bay Area has a long and rich tradition of sport. Modern sport supplies a set of common historical and cultural reference points, and has been a significant contributor to the development of a regional identity for the Bay Area. However, no museum in Northern California is devoted to sport. A sport-specific museum would create a central archive for a part of Bay Area history currently in danger of being lost. At the same time, a Bay Area museum of sport offers multiple opportunities to interpret history, culture, art, and science through the thematic use of sports. Through research of the historical implications of sport in American culture, evaluating contemporary sports museums in the United States, interviewing museum and fund-raising professionals, and the use of Bay Area demographic data, this project develops the concept of a local museum dedicated to sport. The product of the research is a detailed business plan for the establishment of the Bay Area Museum of Sport-a museum that will have a strong and positive impact across the many generational, cultural and gender lines in the San Francisco Bay Area. Allyson Lazar
Repatriating More Than You May Know: The Problem of Native American Objects and Past Museum Practices Between the mid-nineteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries, it was a common practice among museums and private collectors to treat ethnographic objects made of organic materials with pesticides. The result of those treatments was that today many Native American cultural items may have poisonous residues on them. These poisoned objects pose a health threat to museum collection professionals. In 1990 the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was brought into law, mandating the repatriation of cultural items to Native American tribes. Since that time, pesticide-treated Native American cultural items repatriated under NAGPRA have also posed a health threat to unsuspecting tribes. At the heart of the problem of repatriating pesticide-treated Native American cultural items is the distinction between museum care and traditional care. Treating objects with pesticides was one form of museum care, which dictates that objects be treated and cared for in such a way so as to preserve them for posterity. The presence of pesticidal residues on these objects may preclude some kinds of traditional care once they are repatriated. Objects treated with pesticides are unsafe to wear, hold with bare hands, or bury as traditional care may mandate. A growing number of museum professionals and tribal members are aware of the potential dangers of handling pesticide-treated objects, but there are still many questions to be answered:
-
--What kinds of agents were used on organic objects?
--Which objects are most likely to be at risk?
--Which pesticides are most commonly found on museum collections?
--Are the objects safe to handle?
Bringing the Outsiders In: Responsible Collecting, Preserving, and Exhibiting of Folk Art Environments in Museums This master's project focuses on the preservation history of folk art environments in the United States and the potential role of the museum in this process. Folk art environments are the creations of individuals whose endeavors to decorate, embellish, sculpt and construct their homes, woods or secret spaces transform them into unique artistic expressions. The purpose of this project is to advocate for the preservation of folk art environments and to determine what appropriate roles can museums play. In order to accomplish this I researched both successful and unsuccessful preservation efforts over the past fifty years. Additionally, I conducted site visits to folk art environments, preservation organizations and museums. Interviews with individuals active in the preservation of these sites and museum professionals helped determine the most critical issues facing institutional involvement. This research will aid in the development of guidelines and recommendations for museums' participation in preserving, collecting and presenting the unique work of folk art environments. Courtney Spousta
Culture, Cocktails, Meeting, Mingling: The Phenomenon of Art After Hours Programming Currently, the art museum field is witnessing a rise in public programming developed especially for a non-family, adult audience, one which accompanies new features of the museum experience: dining, shopping, relaxing, seeing and being seen. What programming reflects and responds to these new developments? The emergence of innovative program concepts targeted specifically to young and single adults, ages 25 to 35, Art After Hours is transforming the museum into a venue for meeting and mingling, where the essence of the place and its inherent rituals are the impetus. This study explores and analyzes how this specific type of programming is redefining visitor expectations. By conducting a national survey of 100 art museums, ten interviews, one case study and several site visits, I examined the multiple reasons art museums organize these events and why people attend. As the art after hours phenomenon attests, the museum can be an innovative and hip destination. By mounting a festive and flirtatious social event in the context of a culturally refined and elite institution, the art museum's image is evolving. As this study substantiates, although art after hours programs are not church socials or bar cocktail hours, their commonalities to both are proving to be a successful program paradigm for the twenty-first century. Marcelene Trujillo
