Small Museum Association Conference 2025

The arts invite audiences to engage with their subjects in a visceral, emotional way, and when artists use historical and scientific data as inspiration, they can create works that drive home deep truths about the past and inspire further engagement. For example, the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society has collaborated with artists to interpret history through poetry, performance, and forensic facial reconstructions, and the Delaplaine Arts Center developed an invitational exhibition in partnership with area visual artists and historic sites to commemorate the 275th anniversary of the founding of Frederick County, Maryland. Alongside some of the artists of the above partnerships, Elizabeth, Jim and Corey will provide examples of how the emotional understanding gained by providing a platform for shared meaning-making serves as a compliment to traditional interpretation and attracts new audiences and funding sources.

With a small staff of one, collaboration is essential for the Pasto Agricultural Museum to achieve its goals. Located nine miles from Penn State's main campus on one of the College of Agricultural Sciences research farms, the Museum relies on partnerships to create impactful programs. In 2024, we launched a multi-stakeholder initiative, engaging high school students and teachers with content developed by pre-service undergraduate teachers, who will work alongside researchers to bring cutting-edge science to life through hands-on activities and presentations.