While conference sessions will address various aspects of museum work, other experiences will highlight the Maker/DIY movement and what we can learn through experimentation and participation. The Maker movement is lead by a community of do-it-yourselfers that embraces the art of making cool things with a quirky spirit. For Makers, and those learning from this movement, the process is as important as the product, and experimentation and participation are the principal motivators. The Maker movement has been propelled by Maker Faire, a huge gathering that started in the Bay Area about six years ago, and is now presented in several locations across the country with museum participation and support. Especially at a time when museums are exploring new ways of engaging audiences, there are lessons to be learned from this exciting movement.

"Adapt & Reuse: Fresh Ideas and New Approaches" The SMA conference attracts more than 200 museum professionals every year from a wide variety of small museums. Attendees go to sessions on topics ranging from collections and education to staffing and board issues. We offer a large Museum Resource Hall and plenty of informal networking opportunities for you to talk with (and get ideas from!) small museum professionals and volunteers.

The DMA Nonprofit Federation offers world class educational opportunities for nonprofit marketers and fundraisers. We offer two annual nonprofit conferences (Washington and New York) as well as in-person seminars and webinars. There is also the one-and-only Nonprofit Day amidst the excitement and pageantry of the DMA Annual Conference and Exhibition. Please attend at least one of our events — it will be worth your time and investment. For any additional information regarding events or sponsorship opportunities, please contact: Jabneel "Jenny" Abreu, CMP, Director of Conferences & Education. Thank You!

Newport News has a rich shipbuilding heritage, and has launched countless ships into the world from its famous shipyards. As museum professionals, we launch into community partnerships, ambitious new museum projects, and sometimes unexpected collaborations every day. Just as modern shipbuilding demands innovation and cooperation, so our museums need to explore new ideas and forge new relationships to stay vibrant and relevant. We hope you'll join us to enjoy the hospitality of Newport News, and to launch a few new connections of your own. Your career, your colleagues, your museum, and your community will thank you!

Just as the San Antonio River connects San Antonio's community, we'll explore ways museums can use cultural corridors, social media, civic partners and other valuable tools to create deeper engagement and expanded audiences. Join us to explore connections--connections with audiences, community partners, funders and each other.

Museums and the Web is an annual conference exploring the social, cultural, design, technological, economic, and organizational issues of culture, science and heritage on-line. Taking an international perspective, MW reviews and analyzes the issues and impacts of networked cultural, natural and scientific heritage – wherever the network may reach. Our community has been meeting since 1997, imagining, tracking, analyzing, and influencing the role museums play on the Web, and having fun doing it.

For over fifty years, the Annual Arizona History Convention has promoted the culture and natural resources of the rich and unique heritage of the Grand Canyon State. This year, in honor of Arizona’s Centennial, the Arizona History Convention, Inc. is collaborating with the Museum Association of Arizona and the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office to host the Arizona Centennial Conference, in Phoenix, April 18-22, 2012. Our Partners: For over thirty years, the Museum Association of Arizona has provided advocacy, educational and professional development opportunities for Arizona’s museums. The association also enriches and supports Arizona’s community through fostering communication and cooperation between Arizona museums and related organizations. The Arizona State Historic Preservation Office is a division of Arizona State Parks and assists private citizens and institutions, local governments, tribes, and state and federal agencies in the identification, evaluation, protection, and enhancement of historic and archaeological properties.

Our full program and tour sechedule will be rolled out soon. Be sure to mark your calendars to attend this important and exciting event!

It is with great pleasure—and, dare I say, pride—that I welcome you to the 106th AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo™ in my beloved hometown(s) of Minneapolis Saint Paul. The rich and forward-thinking museum community here in the Twin Cities sparked my interest in museums as a child. Suffice it to say, the mosaic of Minneapolis Saint Paul museums that welcomes you for our meeting is one of the prime reasons I serve in the capacity I do today. We are trying some new things with this year’s gathering, but we think this new Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo will be just as profound a career-building and enriching experience as it has for more than a century. I look forward to seeing you there. Ford W. Bell, President, American Association of Museums

We are already looking ahead to 2012: a celebration of AIC’s 40th anniversary in Albuquerque, New Mexico! The subject of the annual meeting will be outreach and advocacy in conservation, an exploration of how conservation connects with allied professionals, the press, our clients and the general public.

