Charlene Mowers and Melanie Depcinski - Historic Bethlehem Museum and Sites

Charlene Mowers is the President of Historic Bethlehem Museum and Sites in Bethlehem, PA. She spoke about the history of the Moravians and the founding of the museum, as how the museum is run like a business. Museums need several volunteers and constantly host fundraising events; the museum is made up of five non-profits, so everything has to be filed five times and more money is required for upkeep. As president, Mowers is responsible for the overall mission of the museum, finds people to donate money, and even writes out the tours (which requires a decent amount of research and writing). Although she gave out more numbers and historical facts, Mowers also provided insight into the world of small museums.

Melanie Depcinski is the Director of Visitor Experience at the Historic Bethlehem Museum and Sites in Bethlehem, PA. Although Depcinski started out at the museum as a part time worker at the local visitors center, and was then the museum manager, she is now responsible for writing workers schedules, overseeing visitor interactions, helping plan events, coordinating internships, and working with volunteers. She has an undergraduate degree in anthropology and classics, and has a graduate in museum studies with a focus in anthropology and heritage; she also attended an archaeological field school during her senior year in graduate school. Depcinski provided a plethora of helpful information on how to get involved with museum work, and what experiences are good for museum jobs.

The museum is working on updating their website and finding more technology to use that would benefit the museum's exhibits. They are slowly digitizing archives and records, and which requires different types of technology, and using programs to keep track of everything they digitize.