Open Forum

1.       Do you have an advisory board for your museum?  Not really.  We have a Friends group (where memberships are collected and from which the voice of members comes).  The majority of these are alumni, but not all.  In fact some are retired faculty.  We find that retirees have been the best members because they have more time and are looking for ways to connect.  Many of these are also among our trained docent corps, so they really know the museum.

2.       If yes, do you include student/s as members? No.  We tried this and because we are affiliated with a high school, most were too young, although at least one faculty member/club advisor (latin club) focused a great deal on helping the museum with exhibition installations, painting pedestals, etc.  In fact when that faculty member retired, she became a docent and is now President of the Friends.  Those students who were mature enough to act as leaders, we found were also involved in so many other activities and they would just be getting where they could help the museum more than we could help them, when they graduated!

3.       If no, why not?  See above

4.       If yes, how do the student/s participate on the board.  See above

5.       How would you explain how the student voice is captured in your planning of exhibitions and programming?  This is difficult.  In fact we are just about to update a permanent exhibition on alumnus (1927) Edwin H. Land, founder of Polaroid and inventor and we have asked the Physics faculty to challenge the science honors students with explaining polarization of light and devising that component of the exhibition.