For the third year in a row, members of the Kingston Association of Museums, Galleries and Historic Sites were invited to participate in a Round Robin Professional Development day. Once again the event was organized by the Museum of Health Care at Kingston, with the goal of introducing local museum summer staff (all students starting their careers in heritage) to each other, and to the work being done at the different sites.
Museum of Health Care Summer Staff prepared by creating a PowerPoint presentation for visiting Round Robin participants. The goal with our presentation was to inform other students about what we did on a daily basis at the museum, and how we came to work here. We hoped to use the Round Robin to make new acquaintances and develop professional networks that would be mutually beneficial should we come across issues that stump us at work.
The Round Robin began at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, a short walk from our museum. There, Pat Sullivan, the Public Programs Officer for the AEAC, greeted us and gave everyone the opportunity to introduce themselves. The summer staff at the AEAC gave a wonderful presentation that interwove a gallery tour with presentations by the collections staff, and introduced us to some of the programming that happens on site. We learned about quilts, saw a storage box that one collections intern had created, and learned about African masks and block printing art.
The 21 Round Robin participants departed from the AEAC and headed across the Queen’s University campus to the Museum of Health Care. Our Museum’s summer staff was very excited to provide a brief presentation on our accomplishments and upcoming projects. We then split the group into two and while one group did crafts and a gallery tour with the Museum’s Public Programs Assistants, Melissa and Tabitha, the other group did a brief collections tour with the Curatorial Assistant, Erin, and me. There was a lot of excitement surrounding the prosthetics shown to the students, and interest in the work being done by our current Dr. Margaret Angus Research Fellow, Jeff Sobil.
After an informal networking lunch, we began the third round at the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes with a brief gallery tour that encouraged us to return. Being able to explore the Alexander Henry was amazing, and most participants wanted a little longer with the ship.
The last round was held at the Pump House Steam Museum. Pump House summer staff gave us a friendly introduction to their museum, a brief gallery tour and invited everyone to stay for a more in-depth tour of the galleries after their presentation. To wrap up the day, Round Robin participants joined an email network so everyone there could keep in touch.
Tanya Szulga
Collections Intern
Funding for this project has been made possible in part through a contribution from the Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations program, Department of Canadian Heritage.
Le financement pour ce projet a été rendu possible en partie grâce á une contribution de Jeunesse Canada au travail dans les établissements du patrimoine, une initiative du ministère du Patimoine canadien.