Category Archives: News

The Michener is Now Featured in the iMuseum App!

July 7th, 2011

iMuseum by MuseumPods, Inc.The Michener Art Museum is very proud to be now part of a new app developed by MuseumPods, Inc. which features access to social media channels from 190 Museums around the world! This app features audio and video tours, podcasts, YouTube videos, blogs, Twitter and Facebook posts from Museums large and small. Museums that are included in this app currently are from the United States, Canada, Australia/New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The Michener is also currently featured as the spotlight museum!

This app is great to use while you are traveling so that you can find local museums of interest and what they are all about.  As an educational tool, it is great app to access new and fresh content that enhances anyone’s educational experience, in the classroom or out!

Download the App for your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch here. Requires iOS 3.1.3 or later.

Download the App for your Android here.

Thank you MuseumPods for including us in your app!

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We have an App for that!

June 15th, 2011

Learn with the Michener App ScreenshotTo all of you mobile users out there, we are now offering three mobile apps for our visitors! These include an app for our Learn with the Michener Blog, our MUSEum Blog, and our Artist of the Day feed that pulls an artist each day from our Online Bucks County Artists Database.

To install these apps on your smartphone, simply enter the addresses listed below into your phone, or click on the link to retrieve the corresponding QR code provided. These apps will work on all phones including Android, iPhone, Symbian and Blackberry. Please note: The application will be viewable as a mobile site on a Blackberry.

http://mippin.com/app/learnmam

http://mippin.com/app/michenerblog

http://mippin.com/app/michenerartists

Try them out and tell us what you think!

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Behind the Scenes: Stories from the Vault

April 20th, 2011
Vault Corridor prior to renovation, Image Courtesy of the Collections Department, James A. Michener Art Museum.

Image one: Vault Corridor prior to renovation, Image Courtesy of the Collections Department, James A. Michener Art Museum.

Often in museums, there are many things that go on behind the scenes that the general public don’t get the opportunity to hear about, like in our Collections and Exhibitions Departments. One such project at the Michener has included a project to improve the vault storage area for the some of our permanent collection. This two-year project has been funded by The Institute of Museum and Library Services which the Collections Department received in 2009.  The Curator of Collections manages this project and oversees the departments activities.

The storage vault is a temperature and humidity controlled area that houses approximately 2,350 works of art from the permanent collection. I recently got to talk to our Collections Registrar, Sara Buehler, who has implemented much of the project with our Collections Preparator, Collections Assistant, and a volunteer. She shared some of the major improvements with me that have been going on since the funding was received.

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Construction Begins for Edgar N. Putman Event Pavilion!

March 23rd, 2011

Moving Lassie Sculpture, March 2011Construction is underway for the new Edgar N. Putman Event Pavilion that will open next year. To prepare the space in the Pfundt Sculpture Garden, the first thing that had to be done was move all the sculptures to the rear of the garden for their protection. A fence was installed in front of all the works so that they do not get in the way of the contruction crew and also to avoid any damage to the sculptures.

Over a number of days, Harry Gordon, sculptor and installer, along with his crew, moved the sculptures using his special equipment, including a crane. Each sculpture was carefully connected to this crane and slowly moved to the rear of the garden. Gordon uses a remote control with his crane so that he can guide the sculptures slowly to their particular location. These sculptures can weigh thousands of pounds, so it is important that this process is done carefully and correctly. Click here to see a slideshow of the sculpture, Lassie, being moved to its new location.

The next stage of preparing the space in the sculpture garden included removing the trees and bushes, slate, boulders, and rocks, which are being taken care of this week. Early in this process, a protective wall was installed near the terrace with a glass door so that visitors can see the progress being made in the space.

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Help Shape Our Future!

February 7th, 2011

Michener Banner, Memorial Day Parade, 2008The Michener Art Museum is planning for its future, and we would like to hear from you! Currently, we have two surveys that we are asking visitors to participate in. Each survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. For your participation in these surveys, you will be entered into a drawing to receive a special gift. (Email address is not required to participate in the surveys, but it is required to be entered into the prize drawings.)

If you are an educator, please fill out the following survey. This survey closes on March 15, 2011. Three participants will be eligible to win a special gift basket by filling out this survey.

Look and Listen ProgramIf you are a general museum visitor who visits us online, please fill out the following survey. This survey closes on March 31, 2011. At least five participants will be eligible to win a special gift.

Please note: If you fill out either survey above, you are no longer eligible to win a special gift. We will keep both surveys open for anyone who would like to provide feedback!

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your feedback! Your answers are essential in shaping the future of what the Michener does for its communities and audiences!

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