The Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museums (CWAM) is excited to host their annual meeting at CAM-PLEX Multi-Events Facilities in Gillette, Wyoming this May 23-25.  This is 48th annual CWAM meeting and the first time the annual meeting has been held in Gillette.  The theme for the Annual Meeting is “Energy for Impact,” focusing on re-energizing museum workers and volunteers and, in turn, energizing the public.

The Colorado-Wyoming Association of Museums is a service organization which educates and unites its membership and the larger museum community. CWAM advocates and promotes museum interests in Colorado and Wyoming and encourages excellence and professionalism in the museum field.  The annual meeting is a time for members to enjoy three days of professional development and gain practical ideas and insights from other museum experts.  Guests will attend conference sessions, expand professional networks and build friendships, share ideas with colleagues, take local museum and sight-seeing tours, and more.  The CWAM annual meeting will provide new inspiration for attendees to make their work more effective whether they are new to the field or an experienced museum professional.

One of the highlights of this year’s event is our Keynote Speaker.  With a generous grant from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, CWAM has been able to secure Emily Graslie, The Field Museum’s Chief Curiosity Correspondent and host of the science YouTube channel “The Brain Scoop,” as our keynote this year.  Emily will speak at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 24 about the value of curiosity and its impactful role in museums.  The keynote speech is open to the general public and tickets are available now through the CWAM website at CWAM-US.org.

Born and raised in Rapid City, South Dakota, Emily Graslie has been a museum advocate since 2011, when she began volunteering at the University of Montana’s Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum.  In 2013, she joined The Field Museum where she uses a variety of new media to communicate the importance of natural history museums with the world.  Emily has received numerous awards and recognition for her work, including the American Alliance of Museum’s Nancy Hanks Award for Professional Excellence.  She’s a six-time Webby Award honoree and nominee in the ‘Online Science/Education Channel’ and ‘Web Personality/Host’ categories; a member of the 2018 Forbes 30 under 30 list in Education; and was named as a ‘Person of the Year’ in 2017 by the Chicago Tribune.

Learn more about the Annual Meeting at CWAM-US.org.

The CWAM 2019 Annual Meeting is generously supported in part by grants from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, a program of the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources; the Papers of William F. Cody; and the Campbell County Convention & Visitors Bureau