Description  Where   Who Should Attend?  
How Will I Benefit?   Details   Instigators  
Preliminary Agenda   Registration   Fellowships   Hotel   Transportation   Ways to Save   Discussion Forum Online  
Travel   Questions

Description
Come discover new ways to foster creativity and collaboration in the planning of visitor experiences. Join your museum colleagues and leading innovators from Lucasfilm, Burning Man and large scale interactive game design to explore creative collaboration in a retreat environment featuring: 

• Interactive experiences with creative professionals and provocateurs from outside and inside the museum field exploring different models of creative collaboration
• Opportunities to foster strong interpersonal connections among participants to sustain the impact beyond the days of the workshop itself
• A behind-the-scenes visit to the award-winning Monterey Bay Aquarium, where best practices are modeled and shared

Note: This retreat will focus on fostering the creative process rather than a “nuts and bolts” of exhibition planning and design.

Where
Asilomar Conference Grounds
800 Asilomar Boulevard
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
(831) 372-8016
www.visitasilomar.com/

The retreat takes place at historic Asilomar, an ocean-front retreat on California’s Monterey Peninsula cradled by forests and white sand beaches just 1.5 hours from San Jose. Asilomar was designed in 1913 by acclaimed architect Julia Morgan in the Arts and Crafts architectural style. This is a perfect place to reflect on creativity, experiment with collaboration and connect with colleagues. In addition, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a national leader in exhibition development and design, is minutes away.

Who Should Attend?
Creative, curious museum professionals (especially exhibition and visitor experience leaders) who are interested in:

• Exploring the many ways we approach creativity (the generation of great ideas) and innovation (the implementation of those great ideas) into meaningful visitor experiences
• Building expertise in fostering creative exhibition teams and collaboration across divisions and generations in the museum
• Experiencing new collaboration paradigms

This retreat is ideal for institutional teams to discuss issues and creative solutions for ongoing or upcoming projects.

How Will I Benefit?
The goal of the retreat is to closely examine ideas and best practices in creativity, innovation, and collaboration from within the museum field, as well as the experiences and trends of thought leaders, instigators and provocateurs from fields outside museology—fields in which we can identify best practices that might be applicable to the museum profession. After participating in the retreat, participants will be better able to:

• Explore new models of fostering collaboration and creativity in the development of extraordinary exhibitions that protect and highlight collections and enrich the overall visitor experience in our museums
• Work together to generate approaches for integrating collaborative and creative practice within our institutions and outside of museums
• Share best practices for collaboration and creativity through peer-to-peer exchange of ideas and collegial relationship building

Details
Overtwo and a half days, we will experiment, discuss, and work together in small and large teams to foster creativity and collaboration. We will be working with three leading instigators from diverse creative industries: Kate Shaw from Lucasfilm, Harley K. DuBois from Burning Man festival, and Key Eklund, video game designer and creator of the collaborative online game World Without Oil. From inside the museum field, Mike Petrich and Karen Wilkinson of the Exploratorium’s Learning Studio will be sharing their experiences facilitating creative, multi-person art/science workshops for staff and visitors alike.

The agenda will include:

• Panel and small-group discussions
• In-depth, hands-on workshops
• Participatory evening performances and events
• Opportunities to recharge and rejuvenate
• A trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium to apply new creative tools

Instigators
Click here for more information.

