Museum thoughts?

[Adrian Stoness]

apointments and a digital presseance!!!


On Wed, Oct 19, 2016 at 11:15 PM, Ian S. King <isking at uw.edu> wrote:

> On Wed, Oct 19, 2016 at 8:05 PM, <COURYHOUSE at aol.com> wrote:
>
> > Hi Mouse -
> > running a museum project   is  fun but also a lot of   work.
> > here is a little  framework to think about and discuss  Ed# at  SMECC .
> >
> > - SPACE
> > you rent or  buy a building  ($$$$ !)
> > or...
> > place displays in other's premises (can work if  they  protct  your gear)
> >
> >
> > - INSURANCE
> > (property, liability, employee)
> >
> > - UTILITIES
> > ( winter is your enemy, summer is ours in AZ)
> >
> > - SECURE FURANITURE AND FIXTURES
> > (when in doubt, lock it under glass)
> >
> > EMPOLYEES and/or VOLUNTEERS
> >  Great  to  have  so you are not  the only one  chained to the  entry
> desk,
> > employees  cost $$$  volunteers no salary  -            either can  be a
> > blessing or a curse if  you get a bad one
> >
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 10/19/2016 7:41:07 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
> > mouse at Rodents-Montreal.ORG writes:
> >
> > There's  someone local who's seen my assortment of computer hardware
> > twice and has,  each time, told me I should set up a museum.
> >
> > This is tempting, but I  don't know the first thing about doing it.
> > About all I'm sure of is that it  would involve a lot of stuff I
> > currently have no idea of.
> >
> > I know  that there are at least a few people here who've been involved
> > in such  things.  While all the examples that come to mind are in the
> > USA, and  mine would be in Canada, I'm sure there are many respects in
> > which the  issues are jurisdiction-independent - and, who knows, there
> > may be such a  person in Canada that I just can't recall offhand.
> >
> > So, I'm wondering if  there's anyone who'd be willing to share
> > experiences, thoughts, issues,  whatever, on the possibility.
> >
> > I'm not looking to make a lot of money  off this.  If I can turn my
> > computers from money-sink to  money-neutral, I'll be content.  (They are
> > currently soaking up money  in the form of causing me to be renting
> > significantly more storage than I  would be if they were to vanish.)
> >
> > /~\ The ASCII       Mouse
> > \ / Ribbon  Campaign
> > X  Against HTML         mouse at rodents-montreal.org
> > / \ Email!         7D  C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39  4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27  4B
> >
>
> So, having done this with a big purse :-) I will endorse the old saying,
> "The way to make a small fortune in the museum business is to start with a
> large one."  Having met a lot of folks who have done this in some semblance
> or another, here is my advice.
>
> Hours by appointment, so that you aren't a slave to it.  Even if you can
> find volunteers, because you don't want to burn them out, either.
>
> Seek educational/public interest donations, rather than counting on
> donations from attendees.  I have no experience with the visitor-funded
> approach, but I have doubts.
>
> Figure out how to offer a unique experience AND pitch it to local media.
> Buy them beers.
>
> If you can tie into local legislators (I've done this), that's a plus,
> because they know people with money (which is how they get elected).
>
> If you can tell a potential donor's story well, that encourages the
> potential donor.  Here's where you can end up selling your soul.
>
> Some thoughts, YMMV.  Cheers -- Ian
>
> --
> Ian S. King, MSIS, MSCS, Ph.D. Candidate
> The Information School <http://ischool.uw.edu>
> Dissertation: "Why the Conversation Mattered: Constructing a Sociotechnical
> Narrative Through a Design Lens
>
> Archivist, Voices From the Rwanda Tribunal <http://tribunalvoices.org>
> Value Sensitive Design Research Lab <http://vsdesign.org>
>
> University of Washington
>
> There is an old Vulcan saying: "Only Nixon could go to China."
>