Eugene, Oregon

Outdoor enthusiasts flock to Eugene, and with good reason. But there’s plenty to do inside as well, with multiple museums and other cultural venues. More than a dozen museums and other attractions and venues have banded together to form the Museums of Springfield/Eugene, or MUSE, an umbrella organization that allows the entities to combine marketing efforts for the entire region. MUSE members also meet on a regular basis for professional development, as well as organization joint activities between several or all of the members to raise awareness not only of each institution, but also of the area’s overall arts, cultural and historical offerings. The organization also produces an annual brochure that contains information about each member, as well as discount admission coupons. And in the world of arts and nonprofits, anything that can stretch a promotional dollar further is a good thing, says Debbie Williamson-Smith, public relations and marketing coordinator for the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art and 2009 MUSE chairperson. “These kinds of cooperative marketing partnerships are essential to our success,” Williamson-Smith says. “It’s an opportunity to share ourselves with the audiences of the other museum members, and also to be included in brochures that promote all the museums in the area. It’s quite a valuable partnership.” Being a MUSE member certainly helps broaden the reach of the Oregon Air & Space Museum, an all-volunteer operation that opened in 1991. The museum acquires, restores and displays aircraft and artifacts that showcase the history of aviation and space technology, and also sponsors fly-ins and other events. The museum recently purchased and restored a T34B trainer plane used by the U.S. Navy in the 1960s, finished work on an A4C Skyhawk and hung a 1943 Schweitzer training glider. “We have about 25 planes in our two hangars, and being in MUSE lets us stretch our marketing dollars and also talk to other people who may have some common problems,” says Bob Rathmann, a volunteer and former museum board president. “Not everybody has the same interests, but we do have the same goal and can work together toward that.” That kind of long-range thinking is the order of the day over at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History at the University of Oregon, where exhibits stretch back over thousands of years. Known for its Condon fossil collection and basketry displays, the museum relies on MUSE to promote such enhancements as a new main exhibit hall and a $10 million expansion that will add a new collections center, double current exhibit space and construct a new research wing, says Jon Erlandson, director. And there may be even more to promote soon, because MUSE is considering expanding its reach outside the Springfield and Eugene area, Williamson-Smith says. For more information on MUSE and its members, visit

www.museumslanecounty.org

.