What Is MOMCC and How Can You Join or Get Involved?

MOMCC is the Midwest regional affiliate of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), serving open-air, living history, and farm museums across the U.S. Midwest. If you work at or volunteer for a museum in that region—or you're simply interested in living history and material culture—you can join through the website's Join page, register for its spring and fall conferences, and take part in resource groups organized around interpretation, leadership, and agriculture.

What MOMCC Is

MOMCC stands for the Midwest Open Air Museums Coordinating Council. According to its site, it is the Midwest regional affiliate of AAM. Its focus areas, reflected in its resource groups, include:

• Interpretation, music, art, and material culture
• Leadership and supervision
• Agriculture, gardens, and food

This makes it a professional and peer network rather than a single museum you visit. It connects people who run or support open-air and living history sites—places where farming, crafts, and daily life from the past are demonstrated rather than just displayed.

Who It's For

MOMCC is aimed at people working in or with open-air and living history museums, including:

• Museum staff and administrators
• Interpreters and educators
• Volunteers and board members
• Anyone researching or supporting farm and living history sites in the Midwest

If your interest is general museum visiting rather than professional involvement, the conference and magazine content may still be useful, but the membership structure is built around practitioners and institutions.

How to Join

The site lists a Join link in its main navigation, alongside About Us, Board of Directors, Bylaws, and a Statement of Professional Conduct. That is the entry point for membership.

The homepage excerpt does not publish dues amounts or membership tiers, so check the Join page directly for current fees and benefits before deciding. Because pricing details aren't shown in the available material, don't assume membership is free.

Conferences and Events

MOMCC runs two main conference cycles, and registration is handled online.

For the fall 2026 conference, the site provides a conference packet (a Delphi registration packet PDF), a registration link, and two fellowship applications—a general Fall Conference Fellowship Application and a Student Fellowship Application. If cost is a barrier, the fellowship route is worth checking.

There is also a Call for Papers for the 2027 Spring Mill conference and a Call for Proposals for workshops and sessions. These are how you move from attending to presenting.

Resource Groups, Magazine, and Careers

Beyond conferences, MOMCC offers:

• Resource groups organized by topic (interpretation/music/art/material culture; leadership/supervision; agriculture/gardens/food), which let you connect with peers in your specific area
• A magazine for ongoing reading and updates
• A careers section for job listings
• News and past conference photos for following the organization's activity

Practical Next Steps

1. Go to the Join page to review membership terms and dues.
2. If you want to attend, open the fall 2026 conference packet and registration link, and note the November 5–7 dates.
3. If funding is tight, submit a fellowship application rather than skipping the conference.
4. If you have something to present, watch the Call for Papers and Call for Proposals pages.
5. Join a resource group that matches your work to stay connected between events.

The main thing to verify on your own is current pricing and any login requirements—the homepage excerpt doesn't state them, so confirm on the Join and registration pages before committing.