Museums Natural History
Massachusetts

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Boston Athenæum
Boston, Massachusetts

Archaeology, Art, Children's, Culture, General, History, Library, Natural History, Science, Specialized

Just as a museum is a place for the muses who inspire art, so an athenæum is a place for Athena, the goddess of wisdom who inspires intellectual pursuits.

Harvard Museum of Natural History
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Anthropology, Archaeology, Culture, History, Library, Natural History, Science, University

With a mission to enhance public understanding and appreciation of the natural world, the Harvard Museum of Natural History presents to the public Harvard’s natural history collections and research of scientists across the University. Its historic displays include the world-famous Blaschka "Glass Flowers"; an extensive collection of minerals and meteorites; fossil, taxidermied, and jarred specimens. New and changing exhibitions highlight current science and address contemporary issues including climate change and new insights in evolutionary biology. The museum offers a wide array of lectures, classes, and programs for learners of all ages from school children to adults. 190,000 annual visitors make the Harvard Museum of Natural History the University's most visited museum.

Martha's Vineyard Historical Society
Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts

Anthropology, Archaeology, Art, Children's, Culture, History, Historic House, Historical Society, Natural History

The Martha'a Vineyard Museum is the Island's largest repository of cultural artifacts, historic photographs, archival records, and genealogical records. We strive to broaden awareness and access to the Island's history and shared memory. Come join us and discover our past and present.

Cape Cod Museum of Natural History
Brewster, Massachusetts

Natural History

The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History integrates the three strands of its organizational identity – as museum of natural history, nature education center, and steward of conservation land.

As a small museum of natural history, we will preserve, exhibit, and interpret our own collections of natural history artifacts and display relevant traveling and loan exhibits. We may also collaborate with local and regional organizations on co-sponsored exhibits.

Marion Natural History Museum
Marion, Massachusetts

Natural History

The Marion Natural History Society defines Natural History in its broadest meaning, so that it includes zoology, botany, mineralogy, geology and all other issues which pertain to these subjects, including the past and present lifestyles of man and his treatment of his environment. The mission of the Marion Natural History Museum is to promote public interest in and public knowledge of natural history in order to increase visitor's awareness in man's relationship within his environment. Our main interest is to act as an educational and informational resource for the surrounding area, specializing in the natural history of our local coastal and offshore areas and to relate issues of concern that pertain to those areas through our archives, displays and outreach programs.

Natick Historical Society
Natick, Massachusetts

Historical Society, Library, Natural History

The Natick Museum is the place to learn about Natick¹s colorful past. Located downstairs in the Bacon Free Library building the Museum features among its collections the Indian Bible of the 17th century missionary, John Eliot, founder of the Natick Indian Community. The Museum collection also includes artifacts of Archaic and Woodland as well as Christian Indian cultures. The Museum tells the story of Natick’s transformation from Praying Indian village to colonial village and from cottage industry to factory floor through tools and furnishings, textiles, maps and photographs. Distinguished Natick citizens are represented through memorabilia from Harriet Beecher Stowe, Horatio Alger Jr. and former U.S. Vice President Henry Wilson.

MUSEUM CONFERENCES

Georgia Association of Museums 2025 Conference

February 5 - 7, 2025

Milledgeville, Georgia

Georgia Association of Museums 2025 Conference

Wednesday, February 5 - Friday, February 7, 2025

Ina Dillard Russell Library Georgia College & State University

Milledgeville, Georgia

Hosted by: Georgia Association of Museums

The Whole Story Is The Meanin

“For the fiction writer himself the whole story is the meaning, because it is an experience, not an abstraction.”― Flannery O'Connor, Mystery and Manners: Occasional Pros

Join us in Milledgeville, Georgia, for the annual Georgia Association of Museums conference as we explore the profound wisdom of Milledgeville author Flannery O'Connor’s words. In a world where narratives intersect and perspectives diverge, this theme invites proposals that delve into the essence of storytelling within museums and cultural institutions. Our work in the museum field requires us to look at stories from as many angles and perspectives as possible so that we might do our best to tell the “whole story.

