Special Programs
The Adirondack Museum periodically initiates projects that fall outside the scope of our general operating budget. These programs are unique, compelling, and chosen because they directly further our mission. We need to raise funds to ensure the success of each. As you read the following descriptions, you may find a project which matches your vision and values, and/or corresponds with a personal interest. All of these programs represent exceptional giving opportunities. Your contribution will make a difference as the museum moves forward.
Please call Sarah Lewin, Director of Institutional Advancement at 518.352.7311 ext. 125, or email slewin@adkmuseum.org, if you are interested in supporting one of these museum initiatives. Special naming opportunities and leadership recognition are available for most of the special projects listed below. Monetary donations can be pledged over multiple years.
Exhibition Master Plan & Audio Tour
New Directions at the Adirondack Museum
Since 1957 the Adirondack Museum has seen over 4 million visitors. Now it's time to start thinking about the next 4 million! The Adirondack Museum is charting a new and exciting course for the future. In 2012, working with a team of nationally prominent consultants, it will develop its first museum-wide Exhibition Master Plan. This plan will result in making the visitor experience at the museum even more compelling and exciting. Updating some existing long-term exhibits with new information and perspectives, introducing additional long-term exhibits on issues of current concern, and identifying topics for dynamic changing exhibits will position the museum to better serve both current and future visitors. This will also bring the visitor experience in line with the best that history museums have to offer around the world. Delving deeper into themes dealing with how environment has changed over time, and people's relationship to those changes, will bring museum stories up to the present.
The end result of creating an Exhibition Master Plan will be a clear road map for the future. The plan will lead to new exhibits that are fresh, relevant, and attractive to a wider audience. Such a plan will involve a multitude of outside museum and scholarly consultants as well as staff, trustees, and a community advisory committee. Janet Kamien, one of the leading exhibit consultants in the country, has agreed to act as the Project Director. Working together with her will be an exhibition designer, a media designer, an audience research specialist, and others. Kamien will lead the team and help synthesize the input they offer. The time frame for this project is expected to be ten months — from February through November 2012.
Recommendations emerging from the Exhibition Master Plan will be implemented in stages over the course of four years beginning in 2014 and concluding in 2017, when the Adirondack Museum celebrates its 60th anniversary.
In another exciting piece of news, the museum plans to make a wonderful new audio tour available to visitors beginning May 2012. The Adirondack Museum Audio Tour will provide an introductory overview about the museum and link our permanent exhibitions to one another in clear and entertaining ways. It will enhance visitors' appreciation for the museum's exhibits and natural setting while also conveying key information about what makes the Adirondacks unique.
How can you help?
The board and staff of the Adirondack Museum invite you to help realize these exciting plans for the future. Fundraising is underway for the Exhibition Master Plan, with an estimated cost of $400,000, and the Audio Tour, estimated cost $100,000. Gifts and pledges of any size are welcomed to ensure these two pivotal projects can be completed expeditiously. Please email or call Sarah Lewin, Director of Institutional Advancement, if you would like to lend your support. She can be reached at, (518) 352-7311, ext. 125, or, slewin@adkmuseum.org.
