8:30 am

Registration Open

10:00 am

Building a Museum Gift Catalogue: A Creative Fundraising Workshop (Pre-Conference Activity)

Looking for a fresh, engaging way to raise funds while telling your museum’s story? This interactive pre-conference workshop introduces the concept of a museum gift catalogue—a fundraising tool inspired by the popular holiday catalogues. Instead of simply asking for donations, gift catalogues invite supporters to “purchase” meaningful contributions, such as conserving an object, sponsoring a school program, planting a heritage garden, or digitizing photographs.

Through collaborative exercises and group discussion, attendees will share inspiration, challenge one another to think beyond traditional fundraising approaches, and discover new ways to connect donors with the work museums do every day. Expect plenty of creativity, fun, and the reassurance that there are no bad ideas.

Drawing on ideas developed during the brainstorming session, each participant will leave with a catalogue that can be launched for the 2026 holiday giving season.

Presenters:
Karin Kierstead, Emilie Surette
Association of Nova Scotia Museums

10:00 am

Walking Tour (Pre-Conference Activity)

Join Museum of Industry staff for a tour of the museum and surrounding grounds.

Speaker:
Museum of Industry Staff

12:00 pm

Lunch (on your own)

You’re welcome to enjoy lunch at any of Stellarton’s restaurants only a short drive away.

1:00 pm

Conference Begins – Welcoming Remarks

Tegan Rowlings, ANSM President

Heather Stevens, Millbrook Cultural and Heritage Centre

Devin Casario, ANSM Executive Director

1:30 pm

Opening Keynote:
The Future of Museums in Nova Scotia

Speaker:
Anita Price

2:30 pm

Break

3:00 pm

Concurrent Sessions

3:00 pm -4:00 pm (60 mins)

Calculating Your Museum’s Impact: A Hands-On Advocacy Workshop

Museums know they make a difference—but demonstrating that impact in ways that resonate with funders, elected officials, and decision-makers can be challenging. Building on the concepts introduced in the earlier session on measuring museum impact, this interactive workshop moves from theory to practice. 

Participants will learn how to communicate their museum’s economic, social, educational, and community value in ways that strengthen advocacy efforts and funding applications. By the end of the session, attendees will have completed a customized impact assessment that they can immediately use in grant applications, meetings with elected officials, strategic planning, annual reports, and community advocacy.

Speaker:
Dnyanesh Kamat, Canadian Museums Association

3:00 pm – 3:30 pm (30 mins)

Inclusivity & Community Building: Fultz House Museum’s Segregated School Project

This session will explore how an initial archival inquiry grew into a broader community history project documenting the experiences of African Nova Scotian students who attended segregated schools in our area.

Participants will learn about the steps involved in developing the project, including archival research, community engagement, identifying and connecting with storytellers, and documenting first-person accounts. We will share both our successes and the challenges we encountered along the way, including the importance of building trust and creating respectful spaces for people to share their experiences.

This session demonstrates how one archival discovery can lead to a much larger community project—and how combining historical records with lived experiences can create a richer, more inclusive understanding of our shared history.

Speaker:
Joanne Boudreau, Fultz House Museum

3:30 pm – 4:00 pm (30 mins)

Community Stores/Community Stories

“Community Stores/Community Stories” looks at how markets and trade shape the character of life in Nova Scotia, past and present. Rooted in traditions of friendship and exchange, recalling retail spaces and experiences of the past, and pointing the way to a locally rooted, dynamic future, this exhibit looks at the outsized importance of these humble institutions.

Highlighting material from the provincial collection, offering interactive elements and opportunities for community collaboration, the “Community Stores/Community Stories” project invites all Nova Scotians to celebrate these shared spaces and the lives that they sustain. Roger & Erika explore the challenges and opportunities presented by collaborative engagement with local market partners, community museums, and across Nova Scotia Museum sites. There will also be opportunity for community museums and other potential partners to discuss hosting the travelling exhibit in the summer of 2028 and beyond.

Speakers:

Roger Marsters, Erika Wilson – Museum of Industry

3:00 pm – 3:40 pm (40 mins)

Modernizing Artefacts Canada

The Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) has been working on an ambitious project to modernize Artefacts Canada, the national portal for museum collections, and we’re excited to talk to you about it! Nicholas will provide a brief overview of the project, what our primary goals are, the work we’ve done so far, our prospective timeline, partnerships, and next steps. While we are only at the beginning of this multi-year project, we’re eager to hear from museums and museum professionals in Nova Scotia to learn about your interests, needs, and concerns in relation to the new portal.

Speaker:
Nicholas Lobraico, Canadian Heritage Information Network

Sponsored by Canadian Heritage Information Network

3:35 pm – 4:00 pm (25 mins)

Building More Than Boats: The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic’s Boat School as a Model for Community Engagement and Skills-Based Heritage Learning

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic’s Boat School demonstrates how museums can move beyond interpretation to become active sites of learning, mentorship, and community building. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for developing skills-based programming that strengthens community connections, fosters safe and supportive learning environments, and creates meaningful heritage experiences. Attention will be paid to how hands-on heritage skills programming can support accessibility, healthy communities, and deeper public engagement with museums.

