I Want to Have Fun!

-from the Curator

New ideas were brainstormed onto paper for the Idea Wall

Almost 15 museum members and community friends came out today for our Open Public Meeting to brainstorm strategic plans and ideas for the museum's future. There was a lot of wonderful brainstorming and ideas have been added to our Idea Walls- one for general programs and indoor exhibits and another wall for outdoor programs and exhibits. Ideas ranged from hikes and off-road trips into the desert with experts to live web-cameras to show the view and watch animals.  Designing walking trails and signs on the museum property ranked high on everyone's list with some great ideas for what to do on the trails.

Voting with stickers for favorite ideas

The staff will spend the next few weeks organizing the ideas on the wall and adding pictures and as visitors come in they will be offered several stickers to vote on their favorite ideas.  The ideas "liked" by the most people will be where we start!

Voting for the Outdoor Idea Wall

Alongside thinking about exhibits, programs and events to have in the future, IVDM Director Neal Hitch also reserved an idea page for one important idea: "I Want to Have Fun!"  "Don't think about things you think a museum 'should' do" he challenged the group.  "Think about things you'd want to do. What would be fun?"






What would you add? Email or comment, we'll add to the Idea Walls as ideas come in! Remember, it's your museum, so have fun!

"I Want to Have Fun!"

Public Meeting: Saturday January 23 - Strategic Planning

-from the Curator

This Saturday, January 23 from 10am-12pm we will have an open Public Meeting at the Imperial Valley Desert Museum and we hope you will all come out and join us!  We are looking for community input on the future Strategic Plan of the IVDM and your ideas and votes count! Stop by and be a part of planning the museum's future.

This fall, the Imperial Valley Desert Museum began working on a new Strategic Plan. Though we have met with some successes, it is important that we have a direction for the next five years. And it is important that this direction is community driven!

 We began planning activities in November at the Imperial Valley Desert Museum Society annual meeting. Most strategic plans begin with a SWOT, a discussion of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.  As discussed at this meeting, the strengths of the IVDM are its location, situated directly off of Interstate 8 in the heart of the Yuha Desert and at the intersection of the major southern entrance into the Anza Borrego Desert State Park. The museum has developed major new displays with interactive hands-on components . Youth programming, especially field trips, are exceptional. The museum has developed several signature events, like “stargazing” and “dinner with an expert” that have been well attended and well received. New events, such as Octobercraft Day, have been very successful.

            During the meeting, and for the next few weeks, we also collected initial thoughts about what people see as important for the museum.  We asked about potential uses of new property around the museum: Suggestions included hiking trails, truck and jeep displays, and interpretive programs about drought tolerant/native plants.

          

            The second question asked concerned the most important thing the museum will do in the coming years.  The focus for the next year was clear: creating a 6^th grade hiking field trip, continuing to develop 4^th grade field trips, creating more ties to communities in Imperial County, and moving programs into communities in East County.  The would also like to see a Youth Hike program be developed in conjunction with the Jacumba Hikers.

            Over the Next 5 years suggestions include developing internship programs with local colleges and an increasing the use of our collections for research by local students. One very interesting comment was the suggestion to develop a “Skype with a Scientist program.” There is a model for this type of program being done at science centers around the country.    

Other ideas? Come talk to us Saturday, January 23!

Society Annual Meeting

-from the Curator

Yesterday 25 members of the Museum's Society attended the IVDM Society's Annual Meeting.  It was a busy day and great to see so many museum friends gathered together. The Society recognized four of its members with special certificates this year: William Pape was recognized for his exemplary support of the museum, its mission, and the Endowment Fund; George and Kathleen Willis were recognized for their exemplary support of the museum, its mission, and the Endowment Fund; and Neil Zinn, retiring from the Society's Board, was recognized for his years of service, support, and volunteering.

William Pape receiving a certificate of recognition for Exemplary Support of the Museum

After a brief business meeting the Museum's Director, Dr. Neal Hitch, took us back in time through a retrospective of how far the museum has come: from the beginning of building the Ocotillo museum to today when we have a brand-new, state of the art exhibit- the biggest goal of the Society since he was hired back in 2011.

All of this leads to the question of where the museum goes from here. What do its members want to see happen over the next 5, 10, 50 years? This meeting began the strategic planning that will occur over the next 6-8 months to answer those questions. It started with three tables set out at this meeting, each with one question on it. Everyone was encouraged to write their thoughts
 If you come through the museum over the next few weeks the tables will be up and we'd love to have your additions to this first brainstorming session. Or post a comment through this blog or Facebook and we'll add it to the table!

 Here's where the tables stand so far:

Question 1: If we focused on one program, what would it be?
-"Field trips for schools"
-"Field trips for students"

Question 2: Potential uses of new property?
-"Hiking trails with info signs"
-"Hiking with no signs (wilderness experience)"
-"Truck/Jeep display"
-"Show case drought tolerant/native plants for landscaping to transition to more sustainable, less water usage while simultaneously propagating and selling plants to visitors"

Question 3: What is the most important thing the museum will do . . . 
 . . . In the next year?
-"Get money for gardens"
-"6th grade hiking field trip"
-"Skype with a scientist"
-"Youth hike (conjunction with Jacumba hikers?)"
-"Connect/stay connected to local Kumeyaay tribes/leaders/entities, host Kumeyaay related events"
-"Become institutionalized with the Imperial Valley and Jacumba schools so that all students get a chance to come out"

 . . . In the next 5 years?
-"Plant gardens"
-"Internships with local colleges"
-"A desert oasis- palms, pools, plants, shade"
-"Southern CA colleges need to hear about IVDM for field trips/seminars/workshops"
-"Partner with San Diego universities to bring grad students out"
-"Bring more closely together Native American, Hispanic, and European cultures through the museum experience"

 . . . In the next 50 years?
-"Maintain gardens"