Texas is home to over 1,000 local history museums. Whether housed in a historic structure or a state-of-the-art new building, each one is dedicated to telling the story of a community’s unique history. Collectively, they preserve the real places and the real things that tell the whole story of Texas.
The Museum Services Program enables small history museums to better carry out their missions by helping them to increase their capacity for meeting professional standards. We do this by providing the following services at no cost:
- Training
- Resources
- Consultations
- Communications
To be included in the THC Atlas, a history museum must exhibit and interpret objects and stories in a structure designed for public visitation, on a regular schedule at least 120 days per year.
Seeking assistance with disaster preparedness and emergency response? View our online resources here. You can contact Museum Services at 512-463-6427 or 512-463-5921 for additional resources. You can also contact the National Heritage Responders at 202-661-8068 or TX-CERA at 669-237-2243 for expert guidance and on-site support.
Training
Free Webinar—Preparation is Key: Getting Started with Media Relations and Crisis Management
Bailey Curwick, Media Relations Cooridinator, Texas Historical Commission
Wednesday, September 29, 2:00 p.m. CT
Learn more and register now!
Free Webinar—Beyond the Dinosaur Hall: Welcoming Young Children and Their Grown-Ups into Your Museum
Sarah Erdman, co-author, Welcoming Young Children into Museums: A Practical Guide
Thursday, October 7, 2:00 p.m. CT
Learn more and register now!
Recordings of 80+ past webinars are available free and on-demand on a wide variety of musuem-related topics.
Resources
The Helpful Resources page provides a number of downloadable resource lists, articles, and other useful information for museums. All previous Museum Services Webinars are archived and available to view at any time. The Connect and Learn page provides links to trainings hosted by other organizations and services, as well as listings of museum professional organizations. Grants and Fundraising offers resources for grant-writing, fundraising ideas, and an extensive list of grant opportunities relevant to museums in Texas.
Consultations
Program staff can provide free, individualized assistance and support to museums in any aspect of museum operations, including but not limited to:
- Starting, planning, or reorganizing a museum
- Writing mission statements
- Strategic planning
- Disaster preparedness and recovery
- Educational program development
- Exhibit planning and design
- Interpretation of collections
- Board development and relations
- Volunteer recruitment and training
- Special events
- Marketing and social media
- Collections care
- Security
- Fundraising
- Professional ethics
Communications
Program staff sends email notices on timely information about current trends, available resources, upcoming grant deadlines, training opportunities, and other types of assistance.
Fast
Facts
59%
Of institutions in the U.S. have the majority of their collections stored in areas too small to accommodate them appropriately
Publications
Forms
512.463.6427
