Unconference – museumcamp

MuseumCamp 2013 #museumcamp

October 10, 2013October 10, 2013@mardixon

Well MuseumCamp 2013 is officially over but the conversations are still going.

For everyone who came or followed online –
THANK YOU!

Feedback

Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. There is still time to fill out our feedback form. This will help us with MuseumCamp 2014.

I’ve wrote more about the day: #Museumcamp ala Cakefest 2013 Takeaways, Thoughts & Tweets Please feel free to share your articles.

We have been asked to share the delegates list and I’m afraid we don’t have full permission to do so. The names are shared on the Eventbrite page should you need them.

Session Topics

As requested, below is the list of topics from the day.

Special Thanks:

MC Mike Ellis, Videographer Paul Hutchinson and all our fabulous Live Tweeters!

Thank you to our wonderful Sponsors, without whom we wouldn’t have been able to run! Special shout out to KE Software for their late sponsorship which paid for the cakes – you were loved by all (especially me!)

See you at MuseumNext?

MuseumCamp (ala CakeFest) v2.0 is set moving along nicely.

August 11, 2013August 11, 2013@mardixon

Tickets

We have a waiting list on our Eventbrite page with about 35 of the next 50 tickets already reserved. But worry not! We will make sure we do our best that everyone that wants to attend can.

We’ll roll out the next batch of tickets on August 19^th.

What to Bring

IDEAS – DISCUSSIONS – TOPICS
Museumcamp is made up on the day. Seriously! The idea behind MuseumCamp is we want the people attending to talk about issues that are important to YOU – not what we feel is important, or topics we know are ‘most popular’. This is about ideas, brought on the day that the participants decide to talk about.

The list of topics from last year included Teens in Museums, Social media, Museums 20/20, Museums at Night, Wikipedia, how to embrace apprenticeship, curating and more. The smallest ideas to the biggest – all our listened to.

We’ll have 6-7 sessions running during one time slot and project having 4-5 time slots (depending on the day – see how nothing is planned before? ).

Open and Closing Times

We’ll open the doors at 9.30 with a planned start at 10am. As a very very very rough draft, the day could go something like:

9:30-10:00 Registration / Coffee & Cupcake decorating
10:00-10:45 Topic pitching and Session organizing
10:45-11:30 Session One
openingtime 11:30 – 11:45 Change over
11:45-12:30 Session Two
12:30-12:45 Change over
12:45-1:30 Lunch
1:30-2:15 Session Three
2:15-2:30 Change over
2:30-3:15 Session Four
3:15-3:45 COFFEE/ Cakes
3:45 –4:30 Session Five
4:30-5:00 Plenary/Networking

How to get things going now

You can leave comments on this post or share on Twitter using the #Museumcamp hashtag. Either way feel free to get the conversations going now as October will be here before we know it!

Want to get MORE involved?

We’re still looking for sponsors so if you’d like to sponsor us or know someone who would, please get in touch!

Most importantly –

Get your thinking caps on & get those brilliant ideas flowing!

Thanks to Carl Durose for our lovely new logo! You can contact Carl via email address or twitter handle.

MuseumCamp ala CakeFest v2.0 IS BACK

July 5, 2013July 5, 2013@mardixon

We are very pleased to announce MuseumCamp is returning!

Who:

MuseumCamp is open to everyone – from volunteers to CEOs. You don’t even have to work in the sector – just want to have passion for making positive changes.

What:

MuseumCamp is an Unconference – everyone can pitch an idea to talk about. This is not a day to sit and listen but a day to participate and get involved in subjects that matter to YOU.

When:

October 7 2013

Where:

The Bond (Same location as MuseumCamp 2012)

How:

We’ll be launching our Eventbrite page this Monday (July 8^th)

Would you like to get involved?

We’re looking for some help:

Two (2) Live Tweeters for the event
New design/logo.

Massive thank you to our Sponsors: (Please let us know if you would like to Sponsor also!)

First and foremost, Arts Council for believing in us.

Marches Network
“We are really thrilled to be part of supporting MuseumCamp again. Our way of delivering museum development in the West Midlands (the Marches Network of MDOs) has always been about recognising that expertise and wisdom exist at every level of an organisation and that tiny museums are just as valued and valuable as large ones. The unconference format of MuseumCamp is just so perfect for creating really useful, and creative, conversations without the boundaries and self-censoring that can happen at other museum sector events.

Now more than ever, we want to be involved with something which ‘rewards’ energy, ideas and co-operation, from anybody in the sector – with everyone in the sector…. And what better place to have it than in the middle of the country ..”

What is an Unconference or Camp?

May 11, 2012May 11, 2012@mardixon

This is the question I put to Twitter today. Here are some of the responses I received:

@DartmouthMuseum No idea what it means. Needs explaining in 140 chars or less

@NeallM that it should be a good concept but actually makes me think it will be a disorganised mess. Is that good or bad? @NeallM Bad. It makes me think I won’t get much from it, and won’t be worth my time / money. I am aware that am basing this on a few bad experiences. But marketing / blurb would have to help me overcome that.

@JanMinihane an informal gathering of people with a common interest who want to throw ideas around/push boundaries 🙂 Have been to 1

And my favourite: RT @jenniwaugh: Cake!

But what *is* a Museum Camp or an Unconference?

It’s a forum for like-minded people (in this case anyone who visits, likes, works, wants to work, etc with museums, galleries, culture venues). While they might be new to some, these productive gatherings have been running successfully for a few years.

What do they do?

It starts by members pitching ideas of what to talk about. You might come with a discussion in mind or you might be there to listen. Or you might be there for networking. Or cake.

People share their ideas for a session and roughly 5 or 6 are chosen. Those not speaking can choose which talk they’d like to attend.

The talks are usually less than an hour.

As a speaker, this doesn’t mean you’re forced to talk for an hour though – it only means you get the conversation going with your thought/idea and others join in with their thoughts and ideas.

As a member, you’re not committed to stay for the hour should you feel it’s not for you.

Basically, it’s an organized chaos but in a worth while way!

Is there an agenda for the day?

No. Not really. There are a few people that will attend with ideas but it’s not a requirement. The goal of the day is to flush out thoughts and ideas that don’t fit conventionally in other conferences and meetings.

Why should I attend?