Speaker:
Kim Reinhardt, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

Sponsored by Nova Scotia Museum

4:00 pm

Break

6:00 pm

Happy Hour – Celebrating 50 Years of ANSM

Join us in the courtyard for refreshments, light snacks, and entertainment, including an open mic.

7:00 pm

Awards Banquet

Dinner is served at 7:00 PM. Enjoy a delicious catered meal, including CAKE!

8:30 pm

Trivia

Location TBD. Can your team win the trivia trophy from previous champion, Museum of Industry? It might be time to brush up on some history of the past 50 years…

9:00 am

Opening Remarks

TBD.

9:30 am

Concurrent Sessions

9:30 am – 10:30/11:00 am (60-90 mins)

Museum Meet & Greet

Starting a career or volunteer position in museums? Are you currently succession planning and interested in recruiting new staff and/or volunteers? Looking to meet someone new in the museum community? Do you have knowledge to share about building a career in museums? Interested in learning about how to get involved? Looking for new friends? We invite you to drop by the museum meet & greet for great conversation!

Facilitator:
Sandi Stewart, University of New Brunswick

9:30 am -10:30/11:00 am (60-90 mins)

AI Awareness in Heritage

Overwhelmed by the topic of Artificial Intelligence? It can be difficult to break through the noise and answer key questions like: What does the term Artificial Intelligence mean? How is it created? How can you learn to spot AI generated content? What are some of the key challenges of AI use in heritage specifically?

Anna will provide a foundation for people to better understand AI, whether they are a beginner or someone hoping to build upon their current understanding. This conversation will focus on current examples that centre the relationship between heritage and AI.

Speaker:
Anna Sorensen

9:30 am – 10:30/11:00 am (60-90 mins)

A Shared Table: Rethinking Community Engagement

This workshop will explore practical approaches to building authentic relationships with communities before projects begin. Participants will work together to identify common challenges, analyze engagement scenarios, and develop strategies that can be adapted to organizations of any size. The workshop encourages participants to share experiences, learn from one another, and leave with ideas they can apply in their own institutions.

Speaker:
Vanessa Campoli-Williston, Know History

Sponsored by Know History

10:30 am

Short Break

11:00 am

Concurrent Sessions

11:00 am-12:00 pm (60 mins)

A Recipe for War Cake: Making Something Delicious in a Time of Austerity

Who knows what war cake is? This humble yet delicious Maritime tradition—made with raisins, molasses, and a sense of warmth—emerged during a time of scarcity. Although the war ended and rationing disappeared, war cake endured. Today, it remains a symbol of resilience, resourcefulness, and connection—still served in Maritime homes, often alongside a hot beverage and good conversation.

Museums today are navigating a similar moment of austerity. Financial pressures, staffing challenges, and evolving expectations require creativity and adaptation. This interactive session invites participants into a reflective and shared conversation about creativity in constraint. Participants’ shared experience and creative thinking will explore how working within limitations can lead to innovation, strengthen community connections, and produce lasting positive change.

Facilitator:
Maggie MacIntyre, Nova Scotia Museum

11:00 am – 11:30/11:40 am (30-40 mins)

Celebrations with CAKE in mind: Picking the appropriate artisans needed to help celebrate and sustain Chéticamp-style rug hooking through intergenerational knowledge transmission

Chéticamp-style rug hooking is a distinctive Acadian textile tradition from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, that serves as a living archive of regional history, artistic expression, and community resilience. In recent years, workshops, mentorship initiatives, and collaborative community spaces have further strengthened this process of knowledge transmission between youth, adults and seniors. This presentation examines how embodied practice, intergenerational mentorship, and adaptive teaching approaches contribute to the preservation and continuity of Chéticamp-style rug hooking. The transmission of rug hooking knowledge not only conserves technical competencies but also sustains social relationships, regional pride and Acadian cultural expression. Ultimately, this case study illustrates how hands-on folk practices offer effective models for preserving cultural knowledge through lived, creative engagement.

Speaker:
Betty Ann Cormier, Les Trois Pignons Centre Culturel

11:30 am – 12:00 pm (30 mins)

Made in Nova Scotia: Reviving a Legacy Project to Tell More Inclusive Stories

What happens when a research initiative from the 1980s is brought back to life? Alyssa & Karin explore how the Association of Nova Scotia Museums is actively building on and transforming an original research project of the Museum of Industry, turning it into a powerful tool for celebrating the province’s makers while advancing the goals of the ReconciliAction Plan. Participants will learn how this renewed initiative supports museums in telling fuller, more representative stories about the people whose creativity, skill, and innovation have shaped Nova Scotia’s history. Participants will discover practical strategies for uncovering underrepresented makers, enriching collections records, and developing exhibitions, educational programs, and digital resources that celebrate Nova Scotia’s rich cultural diversity.