Through thought-provoking discussions, interactive workshops, and engaging presentations, we will uncover the layers of meaning embedded within every artifact, exhibition, and historical account. Just as O’Connor masterfully crafted narratives that resonate with universal truths, museums hold the power to illuminate the whole story behind many objects, artworks, and cultural phenomena

We will examine how museums can embrace inclusivity, diversity, and authenticity in their storytelling practices. By acknowledging multiple perspectives and amplifying marginalized voices, we can enrich our understanding of the past and present, fostering empathy and connection within our communities.

Small Museum Association 41st Annual Conference 2025

February 17 - 19, 2025

Gaithersburg, Maryland

Small Museum Association 41st Annual Conference 2025

Monday, February 17 - Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center

Gaithersburg, Maryland

Hosted by: Small Museum Association

The annual SMA conference attracts more than 300 museum professionals, board members, and volunteers from a wide variety of small museums. They attend sessions on topics ranging from collections and education to staffing and board issues.

We offer a large Museum Resource Hall and plenty of informal networking opportunities for you to talk with (and get ideas from!) other small museum professionals and volunteers

Theme for 2025: Make It Happen!!!

Is there an exhibit, program, or fundraiser that you've been talking about doing for years? Do you feel stuck because of procrastination, lack of board support, or insufficient funds? It's time to take action

At SMA 2025, small museum professionals will share their tips and tricks of how they made it happen!

2025 California Association of Museums Conference

February 18 - 22, 2025

San Fransico, California

2025 California Association of Museums Conference

Tuesday, February 18 - Saturday, February 22, 2025

San Fransico, California

Hosted by: California Association of Museums

CAM is hard at work planning for the 2025 conference, set to take place from February 18–22, 2025 in San Francisco. We look forward to highlighting best practices and innovative ideas from California's museum community

The California Association of Museums is excited to continue offering in-person programming for 2025. We will not be requiring proof of COVID vaccination/s, but highly encourage vaccination and boosters. For the health and safety of our colleagues, masks are also encouraged (but not required). Capacity and spaces will be thoughtfully considered in the planning of this event.

For more information, please email programs@calmuseums.org.

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

March 15 - 18, 2025

Blacksburg, Virginia

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

Saturday, March 15 - Tuesday, March 18, 2025

The Inn at Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Virginia

Hosted by: Virginia Association of Museums

2025 Conference Theme: Looking Back to the Future For the past several years, many museums have been deeply involved in planning programs and events to observe the 250th birthday of the United States of America. While this is certainly an occasion to celebrate, this anniversary also forces us as a society to reckon with ongoing inequities and challenges within the US that go back to its inception. As museums ask their audiences to look to the past to understand the present and shape a better future, perhaps now is a good moment in time for Virginia’s museum community to take pause and look back at its own history. We are excited to see you in Blacksburg in March 2025 as we take a moment in our hectic schedules to take pause and visit our diverse pasts. Let’s uncover and share our histories to build a more resilient Virginia museum community.

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

September 10 - 13, 2025

Cincinnati, Ohio

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

Wednesday, September 10 - Saturday, September 13, 2025

TBD

Cincinnati, Ohio

Hosted by: American Association for State and Local History

The 2025 AASLH Annual Conference, in partnership with Ohio Local History Alliance, will take place as the history field makes the final preparations to kickoff off the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States.

The 2025 conference theme, inspired by AASLH’s Making History at 250: The Field Guide for Semiquincentennial, is an opportunity to broadly explore one of the guide’s themes, The American Experiment. For many in the American colonies in 1776, independence from Britain represented a “leap into the dark” into an unknown future

We are excited for you to join us in Cincinnati as we encourage discussion about our democracy and civic institutions and how they can help strengthen understanding, inspire action, and reveal ways that all of us can participate in and shape the ongoing American experiment.

For more information, please call 615-320-3203 or email info@aaslh.org.

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