BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKE, N.Y. – September 25, 2018 – Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake (ADKX), has received a $156,573 grant from the Museums for America program of Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a federal agency. This year, IMLS received 472 funding requests from across the U.S. and made grants to only 28% of the applicants. In recent years ADKX has received a total of $694,837 in IMLS funding, including the new award. Past funding has supported the installation of new exhibitions, the conservation of ADKX’s unique collections, and other projects.
The IMLS grant will provide specialized training for ADKX’s seasonal staff. The training will help staff engage more effectively with visitors and better address visitors’ interests. During the two-year-long project, supervisory staff will also travel to a number of leading science and children’s museum throughout the U.S. to observe staff training protocols and best practices that might help inform ADKX’s own staff training program. Mary Ellen Munley, a leading museum education consultant in the U.S., will work on the project along with Dr. Jeffrey Hayward of People, Places & Design Research. Munley will assist ADKX staff in drafting a new training manual and planning training sessions. Hayward will evaluate the effectiveness of the overall project.
“This will be a terrific opportunity for us to help our frontline seasonal staff to develop their people skills and fully engage with visitors of all ages,” said ADKX Executive Director, David Kahn. “The project will take place over two years. This will ensure that our seasonal have ample opportunity to learn from each other, their supervisors, and the special outside consultants we have asked to work with us.”
About Adirondack Experience, the Museum on Blue Mountain Lake
Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake (ADKX), accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, shares the history and culture of the Adirondack region through interactive exhibits, hands- on activities, and culturally rich collections in more than 24 historic and contemporary buildings on a 121- acre campus in the Central Adirondacks. ADKX offers a broad range of programs and activities including special and permanent exhibitions, a brand new 19,000-square-foot Life in the Adirondacks interactive exhibition, daily activities with artisans-in-residence, workshops, lectures, nature tours, family and educational programs, and signature events like the Made in the Adirondacks Fair, Rustic Furniture Fair,
Antiques Show and Sale, and the new Mohawk and Abenaki Art Market. The museum is supported in part with donations from the general public, with some general operating support made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. For additional information, call 518-352-7311 or visit http://www.theADKX.org.