Managing Tour Development in U.S. Art Museums Today, traveling art exhibitions are experiencing unprecedented success. The 1999 blockbuster Van Gogh's van Gogh's alone attracted 480,000 visitors at the National Gallery and 820,000 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. As a result of this increased potential for revenue, museums are devoting an increasing amount of their resources to organizing traveling exhibitions. Consequently, the proper management of these resources is a key issue in the museum field. Managing Tour Development in U.S. Art Museums identifies the challenges art museums face when developing traveling exhibitions. Interviews with twenty-four exhibition managers nationwide were conducted in order to evaluate how successfully art museums plan tours, project expenses, and set guidelines for tour development. Among the issues affecting the success of traveling exhibitions are time constraints, financial negotiations, keeping staff to a schedule and getting venues to commit to a tour. Based on my assessment of the strategies currently used by exhibition managers throughout the U.S., I offer recommendations on how these museum professionals can improve the tour development process at their institution. My recommendations include a specific timeline of the tour development process itself which can serve as the foundation for more efficient management of traveling exhibitions. My research, including the timeline, are reformulated into an article for publication in a museum studies journal. Bethany Watkins Sugawara
Setting the Scene: The Use of Props in United States Historic House Museums They are not reproductions. They are not period-appropriate antiques. They certainly are not original objects. They are props. And they are on display in nearly half of the historic house museums in the United States. Props are simulated, often disposable items used in period room displays in historic house museums. Many props are created for purposes other than museum display and purchased new by museum staff. Why do museum professionals use these non-authentic items in room displays, and what do professionals who choose not to use them think about the practice? Does the use of props undermine the museum's claim to provide an authentic experience for visitors? What types of props are most commonly used in historic house museums? How can museums use and interpret props responsibly? This master's project explores this practice in detail. In particular, it investigates the rationales for-and prejudices against-props by surveying educators and curators in over 200 historic house museums across the United States. From those survey findings, conclusions and recommendations are drawn that outline techniques for utilizing props responsibly as part of an overall interpretation strategy. The development of historic house museums in the United States is also explored, along with the complex and evolving place of authenticity and simulation in American culture. Nina Zagaris
Fundraising and Friend-Raising in Cyberspace: How Community Museums Can Enhance Their Fundraising Programs This master's project examines the phenomenon of fundraising on the Internet and how community museums in the U.S. can effectively utilize this tool in their overall fundraising efforts. Focusing on community museums in California, it identifies the ways these museums are currently raising contributions online, through web site membership and donation pages, online corporate donor programs, and non-monetary contributions such as volunteer recruitment. Examples of successful online fundraising by nonprofit organizations are also examined. Finally, this project develops ideas that can be used by community museums to enhance the membership and fundraising content of their web sites. At the heart of this project is an assessment of 54 community museums for the fundraising content of their web sites; a series of five interviews with museum fundraising professionals; a review of current literature on Internet-based fundraising (including online membership programs); and a product in the form of a professional museum journal article. The study found that 74 percent of the sampled museums have web sites with some kind of membership and donation information, and that these online fundraising programs were found on interactive web sites that utilize hypertext link and email communications to museum staff. Several ways to join or donate were looked at, including print and mail online membership forms, online information submission forms, and secure credit card transaction forms. This latter method was found in only 9 percent of the study sample. The study also looked at online donor recognition, corporate donation programs, volunteer recruitment, and the presence of museum mission on the web site. Elida Zelaya
Agents Provocateurs: Interpretive Floor Staff in Museums with Interactive Exhibits In this project, I examine the experiences of interpretive floor staffs and their roles in creating a learning environment in three San Francisco Bay Area museums with interactive exhibits. As agents of museums, this staff works with visitors daily, explaining exhibits and facilitating, if not provoking, the visitor's museum experience. One resource that museums possess to build a learning environment, but often undervalue, is the interpretive floor staff. A brief history of the development of museums as educational organizations and the traditional role of floor staff is followed by an overview of my case study museums-the Children's Discovery Museum, San Jose, the Exploratorium, San Francisco, and the Lindsay Wildlife Museum, Walnut Creek. The Background illustrates the need for interpretive staff (even among interactive exhibits) by linking learning and developmental theories with the responsibilities of floor staff. The Findings report the experiences of these staffs; the Conclusions and Recommendations analyze these experiences and suggest how museums can capitalize on the perspectives and services of this staff to maximize learning experiences for visitors. The product is a session proposal for the American Association of Museums Conference in St. Louis, Missouri in May 2001, the theme of which is The Spirit of Community. The audience will be educators and others involved in education/exhibition development from medium to large-sized institutions.