Enjoy our workshops from the comfort and safety of your home. Sign up today!
posted Nov 2, 2020 |
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All workshops will be REMOTE ACCESS ONLY until further notice.
You can enjoy the content from the comfort and safety of your home. Connecting is easy! Instructions for remote access will be e-mailed to participants in advance.
These training opportunities help historical organizations and interested history advocates gain skills that can be applied in museums, organizations, and personal collections.
- If you are a personal member of HSM or represent an organization that itself is a member of the Society, registration is $39.
- Registration for nonmembers is $79 and includes a one-year HSM Household Membership.
- Our Doubleheader sessions offer a workshop in the morning and another in the afternoon on related topics. You can sign up for either the morning or the afternoon OR register for the whole day, and double your training experience. HSM members who take both workshops on Doubleheader days receive a special price of $59! Nonmembers, $118.
- Registration closes at noon the day BEFORE the scheduled workshop.
- If you can watch and listen to a video on YouTube or Facebook, you have all the technology you need to join us remotely.*
- Materials are included with your registration. Any handouts from the presenter will be sent to remote attendees after the workshop.
*Instructions on how to remote-in to the workshop will be sent to attendees several days before each workshop.
To register for a workshop, use our secure online registration form or call (800) 692-1828.
Friday,
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Outlasting the Disk: Preserving CDs and DVDswith Sarah Mainville, Michigan State University Library |
Early digitization efforts recommended that scanned items be stored on optical discs; however, CDs and DVDs are a high-risk format for information loss. This workshop discusses why optical media is at risk, how to stabilize and migrate data, and the steps needed to ensure digital files are safe for the future. |
Friday,
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Bringing in the Bucks: Grant Writing 101with Caitlyn Perry Dial, Michigan State University |
“Just write a grant for it!” That’s easy to say, but why do some grants win approval while others are turned down? This workshop will show how small museums and historical organizations can fund collections, planning, and programming projects by writing successful grant applications to local, state, and national funders. |
Friday,
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Morning: 9 a.m. to noonCommunicating the Tale: Writing Your History Articlewith Roger Gilles, Grand Valley State University |
This workshop covers creating an article—from finding the right venue and sending a query letter to submitting the finished article and working with editors. The speaker will also discuss establishing a clear focus and structure, using headings effectively, citing sources smoothly and accurately, and achieving a professional level of style and polish. |
Friday,
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Afternoon: 1 to 4 p.m.Sharing the Tale: Publishing Your History Bookwith Catherine Cocks, Michigan State University Press |
Have you wanted to produce a history book, but don’t know where to begin? In this workshop, the presenter will take you through all the steps of creating a book, including defining the scope, researching and writing, creating financial goals, gathering illustrations, defining the market, printing, and marketing the volume to the public. |
Friday,
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Creating Unique Museum Events and Programswith Erin Schmitz, Lakeshore Museum Center |
Museums rely on imaginative, fun events and programs to get people in the door. What activities will draw an audience but still fit with your mission? How do you make history come alive for the twenty-first-century public? Learn how to think outside the box to create new, innovative programs for your organization. |
Friday,
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Bringing History to Life: Engaging the Public with Living Historywith Claire Herhold, Western Michigan University |
Living history can be a powerful tool for making connections with the past, but using it effectively is about much more than the correct number of buttons on your eighteenth-century waistcoat. In this session, you’ll learn techniques for researching and crafting a living history presentation and using it to connect with your audience. |
Friday,
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Keeping Cemeteries Alive: Preserving and Interpreting Final Resting Placeswith John Ververka, Heritage Interpretation Training Center |
Cemeteries contain an abundance of historical information and are popular venues for public tours. Successful tours, however, require careful planning, and the cemeteries require dedicated maintenance. The speaker will discuss planning and guiding cemetery tours, interpreting gravestone motifs, cemetery preservation and maintenance, and how to build relationships with cemetery governing agencies. |
Friday,
|
Copyright Issues for Historical Collectionswith Todd Fettig, Journalist/Attorney |
As the stewards and keepers of historic images and content, volunteers and staff at small institutions handle a wealth of materials subjected to copyright law. This informative workshop will cover the basics of copyright law, including how your institution might confidently accept, protect, use, post, share, and archive historic content. |
Friday,
|
Word of Mouth: How to Create and Share Oral Historieswith Dean Rehberger and Michael Green, Michigan State University |
Deciding to do oral history is an important step, but other essential choices have to be made, such as choosing to do audio or video or both; selecting the equipment; and how to process, store, and disseminate the digital files. This workshop guides attendees through all the steps of an oral history project. |
Saturday,
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Morning: 9 a.m. to noonFinding the Lost: African-American Genealogywith De Witt Dykes Jr., Oakland University |
People researching their African-American ancestors face unique challenges. Many standard sources, such as census records, omit the names of enslaved African Americans until after emancipation. Even finding free African-American ancestors involves research into dispersed, hard-to-navigate records. This workshop will help guide you on that difficult but rewarding journey. |
Saturday,
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Afternoon: 1 to 4 p.m.Science and Genealogy: DNA Testingwith Ginger Ogilvie, Keep Family History Services |
Direct-to-consumer DNA testing has created many new ways to explore family histories. This workshop explains available testing options, preparing for results, and strategies for using cousin matches to break through genealogical brick walls. We’ll also discuss privacy concerns, third-party tools, and how to achieve a deeper understanding of your genetic and genealogical inheritance. |
Friday,
