[NHCOLL-L:5886] Museum Cleaning Basics online course starts April 2

[Helen Alten]

MS217: Museum Cleaning Basics
Instructor: Gretchen Anderson
Price: $475
Dates: April 2 - May 11, 2012
Location: Online at www.museumclasses.org

Description:
Cobwebs in the gallery, dust on the dinosaur skeleton, mice in storage - 
a dirty museum results in poor visitor experience and poor collections 
preservation. In a museum, cleanliness really is next to godliness. 
Museum Cleaning Basics explores everything you need to know about 
cleaning your collections. Participants learn when to clean - and when 
not to clean. They also learn how to make those decisions. Topics range 
from basic housekeeping to specific techniques for specific objects. You 
will learn why cleaning is important and how to prevent damage when 
cleaning. We will look at specific techniques that minimize damage while 
getting the work done. And we will discuss when to call in a specialist, 
such as a conservator. Students will create a housekeeping manual for 
their institution.

Logistics:
Participants in Museum Cleaning Basics work through sections at their 
own pace. Instructor Gretchen Anderson is available for scheduled email 
support. Materials and resources include online literature, slide 
lectures and dialog between students and online chats led by the 
instructor. The course is limited to 20 participants.

Museum Cleaning Basics runs six weeks. To reserve a spot in the course, 
please pay at http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html If you have 
trouble please contact Helen Alten at helen at collectioncare.org

The Instructor:
Objects conservator Gretchen Anderson learned her craft at the American 
Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian's Conservation Analytical 
Lab, the Canadian Conservation Institute, Getty Conservation Lab, the 
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Minnesota Historical Society. 
She established the conservation department at the Science Museum of 
Minnesota in 1989. She is the co-author of A Holistic Approach to Museum 
Pest Management, a technical leaflet for the American Association for 
State and Local History and established a rigorous IPM program for the 
Science Museum. She was a key member in the planning team that designed 
and built a new facility for the Science Museum of Minnesota. This 
endeavor resulted in not only a state of the art exhibition and storage 
facility, but also a major publication about the experience of building 
a new museum and creating the correct environments: Moving the Mountain. 
In 2009 she accepted the position of conservator and head of the 
conservation section at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 
Pittsburgh. Ms. Anderson is a member of the American Institute for 
Conservation and the Society for the Preservation of Natural History 
Collections. She lectures and presents workshops on preventive 
conservation, IPM, cleaning in museums, and practical methods and 
materials for storage of collections.

-- 
Brad Bredehoft for Helen Alten
Northern States Conservation Center
www.collectioncare.org
www.museumclasses.org