• Ken Eklund, Game Designer
  A designer of a new breed of collaborative and socially relevant games, Ken is a leader in the emerging genre of alternate reality games, especially those that create playful “what if?” spaces that invite massive public participation.
• Harley K. DuBois, Black Rock City Manager, Director Playa Safety Council, Director Community Services
  A founding member of the Burning Man Board, Harley K. DuBois brings more than 15 years of project management, art and city planning experience to bear on the evolving universe of Burning Man art festival www.burningman.com.
• Kate Shaw, Director of Training, Lucasfilm
  As the Director of Training for Lucasfilm, Kate is charged with fostering the development of creative teams of artists and engineers who work on films, visual effects, games and animation at Industrial Light & Magic, LucasArts, Lucasfilm Animation and Lucasfilm Animation Singapore.
• Mike Petrich, Learning Studio Director and Karen Wilkinson, Learning Studio Project Director
  Karen and Mike design programs in the Learning Studio, a workshop for collaborating artists, educators, museum staff, and visitors exploring new ideas, generating unusual exhibits, and participating in construction based activities that blur the lines between science, art, and technology.
• Tierney Thys, National Geographic Emerging Explorer, Research Biologist and Science Outreach Specialist
  Tierney Thys, Ph.D. charmed Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED) conference attendees in 2003 with stories of the world's heaviest bony fish, Mola mola. Her tagging research on these huge, jellyfish-slurping fish is helping scientists understand what role such predators might play in our ever-changing ocean. Her passion lies in science outreach for large audiences, collaborating with filmmakers and writers to create state-of-the-art media that illuminate the inner workings of the planet and aid decision-makers in bringing about measurable positive change. Recent projects include National Geographic's Strange Days on Planet Earth, The Shape of Life and other National Science Foundation-funded, award-winning science documentary outreach projects.

Preliminary Agenda
Discussion Sessions
Each day will begin with whole-group discussion sessions to introduce the program leaders and focus conversation for the day. These discussion sessions will feature a panel of outside and museum instigators, who will address their models, challenges and insights on collaboration and creativity.

Workshops
The workshops are small-group, hands-on opportunities to participate in innovative models for fostering creative collaboration. Each workshop will be offered twice during the retreat, so you will have the opportunity to explore multiple topics. The workshops are organized around key questions concerning creativity and collaboration:

• What training tools can help you manage creativity and collaboration? Meet with Kate Shaw of Industrial Light & Magic in the “C2 clinic” to learn Lucasfilm strategies and training activities you can apply to your own work.
• How can you support individual creativity in the context of a large organization, motivating and coordinating volunteers, staff and visitors toward a shared creative experience? Work with Harley K. DuBois of Burning Man to create a multi-person performance.
• How do game designers approach creativity and collaboration? How can the principles of gaming and play engage visitors with issues and ideas? Play a collaborative game with game designer Ken Eklund , then dissect and analyze its design.
• How can creative collaboration enhance learning? Immerse yourself in a playful invention and exploration workshop with Karen Wilkinson and Mike Petrich of the Exploratorium to experience how “making” can be a powerful learning experience for both staff and visitors.

Evening Events
Each evening will feature participatory activities that will bring the whole group back together to celebrate and reflect on the day’s experiences. The retreat will open on Sunday night with an interactive after-dinner game designed to help you meet and connect with other participants. On Monday night, we will experience the performance and games produced during the day’s workshops. And on Tuesday evening, we will share a night on the town in Monterey after our visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Recharge and Rejuvenate
The Creativity and Collaboration retreat is a time to get your creative juices flowing. In addition to the hands-on workshops, we will offer a variety of activities intended to help you recharge your creative batteries and connect more deeply with your colleagues.

Trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium
On Tuesday afternoon, the retreat will shift to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where you will participate in closing workshops that will connect the tools and activities learned during the retreat to the real world of exhibitions and museum work. The final small-group exercise will culminate in a whole-group discussion, providing an opportunity both for reflection and motivation to continue using these tools in your daily work.

Maker Faire
By a fortunate coincidence, the Creativity and Collaboration retreat is taking place immediately after Maker Faire in San Mateo, about 100 miles from Asilomar. With more than 60,000 participants, the Bay Area Maker Faire has turned into the epicenter of do-it-yourself technology, arts and crafts. For images of the 2008 Maker Faire, go to http://makerfaire.com/bayarea/2008/. There is no formal connection between Maker Faire (which is sponsored by Make magazine), but you are encouraged to come a day or two early to experience this extraordinary event.
Note that rooms may not be available at Asilomar prior to May 30.

