ADVOCACY

The House is expected to be present in the Capitol Rotunda for Governor Shapiro's budget address on February 6. We will provide analysis on the Executive Budget in our next newsletter on February 7.

PA Museums is planning to advocate for more museum funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania this year. Recognizing we have many voices and many new faces in the field, we think it's worth a quick look back although we are hoping most of our work will be looking to the future. After a brief period of museums' losing funding altogether, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's (PHMC) Cultural and Historical Support grants program was established in 2012 at $2 million annually where it remains today. In 2012 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania presented a report of museum funding in Pennsylvania, and we encourage our members to have a look at it again since it illustrates what levels of funding were once available.

The American Alliance of Museums is organizing its Museum Advocacy Days in Washington, DC. This advocacy training opportunity followed by a day of "on the job training" with visits to lawmakers' offices will take place February 26-27, 2024. Please click here to learn more. PA Museums is a proud supporter of this event.

PA MUSEUMS IN THE NEWS

The Citizen's Voice had the scoop on a new Executive Director for the Luzerne County Historical Society.

The Philly Voice tried to answer the question, "Why do so many museums have locks of George Washington's hair?"

KDKA in Pittsburgh reported that the Senator John Heinz History Center is in the running for USA Today's best history museum in the U.S., and the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh is vying for the top spot as the best children's museum.

The Potter Leader-Enterprise teased this weekend's Winter in a Lumber Camp event at the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum.

The Valley Ledger covered exhibits at Bethlehem's Historic Sites and Museums and the National Museum of Industrial History.

North Penn Now shared the news that the James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown is welcoming a next Executive Director.

NextPittsburgh went behind the scenes at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum.

RECOMMENDED READING

Hoping to be in Baltimore for your first AAM Annual Meeting in May? There are some scholarship opportunities for first time attendees.

Science News: Billions of cicadas coming this year in some parts of the U.S. (not here).

Article: How Indigenous people are pushing museums to rethink Native collections

MEMBERSHIP

Don't forget to save the dates, April 14-16, 2024 for our statewide museum conference. We will hold most of the conference activities at the State Museum in Harrisburg. We are actively seeking advertisers and supporters for the conference. We will be welcoming exhibitors this year as well.

PA Museums has secured a block of hotel rooms for our conference at the Crowne Plaza in Harrisburg. Lodging will be on your own, and you can buy into this room block by March 27 if you are planning to attend our conference. We are working on the schedule and hope to open registration next month.

If you’ve ever had questions about caring for records, please consider joining archivists from the Pennsylvania State Archives for an Archives Without Tears (AWOT) live question and answer session via Zoom on Wednesday, February 7, at 10:00 a.m. The event is free but requires registration. You can register here. It may be helpful (but is not required) to first check out the brief AWOT Key Concepts videos that are freely available on PHMC's YouTube channel.

The PHMC announced that applications are being accepted for Scholars in Residence with the support of the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation and the Pennsylvania Historical Association. Applications are due February 15, 2024.

Eckley Miner's Village is looking for a Museum Educator. We updated our jobs page last week. If your organization has a job to post with PA Museums, please review our guidelines and contact us. You can also complete and submit your job posting on our easy-to-use form.

SUPPORT FOR YOUR MUSEUM

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission announced a grant program open to community groups. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2023. If your organization is on the water, you may want to have a look and determine if your organization or programs are eligible.

The PHMC announced a mini-grant program, Empowered History, designed to inspire and enable communities in Pennsylvania to preserve and share their history (archives, texts, photos, oral histories, etc.) and engage community members with it. 

On December 1 PHMC announced that its Keystone Planning and Construction grant applications opened. Learn more about the eligibility information and guidelines here on the PHMC website. The grant program is open to nonprofit organizations and municipal governmental entities who own and operate historic sites that are eligible for listing in or listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Foundation for Advancement in Conservation (FAIC) is excited to announce that applications are now open for the 2024 Collections Assessment for Preservation (CAP) program with a deadline of February 28, 2024. Participating institutions receive support for a general conservation assessment. The CAP program is open to small and medium-sized museums, zoos, aquariums, arboreta, and botanical gardens in the United States. Please visit the CAP website www.culturalheritage.org/cap for more information about the program.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced that applications are open for its 21st Century Museum Professionals grant program. The 21st Century Museum Professionals Program will fund projects that create, expand, or enhance professional development initiatives within the museum field. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2024. Please click here to learn more.

The National Park Service announced the third round of its Semiquincentennial Grants program to support preservation projects. The deadline to apply is March 4, 2024. Please click here for more information.

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