b'staff perspective GINA HALL, EDUCATOR FOR SCHOOL AND FAMILY PROGRAMS dialogue and art-makingfound materials assemblage, performance, multimedia and creative writingdemon-strating the power of art to educate and inspire.Plastic Entanglements also provided me with an opportunity to tackle areas of my work that I seek to strengthen. For many years, SCMA has had success with one-day teacher workshops tied to themes in our special exhibitions, a long-standing model used by museum educators. Recently, however, teacher work-shop attendance has fallen; shifting trends in education and the emergence of blended learning have changed the fields professional development paradigm. I spent time interviewing teachers and colleagues in the Five Colleges and doing some reflection and benchmarking20 and concluded that our best way forward is deepernot above and right:Gina Hall, educator for school and family programs broaderengagement.I relaunched a dormant advisory committee as WHAT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER IN MUSEUM TAG (Teacher Advisory Group) to communicate some-spaces and connects them to art, ideas and each other?thing a little less formal and more active. What began as Ive been thinking about this, in one form or another,a pilot was met with enthusiasm and participationeven since I was 16 and began working at the Childrenson those chilly, wet evenings when New Englanders Museum at Holyoke. During my 20-plus years as anhunker down at home! Previews of upcoming exhibitions educatorin childrens museums, a Western historyand exclusive tours with curators, behind-the-scenes museum, a global art museum and a natural historyexperiences, networking opportunities, brainstorming museumIve worked toward reducing barriers tosessions and good food are bringing together teachers engagement with an approach that recognizes andacross grade levels, subjects and school districts to learn respects the rich experiences visitors bring with them tomore about SCMA and serve as museum ambassadors a museum.to their communities. The way forward with this work is grounded inThrough TAG, teachers have connected with building relationships, relevance and connection. This isour Student Museum Educators and post-baccalaureate not something that happens overnight. But every once infellows for intergenerational exchanges of best prac-a while, a special exhibition comes along that is uniquelytices in teaching. TAG has also created an opportunity relevant and provocative. Plastic Entanglements reso- for this community to advocate for what teachers need nated broadly with bold messages about human impactfrom the museum. Among the changes: free admission on the environment and the role of positive social actionfor PreK12 teachers (with valid I.D.) at SCMA. In addi-through artistic expression. Diverse audiences joined intion, at TAGs recommendation I successfully appliedstaff perspective : Gina Hall'