Glencairn Museum
Brian Henderson, Director
G
lencairn Museum serves as a museum of re-
ligious art and history, whose mission is to
engage students and visitors with religious beliefs
and practices – past and present – by exploring
art, artifacts, and other cultural expressions of
faith within their religious context. A special focus
of this mission is to preserve and interpret works
of art as illustrations of New Church beliefs and
practice. During 2016-2017, more than 18,000 stu-
dent and adult visitors engaged with this mission
through an educational program, event, tour, or
exhibition.
September 2016 marked the inaugural meeting
of the Glencairn Museum Committee, chaired by
Eileen Glenn as a member of the Academy of the
New Church Board of Trustees. This committee,
appointed by the Academy Board, replaced the
Glencairn Museum Advisory Council, which had
been in place since 2011. The Academy Board has
delegated oversight of Museum operations to this
new Glencairn Museum Committee, including:
1) ensuring that the uses of Glencairn are consis-
tent with the mission of the Academy of the New
Church and Glencairn Museum by approving all
policies and guidelines defining such uses of the
Museum, 2) approving the Museum’s mission
statement and strategic plan, and 3) approving the
Museum annual operating and capital budgets.
closely with Bryn Athyn College faculty to identify
objects within the collections that can enrich key
course themes and concepts, contribute to courses
through guest lectures, make available original ar-
chival material, and design museum- and gallery-
based assignments and projects.
Throughout the academic year, Bryn Athyn
Church School students visited the Museum 17
times, while Academy Secondary School classes
made 65 visits. From first graders exploring the
Far East to sophomores studying the Middle Ages,
Glencairn’s educators invite students to “read”
and appreciate the art and artifacts in the Muse-
um’s collections as material expressions and illus-
trations of the religious beliefs and practices of the
culture and period they are studying. Bryn Athyn
College courses in art, history, and religion inte-
grated the Museum’s galleries and archives into
their curriculum, and three College courses used
Glencairn as their primary classroom. The Mu-
seum also offered its regular year-long museum
education internship to three Bryn Athyn Col-
lege students, who were mentored by Glencairn’s
museum educators and who learned and delivered
educational programs to visiting elementary and
homeschool groups.
In June, 77 children (ages 9-10) from 11 states
and three countries attended one of two weeks of
Mythology camp, where they learned about the
religion and culture of Ancient Mesopotamia,
Ancient Egypt, Classical Greece and Rome, the
Celts, and Native American by exploring art and
artifacts in the Museum’s collections, and through
hands on projects and activities. A key element of
Glencairn’s annual summer camps are the ANCSS
and Bryn Athyn College student teaching assis-
tants (ten in 2016-2017), who themselves are de-
veloping skills and gaining experience in museum
education, while being mentored by Museum staff.
Museum Education
A core purpose of the Museum is to enrich the New
Church classroom education that students receive
at Bryn Athyn Church School, Academy of the
New Church Secondary Schools, and Bryn Athyn
College. To this end, the Museum is proud to of-
fer a rich array of programs for BACS and ANCSS
custom designed by the Museum to fit within each
teacher’s curriculum and offered free by museum
educators to our schools. Museum staff also work
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