The Museum Insider®
A television series created and in production since 1995
(registered copyright 1997)

The Museum Insider® television series (registered copyright 1997) was created in 1995 to promote cultural heritage tourism and to educate the general public about the museum profession. Each program features a different organization and topic. The series has covered how to visit an art museum, museums as educational and community centers, historic preservation, building restoration and adaptive reuse, historic sites archaeology, and a field school in architectural history. The programs include both studio and on-location presentations. They have aired on public access channels in the Northeastern and Southeastern United States, and have received several local and national awards. A recent segment on the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry was broadcast on The Indie Film Journal at WGBY, the PBS Station in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Current and Upcoming Programs

Lojeri Productions® received grants from the American Savings Bank Foundation and the George A. and Grace L. Long Foundation. Additional money is being raised to fund three half-hour, on-location programs and six orientation videos. The Connecticut Humanities Council also awarded a planning grant to the Haddam Historical Society for Lojeri Productions to script two orientation videos; one for adult audiences and another for youth and school groups.

The videos will cover the following Connecticut museums:

• Thankful Arnold House, Haddam Historical Society, Haddam
• The Connecticut Firemen's Historical Society and Fire Museum, Manchester
• New England Air Museum, Windsor Locks
• Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington
• Huguenot House, Historical Society of East Hartford, East Hartford
• Center Cemetery, East Hartford

Lojeri Productions is also working with the Connecticut Electric Railway Association to produce an orientation film and half-hour segment for The Museum Insider. They will cover the Connecticut Trolley Museum and the Connecticut Fire Museum of East Windsor owned by CERA, Inc.

Completed Programs - Sample Video Clips

On-Location Documentaries:

• Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry (2004)
• Springfield Library and Museums at the Quadrangle, Springfield, MA (2004)
• Huntington House, Scotland, CT (1996)
• Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT (1995)
  

Studio Programs (1997):

• Lutz Children's Museum, Manchester, CT
• Manchester Historical Society, Manchester, CT
• Connecticut Firemen's Historical Society and Fire Museum, Manchester, CT
• Cheney Brothers National Historic Landmark District and Cheney Hall, Manchester, CT
• Wood Memorial Library and Museum, South Windsor, CT
• Tolland Historical Society and Hicks-Stearns Family Museum, Tolland, CT (1998)
• Huntington House, Scotland, CT
• New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT

To Purchase a Program

The orientation films will be available for loan to schools, libraries, and community groups through the participating museums. The three half-hour, on-location programs and the orientation film on the Connecticut Firemen's Historical Society and Fire Museum may be purchased from the museums through their gift shops, or from Lojeri Productions. Watch their web sites and ours for details. All proceeds from video sales will benefit future educational programs of the participating museums and will be used towards the production of films for other nonprofits.

Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT Oldest continuously operating public art museum in the United States. The on-location documentary provides an introduction to the museum's world-renowned collections and provides tips on how to visit an art museum. Collections include American and European fine and decorative arts.

New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT Program focuses on the growth of a small museum that collects only American Art, the diversity of its collections, and some of the creative ways it has made learning about art fun for visitors of all ages and backgrounds. Collections include art from the early 18th century Colonial Period to the present; Portraiture, the Hudson River School, Genre Paintings, American Impressionist, Ash Can School, early moderns and works by contemporary artists. American Artists Abroad: Exhibit-related video that combines slides, music, and video footage of the American Artists Abroad exhibit (1996). Photo: Thomas Hart Benton Murals, "The Arts of Life in America" painted in the 1930's. Several panels owned by the museum are on permanent exhibit.

Huntington House, Scotland, CT The on-location documentary covers the first season of archaeological research at the site in 1995. Attention is given to the methods of historic sites archaeology, historic preservation, the formation of the Governor Samuel Huntington Trust, and fundraising efforts by local residents to save the 18th century structure. The 1997 studio program on the Huntington House focuses on architectural research and a field school in building archaeology. In 1999, Lojeri Productions was contracted to videotape archival footage as a record of the Huntington Trust's ongoing study of the house and site. Photo: Nathan Hale Fife and Drum Corps.

Tolland Historical Society and Hicks-Stearns Family Museum, Tolland, CT The Tolland Historical Society manages the Tolland Country Warden's Home and Jail Museum and the Daniel Benton Homestead. The program covers the collaborative efforts between these Tolland museums and the Hicks-Stearns house, the town school system, and cultural organizations to bring local history to youth and adult audiences. Photos: Tolland County Warden's House and Jail Museum; Hicks-Stearns Family Museum.

Wood Memorial Library and Museum, South Windsor, CT The program shows how a small library with a museum component has used its collections to create exhibits, and in-house and outreach programs on local history for a diverse audience. The field segment features the organization's extensive collection of Native American artifacts, impressive ornithology collection, and growing archives of South Windsor history.

Lutz Children's Museum, Manchester, CT Program provides an overview of the history and growth of a popular, small children's museum that emphasizes hands-on or participatory learning in art, history, social studies, science and other subjects. Includes field footage of its exhibits and live-animal programs.

Manchester Historical Society, Manchester, CT The program provides a brief history of the organization, highlights some of its collections on Manchester businesses from the 18th through 20th centuries, the Cheney Homestead, and its Heritage Day Tours and other local history programs for children and adults.

Connecticut Firemen's Historical Society and Fire Museum, Manchester, CT Program provides an overview of the organization and its collections which include fire-fighting apparatus from the 18th through 20th centuries, uniforms, memorabilia and archival materials. The collections are housed in an historic firehouse (1901) that was built to protect the Cheney Mills. This museum will soon be featured in an on-location documentary/orientation video (see our current projects).

Cheney Brothers National Historic Landmark District and Cheney Hall, Manchester, CT The program covers oral history, historic preservation, and the restoration and adaptive reuse of the Cheney Mills. It includes footage of the Cheney Mill District and Cheney Hall today and in 19th century photographs and illustrations. Photo: Cheney Hall

Springfield Library and Museums at the Quadrangle, Springfield, MA On-location program highlights the library and four museums at the Quadrangle (George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Connecticut Valley Historical Museum, and Springfield Science Museum). The emphasis is on the science museum and how the library/museum complex serves as a community and educational center. Photo: Mural at the Springfield Science Museum.

Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, Storrs, CT The program covers the Puppet Arts Program at the University of Connecticut and the exhibit The Legacy of B in BIMP. The exhibit highlighted the sixty-five year puppetry career of Frank Ballard, founder of the Puppet Arts Program and former curator of the puppet museum, shown here with several of his creations. Photo: Frank Ballard with puppets from H.M.S. Pinafore, 1989 Carp de Ballet (dancing fish and octopus marionettes)