This feature introduces you to colleagues in museums around New England. It’s often too easy for colleagues to feel isolated in their institutions—we hope this feature will break down the distances a bit. We also hope that it will reinforce your own enthusiasm for your work and cause you to reflect on the positive contributions that you make.
In this edition of the NEMA Member Profile, we feature NEMA member Ann Lawless, Executive Director of the American Precision Museum located in Windsor, Vermont.
How did you first get involved with museum work? What drew you to the field? How did you arrive at the American Precision Museum, in your current position at Executive Director?
My first “cultural” job was as Vermont Coordinator for the Save Outdoor Sculpture program, a national project. My sponsor was the Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance, and through reporting at their meetings, I got engaged in museum work around our state. Working in collections care at Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury VT and then at St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, I also got involved in archives preservation and access. As a grass-roots preservationist and as a Board Member of the Preservation Trust of Vermont, I pursued my interests in the power of historic objects and places, the richness they can bring to people’s lives, and the urgency of preservation and access. In 2003, American Precision Museum was seeking a new executive director. Pressing projects were historic preservation and collections management, so it was a good fit.
Tell us a little about the significance of the American Precision Museum. What does its collection represent? Whose stories does it tell?
APM is housed in the 1846 Robbins & Lawrence Armory, originally a water-powered factory producing firearms and machine tools. Our site was the northernmost “center of excellence” in gunmaking along the Connecticut River corridor. Our collection of 19th century machine tools is touted as the most significant in the nation, as it shows how the the concept of interchangeable parts was first brought to practical perfection, forming the beginnings of modern industry. Our site was nominated a National Historic Landmark, both for the building’s historic integrity, and for the remarkable impact that the work done here had on America’s rising economic influence. Our stories about ingenuity and entrepreneurship increasingly focus on the people behind the tools, and on the present and future of manufacturing in addition to its past.
How is the museum's recovery coming along after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irene?
Irene hit in August 2011, destroying a new outdoor interpretive area completed just two weeks before. Although small in footprint, our site is complex – a steep slope leads down to a retaining wall and adjacent resources – the Mill Brook, a concrete pad for a utility transmission tower, and an historic bridge over a state highway. Think miles of red tape, permitting hurdles, and lots of fundraising! Our plans include mitigation strategies to reduce future damage, and we hope to be in construction in 2015. Fortunately, the areas affected did not include exhibits or collections storage - and they never will! Irene was a wakeup call to our entire state. Better planning, communications, collaboration, and training have resulted, and we are all now more prepared and more resilient.
Moving through your career, how do you stay engaged, on top of trends, and continually learning in your own professional development?
At a small site like ours, consultants we engage bring us new thinking. Our trustees and small staff are also a source of new ways of thinking. Professional associations, especially NEMA, are a critical resource. Partnering with other entities, for marketing, exhibits, education and special initiatives is exciting and essential. Volunteer service, such as being a mentor, or serving on a regional board or commission, gives the opportunity to get out and get to know others and learn how they may be addressing similar challenges to ours with a different twist.
What recommendations do you have for someone just starting out in the field?
Network network network. Do informational interviews. Organizations are always looking for speakers. Hone your skills and offer to lead a program. Volunteer with a professional organization or at a local site. Be on the ground and at the birds-eye view level too. Make it personal - send thank yous.
What's your favorite object in the museum's collection?
The Robbins & Lawrence rifling machine is my favorite because it is inherently one of our most iconic objects, but also because the project we completed a couple of years represents an interpretation breakthrough and a model for additional projects. A company in Iowa made for us a creative two minute animation that shows the machine at work. (It’s the first photo in the slider at www.americanprecision.org/arming-the-union and here’s the video: www.americanprecision.org/rifling-animation-video/100-uncategorised/297-rifling-animation-video)
Speaking of trends, the museum recently acquired a 3D printer. How does this tie in to the museum's mission and programming?
In October we updated our mission statement (to capture the imaginations of all with the spirit of innovation, problem solving, and design) to tell the dynamic story of the machines and people forming the foundation and future of manufacturing in America. 3D printers are increasingly used in manufacturing for prototyping. While they use an additive process, much of the machinery in our collection uses a subtractive process, cutting away metal to shape a workpiece. Machines used in manufacturing are now largely run with computerized numerical control (CNC). Coding to run CNC can be similar in 3D printing. Thus we have lots of opportunities for exhibits and programs to compare and contrast different technologies, past with present/future. We kicked off 2014 with STEM workshops for kids even before exhibits opened in May, and in July we held a 3D print workshop for teens. More STEM programs are planned!
We are embracing one of manufacturing’s major issues – workforce development. Although our museum is by no means a modern manufacturing site, we brought together our local tech ed programs, economic development agencies, and business/education groups. We coordinated a week-long set of student tours to manufacturing sites and publicity as part of National Manufacturing Day. This project is designed to introduce students, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors to the important role played by manufacturing, and to showcase modern technology and careers in manufacturing.