Our first experience with local area museums was a small, private museum. We were very fortunate to have a free rein and access to the entire facility. It was a little intimidating to have all that responsibility without supervision or guidance from the owner. At the same time, it provided a very relaxed atmosphere for the teams who came in to work with us. Prior to bringing in the student teams, I walked through the museum with the owner and photographed the entire facility with a digital camera. I uploaded these photos and gave the diskettes to the owner. This provided some protection for our school as well as the owner. 

This experience has given me a new awareness of what being "organized" means. Here are some ideas for better organization and control that I feel will improve our next museum experience.

1. Use a thematic approach with each visit. Don't try to do the whole museum in one visit. For example, the first museum we visited was small, but had hundreds of artifacts relating to the history of Michigan's Mackinac area. Our "theme" was too wide (anything Native American). If we can revisit the museum, I would like to be more specific, perhaps a different topic for each day (i.e. basket making, bead work, maple sugar, Jesuit influence, or perhaps an entire week on the fur trade, broken down into topic a day). 
    
2. Meet with the teachers of the students to ensure that this project can become part of the existing curriculum, not just "one more thing" for them to deal with, and that it is properly scheduled so it won't interfere with their schedule (i.e. state testing or other planned field trips).
    
3. Try to have photographs of available artifacts for students to select items of interest from (1st and 2nd choices). If this activity is done several weeks before the actual visit, it will give you time to put together an adequate research area for your teams. 
    
4. Meet with the participants before they go on location to ensure that everyone understands the rules and procedures for that particular activity. 
    
5. Local libraries, if given adequate time, are usually very willing to accommodate you and often have resources you aren't aware of. Your local historical society is another excellent resource. Perhaps you can get some free consulting for your teams at the museum during shooting sessions.
   
6. Have the items selected by students ready to examine and photograph when the students arrive. 
    
7. Use the carrot method to ensure the essays get done. Require that the documentation form is completed before teams use the camera equipment and computers. 
    
8. Have a "facilitator" to assist and encourage adult-student teams. Even when you assign an adult to each child, procedures sometimes are not understood or are ignored. A facilitator can help keep teams on track by providing encouragement. This should be someone who has a good relationship with the students and staff, and has the knack of asking "leading questions."
    
9. Plan on time for the facilitator team to "wrap up" each visit, ensuring that all items were accurately documented and archived.
    
10. One knowledgeable person should be in charge of the digitized image files. If you can't network your computers at the site to provide a centralized location for acquired data, there should be an "archive" station. This is where all disks and forms are turned in. If you have a database entry form on this system, teams can enter the information they've gathered about their selected item into the database form (time permitting).