IMA Plugged-In is a free monthly opportunity for museum professionals and volunteers to connect around topics of interest to the museum field.
IMA Plugged-In is provided by the Iowa Museum Association the third Monday of the month at noon. This one-hour opportunity to lunch, learn, and engage varies from facilitated conversations to presentations.
Sessions presented in 2025 will be posted after they are presented live.
How to Conduct a Community Listening Session (January 21)
Have the tools needed to conduct impactful community listening sessions, ensuring you engage authentically and effectively with the voices that matter most. Learn how to create a welcoming environment, ask the right questions, and use what you hear to drive meaningful change. Presenter: Machaela Clark, The Tandem Works, Council Bluffs.
Sensory Safe Spaces (February 17)
The Science Center of Iowa is an exciting place, bustling with sights and sounds… but we provide a quieter, less crowded experience. Families with children on the autism spectrum or children with sensory processing disorders will enjoy exploring the Science Center of Iowa with the help of Sensory Guide signage, which indicates audio, visual and activity stimuli. Presenters: Rob Burnett, Vice President of Science Learning and Jolie Pelds, Director of Innovative STEM Teaching
Undocumented Collections, Where to Start? (March 17)
Most museums have varying numbers of artifact records that are incomplete as well as objects that have no associated ID numbers or donor names. This session discusses where to start and how to begin documenting these collections. Presenter: Angela Stanford, Advanced Museum Services.
Partnering to Provide Access (April 21)
*Note: This presentation did have some technical issues and had to pause partway through.
Free access to history is essential for building informed, connected communities. By forming strong partnerships, we create a unified, easily accessible collection of historical records that anyone can explore—regardless of location or resources—without risking damage to original materials. These collaborations help digitize, preserve, and share our shared past, allowing individuals to understand their heritage and make connections to the present.
Presenter: Jeff Kiley, Advantage Archives.
MacGyver your Collections Care (June 16)
What can you do with basic supplies such as barrier board, a roll of ethafoam and twill tape? The panel will share low-cost tips and tricks.
Panel: Angela Stanford, Advanced Museum Services; Patricia LaBounty, Union Pacific Railroad Museum; Tara Templeman, The History Center.
Simplified Fundraising Planning for Small Nonprofits (July 21)
Join fundraising master trainer, Chad Barger, ACFRE, ACNP, for a workshop covering fundraising planning. We’ll cover some of the biggest mistakes that nonprofit organizations make when putting together their annual fundraising plan and how to avoid them. Processes and tools will be shared which pare the planning process down to its simplest form. Attendees leave with actionable steps that they can take to make their organization’s planning process more effective and efficient. Presenter: Chad Barger, ACFRE, ACNP, Productive Fundraising
Museum Education: A Field in Transition (September 15)
Are you struggling with ongoing shifts in audience expectations and pedagogical approaches? If so, you are not alone. Museum education is a field in transition that has undergone multiple transformations over the past five years. From confronting pandemic-related disruptions, which brought virtual formats to the fore, to reassessing programs for relevancy to key societal issues, to searching for innovative ways to re-engage audiences in more meaningful ways. Join Bridget Nash, as she discusses the current challenges faced by museum educators and what can be done to drive meaningful engagement within our spaces.
Presenter: Bridget Nash, Education Specialist for the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
Ethical and other considerations when renting or sharing museum spaces (November 17)
Panel: Jared McDonald, Executive Director, Madison County History Complex; Margaret Moye, Executive Director, Grout Museum District.