the academy journal
lege’s education interns for a home school group,
relating museum objects to items or characters
in the book. A second homeschool group took
the Narnia tour too, which will be offered as an
optional tour to other groups reading this popular children’s classic. These two groups were part
of a growing audience that is coming to us from
homeschooling families. At Christmastime we
welcomed over eighty homeschoolers to the Nativity exhibition where they completed two quests,
one about Christmas art and the other about the
Nativities; they went on the new Christmas tour,
too. One of the mothers who brought her family to this program wrote us the following: “Today
was the first day that I have visited your museum
and it will definitely not be the last…. I am posting
your information on the home school groups that
I belong to. You have made a beautiful and inspiring museum that was educational and yet fun for
all ages. It is nice to see something like this in today’s world where God is repeatedly being pushed
out of society.” In April, 132 homeschool children
and adults enjoyed mini-tours in the museum and
our annual glassblowing presentation. Many other
public and private schools visited throughout the
year, many of whom are repeat visitors. One parent of a visiting school group wrote, “This was the
most educational and spiritually moving field trip
I’ve ever been on.”
having to answer questions on the fly, learning to
say, ‘Good question, I don’t know,’ and having to
shorten or highlight information as the situation
demanded. A less expected take-away from the internship is that I really do enjoy interacting with
the public more than most other tasks. I could really see myself working in a small, close-knit museum, and all the better if it could be Glencairn,
whose mission and ideals I respect and would be
excited about furthering, especially now that I
have an inside understanding of them and how
they apply. This internship revealed to me that it
is museum education specifically that I would love
to be involved in.”
An Internship As Car eer Education
The Museum Advisory Council has provided
valuable assistance to the Museum’s administrators, especially in the area of financial management. Since its inception in 2009-10, the Council has participated in the budget process for the
Museum. It is worth noting that for the last three
fiscal years (2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013),
with operating budgets scrutinized and approved
by the Council, Glencairn Museum has had a
balanced budget. Thanks is also due to the ANC
Board’s Finance Committee for their support of
this process.
This year, the Council reviewed a preliminary
budget for fiscal 2013-14 in February, and approved it in April. Following the Council’s action,
the budget was approved by the ANC Board Finance Committee and finally by the ANC Board
of Trustees in May. Several capital projects were
approved for fiscal 2013-14: the repointing of the
north terrace, phase one exterior lighting, and the
Professional Relationships
We have active relationships with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia
Museum of Art, and the University of Pennsylvania Museum and have hosted scholars from
around the world. This past year we were one of five
museums selected by the University of Pennsylvania to participate in their prestigious curatorial
fellowship program, through which the University
of Pennsylvania funds a doctoral internship. This
places Glencairn among the select company of the
Barnes Foundation, The Philadelphia Museum of
Art, and the Rosenbach Museum and Library.
Museum Advisory Council
The following paragraph is a summary of a longer essay by one of the museum education interns
mentioned in the paragraph above:
“As I reflected about my months working at
Glencairn, I realized how much the internship
had been a fun project, rather than a job. Dressing
up and playing a role for the castle tour was fun
in an entirely new way, one I didn’t expect to like
very much, but which I will miss! The extent and
thoughtfulness of the castle tour made me realize
just how rewarding it would be to be involved in
museum education. Seeing the delight on children’s faces when the knight surprised them in
the tower, or when they received their virtue card
from the nun, and meeting the eyes of appreciative and impressed parents made this side of the
internship so deeply satisfying. Through giving
both the castle and highlights tours, I was able
to further develop my public speaking, especially
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