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Picking Up the Pieces: Working With a Conservatorwith Kenneth B. Katz, Conservation & Museum Services |
Conservators work magic in stabilizing and restoring artwork and artifacts. But how do you work with a conservator? What should you do—or not do? How can you help assess objects? What does conservation treatment entail? What will treatment cost? Learn the ins and outs from a professional conservator. |
Friday,
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Selling History: Operating a Museum Storewith Mary Toshach, Ornamaloo |
This session is an introduction to retail sales for organizations. Attendees will learn better strategies for marketing and sales, including the use of e-commerce and social media. The speaker will also discuss using computers to manage inventory and finances and how to collect, analyze, and improve your numbers to increase profits. |
Friday,
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Open Arms: Diversity and Inclusion in Programming and Exhibitswith Donna Odom, Society for History and Racial Equity |
In this workshop, you will discover the steps to reaching a broad audience; engaging your whole community; and ensuring that your historical collections, programming, and exhibits are culturally sensitive and inclusive. Attendees will also learn how to empower their organizations to be a force for educational and social diversity. |
Friday,
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Guiding History Adventures: Creating and Leading Tourswith Kate Ulrey, Morton House Museum |
Historic house tours, site tours, cemetery tours, historic district tours, tours for children or adults—all are popular but require preparation to succeed. Learn how to create successful tours, from recruiting and training guides to writing scripts, timing the tours, securing permissions from off-site locations, and deciding on fees. |
Friday,
|
Telling the Tale: Writing Your History Bookwith Tobin Buhk, author and historican |
You’ve always wanted to write that history book or article—but where to begin? How do you research the subject, sift the evidence, cite the sources, and fashion it into a compelling narrative? Come to learn the “tricks of the trade” from a successful author of numerous published history books. |
Friday,
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Morning: 9 a.m. to noonRespectful Rehabilitation of Your Historic Housewith David Muylle, Muylle Enterprises |
You can restore and renovate your old house without turning it into a museum. In this workshop, an experienced contractor will teach you how to renovate your own historic home—retaining its timeless beauty and keeping it true to its character—yet make it still livable for the twenty-first century. |
Friday,
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Afternoon: 1 to 4 p.m.If These Walls Could Talk: Researching Your Historic Housewith Robert Myers, Historical Society of Michigan |
Every house or building has a story to tell. In this workshop, you will learn how to uncover house histories, including who built them and when, their architectural styles, and the stories of the families who called them home. After that, you will learn what to do with that information. |
Friday,
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Finding the Stories: Setting up an Oral History Projectwith Donna Odom, Society for History and Racial Equity |
Conducting oral interviews is a major step toward a larger historical project. Those looking to start an oral history program will learn the process of identifying interviewees, developing questionnaires, and conducting interviews. Attendees will also learn how to organize and maintain oral histories for access by future researchers. |
Friday,
|
A Stitch in Time: Identifying and Preserving Quiltswith Marsha MacDowell, Michigan State University Museum |
Do you have quilts in your museum collections or ones that were handed down in your family? These unique folk art items require special care. What patterns did the quilt makers use, and what can they tell us? Learn how to identify and preserve these piecework artifacts in this workshop. |
Saturday,
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Morning: 9 a.m. to noonFinding Your Family: Genealogy 101with Jeff Mason, Genealogist |
Genealogy can be an incredibly engaging experience for those interested in learning more about the histories of the ancestors who have influenced their lives. This workshop introduces the study of family history. Attendees will become familiar with basic concepts of research, including locating sources, identifying categories of sources, and organizing information. |
Saturday,
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Afternoon: 1 to 4 p.m.Climbing Further Up the Family Tree: Genealogy 201with Jeff Mason, Genealogist |
You’ve mastered the basics—now it’s time to climb higher into the family tree’s branches. This workshop will go beyond the research ABCs, giving attendees the tools to find obscure sources of information, locate and identify categories of resources, organize information, and create a systematic approach to researching family histories. |
Friday,
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Using PastPerfect: Figuring Out Your Collections Softwarewith Christy Kincaid, Air Zoo |
You bought PastPerfect—now how do you use it? The PastPerfect collections management software is popular with museums of all sizes, but it can overwhelm users with its complexities. A longtime PastPerfect user will help demystify the database and show how to get the most out of the system. Recommended for PastPerfect 5.0 users. |
Friday,
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Demystifying Museum Registration Methodswith Sarah Humes, Grand Rapids Public Museum |
What numbering system should we use? Where do you write the numbers? How do you apply the numbers, and with what? What is Chenhall’s Nomenclature? If these questions sound familiar, this workshop is for you. An experienced registrar will demystify museum registration methods and help you catalog collections the right way. |
Friday,
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Picture This: Digitizing Photographswith Ken Hafeli, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library |
Join us to learn about scanners, digitizing photographs to TIFF and JPEG formats, and editing using software such as Adobe Photoshop. The presenter will also discuss scanning documents and PDFs using Optical Character Recognition, which allows any part of the scanned page to be copied and become editable text. |
Friday,
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Preparing for the Worst: Disaster Planningwith Robert Myers, Historical Society of Michigan |
Are you prepared for a disaster in your historic house, museum, or society building? Come to learn how to prepare for disasters that affect historical organizations. The speaker will share preparation techniques you might never have thought of—one of which might save your building or collections in the future! |
Refunds will not be issued for cancellations less than one week before each workshop. Your registration fee can be transferred to another workshop in the series within one year of the date of your original workshop registration.
