Last updated on November 12, 2025
Fall 2025
In between preparations for the renovation closure, assisting with the packaging of artifacts, and the removal of the previous exhibit signage, the behind-the-scenes work of the IHMG has included a great deal of discussion and field research into how peer institutions engage visitors of all ages. This research informs our next steps and big visions for future storytelling and activities in the IHM, University Chapel & Galleries, and Washington Hall Galleries.
Fortunately for us, as professional museum nerds, national, regional, and state conferences afford us ample opportunities to learn from and with our peers. This fall, members of the IHMG team attended the American Association of State and Local History (AASLH) Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) in Montgomery, Alabama. Many of you followed along on our conference adventures through our social media. For those who may not have seen our stories and posts, here’s a recap of a few of our favorite moments, museums, and thought-provoking conversations we encountered along the way!
If you want this to be an ongoing series, let us know!
AASLH, September 2025
As a national conference, AASLH draws professionals from all sizes of museums, archives, and libraries, as well as in public history, historic preservation, and related fields. Whether in sessions, roundtables, lectures, discussions, and hands-on workshops or during offsite adventures, there’s inspiration at every turn at events like this one. Our highest-ranked sessions included practical tips that can be easily transferred from one institution to another. For example, staff from the Historic Hudson Valley hosted a session on their recent changes to the training of their education front-line staff who directly engage with visitors daily at each of their historic properties. They were generous in sharing training documents and videos, as well as copies of their popular “visual tour” packets that aid visitors in connecting stories to objects and the landscape and support those who are better at learning visually than through auditory tours. Sessions that focused more on theory—how and why we do the work—are always thought-provoking and engage a different part of the brain that helps you to keep in mind the big picture.
Cincinnati’s local museum community was incredibly welcoming. Among our favorite stops were the Cincinnati Observatory, Taft Museum of Art, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal.
SEMC 2025
SEMC feels very much like a homecoming or a big family reunion each year. Drawing professionals in the museum field from across the southeastern United States, the combination of fresh faces and old friends inspires thoughtful conversations, mutual support, and pride in the work being conducted in our networks. This year’s host city, Montgomery, added an extra special element to the discourse on the role of museums in American culture, memory, and politics in the shadow of the ongoing government shutdown. Amelia was fortunate to attend an off-site tour of Selma, which followed the footsteps of the Civil Rights Movement across the Edmond Pettus Bridge.
Matt, as Past President of SEMC and a member of the Council, volunteered for shifts at the Career Hub, lending advice to emerging and mid-career colleagues. The conference opened with an inspiring panel featuring two women whose youth was shaped by the movement and closed with powerful words from the interim director of the Southern Poverty Law Center. In between were conversations on the nuts and bolts of museum work, such as best practices in collections care, engaging students, developing exhibits, and brainstorming sessions on how museums can continue to meet the moment.
As you would expect, the museum and cultural heritage sites in Montgomery provided powerful spaces for reflection and discourse throughout the week and highlighted the community’s Civil Rights history. We’d also be remiss not to offer a hearty kudos to our friends at the Alabama Department of Archives and History, whose updates to their centerpiece exhibit, Alabama Voices, and recently opened children’s gallery and Military Voices exhibit, caused a (positive) stir amongst SEMC attendees. Museum professionals are notoriously hard people to impress, and we were IMPRESSED!
Should your travels take you to Montgomery, we highly recommend visiting The Legacy Sites, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, and the Alabama Department of Archives & History.
Stay tuned for more notes from the field!
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