It is times like these when collegial gatherings can make all the difference in your professional life. There is a whole new meaning to our conference theme - “New West Solutions in Old West Settings ” - as we gather to learn how to keep our museums relevant in these challenging economic times, overcome financial challenges and maintain that all-important network of friends and colleagues.

With this in mind, we have crafted a museum conference to provide solutions for you. We rolled back prices to make this conference more affordable and created carpooling and roommate services. And this year’s conference city, just north of Denver, is easily accessible by car and on a major airline route that promises lower ticket prices. Network, learn, enjoy and save money, all in an exciting location. Attend MPMA’s annual conference from October 5 to 9, and see Cheyenne through different eyes.

Get on the inside track with a special peek into the Union Pacific Roundhouse and Steam Shop, behind-the scenes tours of storage facilities at the Wyoming State Museum and the Nelson Museum of the West. Visit the dressing rooms and back passages of the historic Atlas Theater and explore the basements of the Plains Hotel and the Old Depot, both architectural jewels of downtown Cheyenne.

Archeology buffs will delight in having the State’s archeologist along during a tour of Pine Bluff’s prehistoric sites (dinosaurs and Native American) and the University of Wyoming’s Archeological Museum and dig site. Wyoming’s best known historian will regale delegates with the colorful history of nearby Laramie. And on the Wagon Doctors Tour, delegates will learn how to repair wagons using wagons from the Cheyenne Frontier Days™ and see the famous Yellow Coach from Yellowstone.

Participants in our historic preservation workshop will receive security clearance to F.E. Warren Air Force Base. There they will learn about historic preservation specifically for museums while surrounded by the Base’s historic district of late 19th and early 20th century brick structures. Wyoming’s State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is presenting this workshop. Later in the conference there will be a preservation session presented by the National Trust’s regional director and the SHPO from South Dakota. These will be rare chances to learn those pesky preservation words and why the old building in which your museum is located is important and could be eligible for financial incentives.

As you peruse our “New West Solutions in Old West Settings” program, you’ll see many sessions devoted to new economic challenges, new technologies, and new ideas. But the past is still prologue to the future. We’ll deal with Western Art - contemporary and traditional - with special presentations by acclaimed experts in the field - and witness how the 1930s and 1940s work of Wyoming’s Thomas Molesworth continues to influence Western design. After the Molesworth furniture session, we’ll all visit the State Museum to see the special exhibit of his western-style furniture.

Our roster of keynote speakers is strong. Dr. Anne-Imelda Radice, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), will talk about insights she has gleaned about museums over her distinguished career. Former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson and his brother Pete Simpson, distinguished Political Science Professor at the University of Wyoming, will talk about politics and the west. This duo is so popular that we’ll open up their talk to the people of Cheyenne. The storytelling will continue with Phil Roberts, Wyoming’s best known historian, telling us tales of old Wyoming. Tales of Washington will be told by Ford Bell, President/CEO of the American Association of Museums, who will join Dr. Radice in answering questions at an open forum.

Cheyenne was voted True West magazine’s top western town for 2009. It was a center of the Old West and is a happening place in the New West. So saddle up Old Paint and join us!

2009 Conference Chair
Milward A Simpson, Director
Department of State Parks & Cultural Resources
Cheyenne, WY

MPMA President
Rick Young, Museum Director
Fort Caspar Museum & Historic Site, Casper, WY

Conference Program available at http://www.mpma.net/documents/2009_ProgramWEBrevised.pdf