Open Museum BlogProject Profile: Missisquoi Museum
Missisquoi Museum / Musée Missisquoi
Stanbridge East, Québec, Canada
April 2007
O V E R V I E W
The Missisquoi Museum, located in Stanbridge East, Québec, was founded in 1964 by the Missisquoi Historical Society. The museum is a complex of three village buildings which together depict community life, historic milestones and remembrances of this region since its founding by British loyalists who fled the American Colonies in the late 18th Century.
The museum houses collection consists of 22,000 artifacts and the regional archives which have been kept continuously since the 18th Century.
O B J E C T I V E
The museum requested assistance from Heritance to devise ways to increase its visitorship, which has fallen by over 50% since the 1970s.
A C T I O N
A discovery visit to the museum was made in February 2007 by Heritance Executive Director Maureen Doyle, where museum staff and board members met with her to identify objectives for a Heritance project. Participating also in this process was Cultura, a Montreal-based consulting firm who had conducted studies on behalf of the Missisquoi Museum.
A three-day workshop took place on April 11-13, 2007 and involved the Missisquoi Museum staff and board, Cultura, Nature Conservancy Québec, Jean Bermon (Technical Director of Heritance) and Maureen Doyle. Activities included:
- creating and implementing a visitor outreach plan;
- conducting a building inspection;
- preparing an architectural report;
- presentation of preliminary reports by various participants;
- a brainstorming session with Louise Gratton, Science Director of Nature Conservancy Québec about how the two organizations could work together;
- a public forum which 30 people attended; and
- a meeting with representatives of two government ministries.
Since the workshop, the Missisquoi team - with Heritance's input - has continued implementing and monitoring their follow-up plan. Two follow-up Heritance workshops have taken place since then, in November 2007 and April 2008.
The upshot of the workshop is that the Missisquoi Museum has the potential to become a regional museum and thus boost its visitorship by optimizing its physical location, namely its proximity to Montreal and the U.S. border.
O U T C O M E S
- Baseline document infrastructure developed: Documents presented at the workshop have been delivered by the Missisquoi Museum, including: strategic plan update, website review, archive review, business & tourism review, school rapport and program development, and marketing review. These documents served as the baseline for the follow-up Heritance workshop in November 2007.
- Follow-up plan in progress, aided by online tools: A follow-up plan has been created and implemented, and is being developed on an ongoing basis using Heritance's online project management collaboration tool.
- Archival services improved: A plan to develop archive services at the museum was approved by the Missisquoi Museum Board, and includes funding for new computer software, hardware and training.
- New local partnerships explored: The museum and Nature Conservancy Québec are discussing a formal partnership, collaborative exhibits in 2008, and making museum space available for NC meetings.
- Website improvements made: Revisions to the museum website, recommended by Heritance, have been implemented and additional resources for web maintenance are being developed.
- Marketing efforts expanded: The museum has founded a communications committee to undertake museum marketing, including a tourism page on the website, a promotional card for this season's exhibition, and a new tourism-focused promotion concept that involves partnering with local wineries, restaurants, antique shops, and B&Bs.
- Strategic Plan: The initial strategic plan was revised and presented to the museum Board for final approval in January 2008.
- Collaboration with U.S. museums & organizations: The museum is making plans to participate in nearby U.S.-side activities such as the Lake Champlain Quadracentennial 2009 (QUAD), to establish relationships with organizations such as the Northern New York American-Canadian Genealogical Society, and to take advantage of workshops with the Vermont Museums and Galleries Alliance mentoring program.
- Development of a Regional Museum: The concept of a regional museum is being explored, possibly in tandem with QUAD activities.
- Progress on renovations to the Walbridge Barn: Progress of exterior renovations to the Walbridge Barn is being discussed, along with moving of artefacts from the site, interior design, and fundraising. View photos of this unique barn here.
- Expanding the Buildings Plan: Initial discussions and a report have been presented by Cultura regarding the renovation of the Cornell Mill site which houses the main collection. This report will be expanded into a feasibility study that will include design plans, budget and time frame.
Visit the Missisquoi website at www.museemissisquoi.ca
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