Registration
REGISTRATION FOR THIS PROGRAM IS CLOSED.

Individual Registration: $325 AAM members/$425 non-members

Fellowships
The Small Museum Administrators Committee (SMAC-AAM) is pleased to announce the recipients of the SMAC-AAM Fellowships for the Creativity and Collaboration Retreat.

• Nan Curtis, Director, Forsyth Center Galleries, Texas A&M University

The National Association of Museum Exhibition (NAME) is pleased to announce the recipients of the SMAC-AAM Fellowships for the Creativity and Collaboration Retreat.

• Sara DeAngelis, Senior Exhibit Developer, Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose 
• Maria Mortati, Exhibit Developer, San Mateo, CA

Hotel
On-site housing at Asilomar Conference Grounds is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. All costs are per person/night and inclusive of all standard meals and applicable taxes. Your Asilomar accommodations include breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. Meals begin with dinner on arrival date and end with lunch on June 2. Check-In at 3PM and Check-Out at NOON. Reservations at Asilomar MUST be made by May 8, 2009. No reservations or cancellations will be accepted at Asilomar after May 8, 2009. Reservations (with FULL PAYMENT) MUST be made directly to Asilomar using the Housing Registration Form.

• Single Occupancy Housing Fee: $199.26 per person/night
• Double Occupancy Housing Fee: $121.76 per person/night

Hotel Cancellations: Any changes, cancellation or reduction must be received by Asilomar prior to May 8, 2009. A full refund less $25 cancellation fee (per person) will be refunded if cancellation letter is received by that date. Any cancellation received on or after May 8, 2009 will result in forfeiture of deposit.

Important: If you are planning to attend the retreat but will NOT be staying at Asilomar, you MUST notify Asilomar AND AAM prior to May 8, 2009 and complete the Asilomar Off-site Registration form.

Asilomar Contact:
Vivian Garcia
Revenue & Group Sales Manager
Phone: 831-642-4213
vgarcia@dncinc.com

AAM Contact:
Carla Santos
Assistant Manager, Meetings
202-218-7677
csantos@aam-us.org

If you will not be staying at Asilomar, you will be charged by Asilomar the following facility and meal fees:

• $10 per off site attendee per day (not including meals) 
• Breakfast: $9.20 
• Lunch: $10.50 
• Dinner: $17.86

Transportation
Monterey Airbus is a door to door service and requires reservation.
$50/person (one way)- San Jose Airport to Asilomar Grounds and vice versa. $60/ person (one way)- San Francisco Airport to Asilomar Grounds and vice versa.

Ways to Save

• If you’re not already an AAM member,join today and save $100 on your registration!
• Register two or more participants from the same institution and save $25 per person! $325 AAM member/$425 non-member (registrations must be emailed or faxed in together)  
• Get a roommate!
• Carpool to/from the airport! (carpool sign-up will be posted on the forum).

Forum Online & Creativity and Collaboration Website
Access the Online Forum here.
The retreat experience will be extended using an external website created just for this program. We encourage you to visit this site and get engaged in lively discussion about the retreat that will help us shape the content of the program.

Attendees have access to an online forum on the AAM website, exclusively for registrants and presenters. This online community is a website feature which allows attendees to communicate with each other before, during, and after the retreat, to share and/or access resources, and to continue building relationships beyond the retreat itself. Features include documents and polls, announcements, online chats, roommates, carpooling, airport information, etc.

Travel
Association Travel Concepts (ATC), the AAM official travel agency, can help with your travel plans. ATC guarantees the lowest airfare available for all airlines at the time of booking. When making reservations with ATC, identify yourself as a participant in the “AAM Exhibition Retreat”. For reservations, call (800) 278-1140, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (EST).

Questions
Or special needs? Contact AAM Professional Education Program staff at (202) 289-9114.