Museum Team goes to American Association of Museums meeting

Five members of the Museum Team traveled to Dallas, TX last week to attend the American Association of Museums 2002 Annual Meeting and Museum Expo. Although the primary reasons for the trip were to attend the many museum workshops and talk to various equipment and material vendors at the conference, the Lord blessed us with unexpected learning opportunities and great fellowship with friends of the ministry!

The AAM conference offered excellent seminars and a huge exhibit hall packed with vendors and organizations that serve the needs of museums. We attended sessions on a wide range of topics from accessibility of exhibitions for special needs visitors, post 9-11 security, and grant writing to designing science programs that really work. Museum professionals from all over the country who excel in their fields of expertise presented most of the sessions. The workshop sessions were very helpful because we were able to learn what works for other museums and how various techniques and approaches might apply to us. The conference got us thinking about even more creative ways to present the Creation message effectively.

At the conference, we heard about some unique museums in the area that we felt were important to visit. We took a quick trip to Austin to visit the John Bullock Texas State History Museum, which uses very effective and up-to-date high tech presentation methods. We also went to the Museum of Women in Dallas. Both of these museums teach history through personal stories and compelling dioramas and exhibits, but they own very few actual collections themselves. We visited other museums in the area to do further museum research, which helps us add to and evaluate the ideas that we may use in designing the Creation Museum.

Whenever possible, we like to meet with local Answers in Genesis supporters when we are in their area. On this trip, we had the pleasure of meeting with 12 supporters on two different occasions. We really enjoyed sharing about how the Lord has blessed this project in spite of difficulties, the progress of the museum planning and ideas we are considering. It was also valuable to receive feedback from them concerning the ministry in general, and the fellowship with believers of like mind is always a joy as well. We were equally encouraged as we shared God’s continuing goodness to us through this amazing project.