NORTHEAST — Museums are changing with the times and Saskatchewan museums need to change with it.
That was the message during the annual conference of the Museums Association of Saskatchewan
Around 100 Saskatchewan museum members from across the province were in attendance in Humboldt with the Humboldt and District Museum and Gallery playing host to the conference.
Technology and social media are turning the traditional storytelling idea on its head, said Wendy Fitch, the executive director of the association, and museum staff are getting together to share ideas on how to expand storytelling within their own museums.
“Museums are about the story just as much as they are about the things so that idea of storytelling is woven through all the sessions,” said Fitch.
Allan Porter from the Melfort and District Museum was in attendance for the conference saying it is exciting to share ideas of how to improve storytelling, especially in ways that get young people involved.
There are always new ways and angles to tell stories and museums have to keep up, said Porter.
“Otherwise, people would be bored and these days, with all the technology and exposure to the world, you have to come up with ways of making the stories of the past relevant or appear relevant to the lives of people today.”
The association also took the time to celebrate 50 years as an organization and how much they have grown. They started with 30 museums and now have around 250. This evolution has been something that has always been important.
There are many examples of that throughout the years, said Fitch, including their collections database back in the 1990s and the standard for museum practice developed in the 1980s.
“We’ve always been a risk taker as an organization,” said Fitch.
New things are constantly being developed as museums continue to evolve, including some museums moving away from brick and mortar and being an online resource as well.
Fitch said they have two members of the association who only exist online.
This is the first time that the association has been joined by the Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society, and Keith Carlson with the society said this overlapping of themes has made for a wonderful partnership.
“Our focus has always been on the social history that people do in their communities and the folklore is the personal family stories, the remembrance.”
As a country, we learn about the history of Canada, but at the local level, we connect to our community through the stories of families and community, said Carlson. From Aboriginal peoples to our newest immigrants, the stories make a home.
“Our organization focuses on stories that are positive. That give people happiness. Even what are the happy places.”
A new step in the evolution of museums is eco-museums, said Fitch, where the people are the ones that tell the stories and decide what stories are told.
Fitch is excited to see this idea combine with virtual museums.
