Hi! We are
Deb Rose Van Horn, KHS Registrar, and Jennifer Donovan Spence, Churchill
Weavers project assistant, and we just got back from a trip to speak at the
Southeastern Museums Conference’s (SEMC) annual meeting and we’d like to share
some of our adventures with you. The meeting was held in Colonial Williamsburg
this year which made it a fun trip! While a lot of our time was spent in
sessions to bring new information back to KHS we did get to explore the sights
of Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown, too. Here are some photos and stories
from our trip.
Day 1:
Traveling from Louisville to Williamsburg
Jennifer:
Today was a long day! We had an 8:40am flight out of Louisville which meant
that Deb had to leave her house in Lexington around 6am. We spent a lot of time in airports today but
we arrived at the hotel in Colonial Williamsburg by 5:30pm. That gave us enough
time to check in and relax before meeting friends of ours from other museums
for dinner.
We spent the evening catching up with our friends before we had to
start attending sessions and presenting papers the next day. Deb’s daughter
asked her to take one of her stuffed animals (Boots the Monkey) with her and
take some photos of him in different spots on the trip. Since there are not
many photos from today, here is a picture of Boots in the airport!
Day 2:
The Conference Begins!
Deb: The
SEMC annual meeting didn’t actually start until 1pm today so I spent the
morning walking around Colonial Williamsburg with Kyle Bryner, the registrar at
the Museum of Anthropology at Wake Forest University.
While I’d like to say we
kept out of trouble, anyone that knows us will tell you that it is nearly
impossible. Here is a photo of me and Kyle in the stocks at Williamsburg.
We also
visited the print shop, the armory, the coffeehouse, and the capitol. The
coffeehouse tour is fairly new but I’d highly recommend it. Not only do they
interpret the building for the day you visit (they pick a year) but at the end
they will offer you a refreshment. You have your choice of coffee, tea, or
chocolate.

After a fun
morning, we stopped for an early lunch and went back to get ready for the
sessions. I was in two presentations that day. The first was called Just Ask
and was put together by Mike Hudson of the Museum of the American Printing House for the
Blind in Louisville. That had three blind panelists and three museum
professionals and we discussed what a good experience was for a blind
individual in a museum and what a bad experience was. I got a lot of great
ideas from this session and will definitely be sharing the ideas with the KHS
staff when I get back.
The second
session was one I put together called In
the Aftermath of Putting Collections
Online: True Stories of What Happens Next. I presented the KHS Objects
catalog (http://www.history.ky.gov/objects) and spoke about some of the things
we learned about promoting the database, compiling the database, etc.
The other
presenters included: Tommie Rodgers from the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art; Kyle
Elizabeth Bryner from the Museum of Anthropology at Wake Forest University; and
Betty Lyn Parker who is the Kentucky Online Arts Resource database coordinator
for the Speed Art Museum. It was a great session and we had lots of good
questions and feedback about the projects!
Jennifer: At
7:30 am, I met up with members of the Historic House Museum Affinity Group for
their annual SEMC Hands-On Help Project. This year’s project was to paint
doors, windows, and exterior trim on the Matthew Jones House at Fort Eustis. The
weather turned too cold and damp to paint; instead, the archaeologists who
manage the site gave us a detailed tour of the house and grounds. The house is
stabilized and interpreted to show its architectural evolution. The main body
of the Matthew Jones House dates to 1727 and is one of the oldest buildings owned
by the Department of Defense.
I attended
two sessions in the afternoon. The first was titled, Spotlight on Student Research in Museums: Technology. Three students discussed the application of
virtual reality in museum projects. I found graduate student Austin Bell’s talk
fascinating about how the Florida Museum of Natural History used a program
called Google SketchUp to plan collections storage for over 600 artifacts.
The second
session I attended was titled, Conservation
Made Manageable. The session was presented by art conservator Erin Kelly
and textile conservator Kate Rehkopf. My job at KHS is to help preserve a collection
of 20,000 textiles made by Churchill Weavers. It is very important that I am
well informed and up-to-date on best practices in managing museum collections.
I was especially thrilled that Kate was available to answer my many questions
about textile care and preservation.
Deb &
Jennifer: That night, we went to an evening event at Jamestown and visited the
Jamestown settlement galleries and the Archaearium. The two sites tell the
history of the Jamestown Settlement and the archaeology that has occurred at
the site of the original settlement. The Archaearium was built right over the
foundations of one of the original buildings and glass panels let you see the
foundations right through the floor. It was real treat to see the discoveries
made at Jamestown.
Later that
evening, we went to the Southeastern Registrars Association’s (SERA) annual
respite. This year it was held at the Trellis restaurant. Deb currently serves
on the board of SERA. As the vice-chair, this was a great opportunity for her
to meet new and potential members and catch-up with our existing membership. We
both agree it was a great event and the chocolate truffles they make at that
place are well worth the trip!
Coming soon: Day 3!
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