Speakers:
Alyssa Giles & Karin Kierstead, Association of Nova Scotia Museums

11:00 – 11:30 am (30 mins)

Beyond the Anniversary: Building Organizational Sustainability Through Membership, Fundraising, and Community Engagement

Heritage organizations across Nova Scotia are facing increasing pressures to diversify revenue, strengthen community engagement, encourage volunteers, attract new audiences, and ensure long-term organizational sustainability. While milestone anniversaries often celebrate an organization’s past, they also present unique opportunities to build momentum for the future. Drawing on recent strategic planning and fundraising work, Eleanor will examine how anniversaries can serve as catalysts for organizational renewal rather than simply commemorative events. By sharing practical experiences from two heritage organizations at significant milestones in their histories, Eleanor will demonstrate how strategic membership development, diversified fundraising, storytelling, and community engagement can contribute to long-term organizational sustainability.

Speaker:
Eleanor L. Anderson, PhD

Sponsored by Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

11:30 am – 12:00 pm (30 mins)

Sharing a Cake Recipe: Curating a Public Art Exhibition by Elementary School Children at the Angus L. MacDonald Library (StFX)

With the goal of increasing community engagement in exhibition planning and production, a workshop was designed to teach nonspecialists some of the basics of co-curatorial design and production. Catherine & Donna completed a workshop in preparation for planning an exhibition of children’s art in a first floor reading room at the Angus L. MacDonald Library at St. Francis Xavier University. The exhibit, entitled The children, they are thought of, still, included two different works of art created by children involved in the project: a painted message using komqwejwi’kasikl symbols that were hung together in a mural, and a mixed-media artwork and caption about a special memory in nature. This presentation expands upon the methodological question of how to sustainably increase engagement in cultural activities in rural areas where little formal infrastructure and few human resources exist.

Speakers:
Donna Trembinski & Catherine Girard, St. Francis Xavier University

12:00 pm

Lunch (Provided)

TBD.

1:00 pm

Concurrent Sessions

1:00 pm – 2:25 pm (85 mins)

Preserving the Past, Shaping the Future: The Evolution of Black History, Culture, and Museums in Nova Scotia

While African Nova Scotian communities have preserved their history for generations through oral traditions, family records, churches, and community organizations, the province’s museum landscape looked very different until only a few decades ago. Communities have increasingly taken ownership of preserving and interpreting their own unique histories, resulting in the establishment and expansion of institutions that celebrate distinct chapters of the African Nova Scotian experience. This expansion has increased opportunities for collaboration, research, travelling exhibitions, educational programming, digital collections, and community partnerships. This panel will examine this remarkable evolution, from a time when one institution carried much of the responsibility for preserving Black history in Nova Scotia to today’s growing network of museums and cultural organizations and explore how collaboration, innovation, and community leadership can shape the next generation of Black heritage preservation.

Moderator:
Russell Grosse, Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia

Panelists:
Juanita Peters, Africville Museum
Professor Isaac Saney, Dalhousie University
Dr. David States

1:00 pm – 1:30/2:00 pm (30-60 mins)

Mug Ups, Cookbooks, and Oral History Roadshows

In Newfoundland, a “Mug Up” is a traditional phrase for a get-together over a cup of tea, whether on the beach, in the woods, or in your kitchen. A Memory Mug Up is an informal story sharing session for community members, where people gather, have a cup of tea, and share memories. For several years, Heritage NL has been utilizing funding through the federal New Horizons for Seniors program to run Memory Mug Ups and other senior-led and senior-focused programs including the Oral History Roadshow, Yarns and Yarns, Seniors Storytelling, and Supporting Healthy Aging through Rug Making. Folklorist and Heritage NL Executive Director Dale Jarvis will describe how these projects engage seniors and support their social, mental and physical wellbeing, while at the same time promoting pride in community history and traditional cultural activities. You might even get a peek inside Nan and Pop’s Cookbook – their current travelling foodways workshop!

Speaker:
Dale Jarvis, Heritage Newfoundland & Labrador

1:30 pm – 2:00/2:10 pm (30-40 mins)

Sherbrooke Village’s Youth Interpreter Program

Michelle offers a look at a pilot program launched in the winter of 2026 in partnership with St. Mary’s Education Centre in Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia. Following a focus group meeting with educators from the local school the previous year, a grade 4/5 class was approached about participating in a youth interpreter program. The result was a 3-5 month program combining in the classroom cumulative educational sessions to support the final project – the students interpreting historic spaces to the visiting public with support from staff. Looking to build relationships with school and community, this program supported hard and soft skills development for students, facilitated inter-generational learning and engagement while supporting youth with learning disabilities. 

Michelle will take attendees through the history and structure of the program, while offering insights on its strengths and weaknesses.

Speaker:
Dr. Michelle Clarabut, Sherbrooke Village

1:00 pm – 2:30 pm (90 mins)

Sailors Rope Wreath Workshop

One of the workshops that the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic holds during its community season is the Sailors Rope Wreath. The wreath is a flattened Turks Head knot that has been tied for centuries always for the purpose to be decorative. Come join us at the ANSM conference to make your decorative sailors rope wreath, garnished with some fall motif ribbon while also learning some of our secret ingredients to making C.A.K.E.

Facilitator:

Rose-Anne Smeltzer, Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic

2:30 pm

Refreshments

3:00 pm

Closing Keynote Presentation and Remarks

TBD.