Museum Services
The staff of the Museum of the South Dakota State Historical Society seeks to assist small museums and local historical societies across the state of South Dakota by providing support and advice about a wide range of museum operational and management issues. The office can provide on-site visits and reviews, telephone consultation, advice on collections management, registration, object handling, education and interpretation, and exhibit techniques. The services provided by the museum staff are free to all not-for-profit museums and historical societies within the state of South Dakota as well as state, federal, or local government-supported museums and historic sites. We can not assist for-profit or individually owned museums.
Services
Areas in which the museum staff can assist:
Collections Management and Proper Storage
Collections Policy development
Object handling and exhibition
Mission Statement development
New Museum development
Implementing Accepted Museum Standards
Board Development
Deaccessioning Collections artifacts
Closing a museum
Adaptive reuse of structures for museum functions
Physical relocation of collections
Education and Interpretation
Emergency/Disaster Preparedness
For more information, please contact Museum Director David Grabitske at 605-773-3798.
Collections
Under certain conditions the Museum of the South Dakota State Historical Society makes objects from its collection available for loan to museums that meet required standards. Loans are negotiated with the Curator of Collections, Katy Schmidt.
For more information please contact Katy Schmidt at 605-773-6013.
Training Workshops
Workshops in various aspects of museum practices are provided from time to time either independently or in conjunction with the Association of South Dakota Museums annual conferences. These are announced to the museum community on a case-by-case basis.
For more information please contact Ronette Rumpca at 605-773-6011.
Education Suitcase Kits
Suitcase education kits bring hands-on object, ready-to-use worksheets, and activities to classrooms and other groups across the state. Activities are matched to South Dakota K-6 Department of Education Standards. Kits cover fourteen different topics from South Dakota history.
For more information or to schedule a kit please contact Ronette Rumpca at 605-773-6011.
Traveling Exhibits
The South Dakota State Historical Society offers traveling exhibitions to communities throughout South Dakota.
For more information or to book an exhibit please contact Ronette Rumpca or call 605-773-6011
Research and Reproductions
Objects in the museum's collection are available to researchers for in-house review. Photographs of collection objects are also available for use in both print and on-line publications.
For information on research and reproduction costs please click to refer to the museum's fee schedule.
For more information please contact David Grabitske at (605) 773-3798.
Additional Resources
Association of South Dakota Museums
Dedicated to preserving, interpreting and disseminating the unique and ever-changing cultural heritage within the state of South Dakota, the Association of South Dakota Museums (ASDM) is an organization of museums and friends in service to the museum community in South Dakota since 1970.
For more information please visit the Association of South Dakota Museums website.
Mountain-Plains Museums Association
The Mountain-Plains Museums Association is a 10-State Regional Museum Association that serves Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. The Mountain-Plains Museums Association (MPMA) is a regional organization of museums and museum professionals that advocates excellence in the field, provides a forum for communication between its members, and shares creative learning opportunities with the region's diverse audiences. MPMA is the voice of its members in appropriate state, regional, and national arenas.
For more information please visit the Mountain-Plains Museums Association website.
American Alliance of Museums
The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. We are dedicated to ensuring that museums remain a vital part of the American landscape, connecting people with the greatest achievements of the human experience, past, present and future.
For more information visit the American Alliance of Museums website.
American Association for State and Local History
American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) began in 1904, under the wing of the American Historical Association. Then called the Conference of State and Local Historical Societies, AASLH broke out on its own in December of 1940 to become the American Association for State and Local History.
For more information visit the American Alliance for State and Local History website.