The National Association for Interpretation (NAI) will host the seventh annual international conference on the subject of heritage interpretation in Hawai'i in 2012. The conference will feature three full days of concurrent sessions and one day for an off-site session, as well as keynote speakers, special events, and pre- and post-conference tours.

A few of the NGS 2012 Family History Conference sessions include "Focusing on Pathways 'cross the Ohio River," "Fugitive Slave Act and the Underground Railroad," "Military Bounty Lands," "Migration Patterns into the Midwest" "Spring Grove: Eternal Rest in the Midwest," "Researching in Ohio," "Researching on the 'Southern Side' of Cincinnati," "Ohio's Common Pleas Court," and "Trails West to the Ohio and Beyond."

The International Conference of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums, provides a network of support for tribal cultural institutions and programs. It is a unique event that brings together a wide variety of people who share the common goal of cultural preservation. Topics that are of interest to tribal archives, libraries and museums with an emphasis on case studies of successful programs and hands-on activities receive priority. For information about past conferences and workshops, visit the “About Us” section of the www.atalm.org website.

In 2012, members of ALHFAM are encouraged to travel to Farmers Branch, Texas, and the Farmers Branch Historical Park for the organization’s annual meeting. The site of north Texas’ first land grant colony is located in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and is located within 20 minutes of DFW airport and Love Field. Average temps in June range from the 70s to the 90s. The Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex has a wide variety of cultural and historic sites in addition to many entertainment venues. Farmers Branch, first established in 1842, is one of the oldest communities in north Texas and the Farmers Branch Historical Park celebrates that history with a range of historic structures ranging from the 1840s to the 1940s. The theme of the 2012 conference is Maintaining Relevance in a Digital Age. Conference attendees will have an opportunity to learn how the historical community maintains its sense of relevance in an ever changing world filled with tweets, tubes and online friends you’ve never met in person. Come to Farmers Branch to learn how your colleagues use new methods of communication to get a potentially complex message out to a public trained to learn in 30 second soundbytes or 140 words or less; while staying true to their mission and core function

For AAAM 2012 conference-goers in Baltimore, the theme of Commemorating Struggles: Claiming Freedom should be approached through session programming around several related considerations: Is there a specific perspective that African American museums should take? What approaches might African American professionals in mainstream institutions employ to push this story from the margins into a broader view? How might African American museumgoers have their expectations as consumers of museum programming resonate with the museum community? What types of educational instruction and programs are necessary in presenting African American history and culture? What types of research and investigation are needed to document obstacles, challenges, struggles, and successes encountered by African Americans? How might museums professionals work effectively to ensure that African American history is included and accurately reflected within the discourse of American history.

ANCA’s Summits are held each summer at a nature center at various locations throughout the U.S. Summits are structured to bring nature and environmental learning center administrators together for information-sharing, mentoring, training, and professional networking. ANCA prides itself on offering a facilitated discussion format during the Summit, recognizing the tremendous value gained by sharing peer knowledge and experience of others in the field. Summits focus on small group discussion, shared problem-solving, and specialized training. You will share stories, learn new things, laugh, have fun, be challenged, and become part of a network of nature center leaders gathered in the best possible atmosphere.

The premier event for zoo and aquarium professionals, AZA's Annual Conference brings together leaders in our community for 6-full days. Attendees are guaranteed to be challenged with vibrant speakers from inside and outside the community, expert-led educational programming, face-to-face meetings with colleagues, more than 130 service providers in the Exhibit Hall, exciting networking and social events, including the Icebreaker and Zoo Day! For information about sponsorship, exhibiting, or program advertising, please contact AZA's Marketing Manager.

The AASLH Annual Meeting is a one-of-a-kind networking and learning opportunity for history professionals, historical sites, historical societies, history museums, military museums, libraries, presidential sites, students, suppliers, and more. This is your chance to share your passion, ideas, and knowledge with over 800 of your peers in the field of state and local history.