New York's museum leaders were in Albany for eclipse. Takeaways from the annual conference

As this writer mentioned in some previous columns, I was away from the area during the recent celestial event.

For the first time in my long career, I attended the annual conference of the Museum Association of New York. I was familiar with the association which represents the thousands of museums across the Empire State. It is the formal advocate for museums, which often have a difficult time with promotion, funding and being attractive to the attending public.

The conference was held in Albany with about 300 attending from facilities with one person to those who employ over 100 employees. To be honest, attending felt a bit weird, in that this was the first conference I had attended in over 20 years, that I had not organized many of the details. I was able to pick which sessions I felt would inform me on how to do a better job as the executive director of the Tioga County Historical Society.

This organization represents all manners of museums, from art museums to children’s museums to science museums to history museums. I found counterparts from our area, including the head of the museums from Chemung and Chenango counties. The Southern Tier was well represented, and I learned about some possible programs that emphasize the history of a region in new ways. I am sure that I will bring some of those ideas to my own facility in Owego.

What seemed more impressive to me was a strong sense of camaraderie among people of all ages and from many walks of life to promote the work of museums – whatever form they took. That camaraderie was very apparent when the keynote speakers presented at the official opening of the conference on Sunday.

That event was held in the Chancellor’s Hall in the New York State Education Building. The walk from the hotel to the building was all uphill and took us past many of the iconic buildings of Albany – a city that is now over 400 years old.

For some of the readers of a certain age, you may remember that building as the original New York State Museum with its giant display of the mastodon skeleton found in the New York. This writer remembers being there at the age of 7.

As the crowd worked its way up the hill, we passed the New York State Capitol. The last of the state capitol architects was Isaac Perry, who designed the million-dollar staircase. The planned dome for the capitol was never completed because of cost overruns, and Perry’s services were ended before it could be finished.

The next day, Monday, April 8, the conference stopped all sessions in the afternoon and the attendees were urged to move outside of the hotel and walk up to the Empire State Plaza. The Plaza includes the Egg, the building housing the state museum, archives and library and several agencies’ buildings.

This massive complex was completed under the auspices of then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, and what may have seemed ultramodern in the 1960s, now has itself become one of the go-to places in Albany. Rockefeller may be remembered in our community for his “finger” gesturing at the Broome County Airport.

As many of the museum personnel gathered near the Egg (the performing arts center) to observe the solar eclipse, we noticed more and more of the state workers coming out of their buildings onto the plaza. As the moon moved in front the sun, hundreds and hundreds of workers had been allowed to leave the offices to see this once-in-a-lifetime event.

The sky darkened (but not completely), and the temperatures dropped. Modern age mood music being played for our enjoyment.

At the conclusion, we were allowed to go to an after-eclipse party held at the museum, and many rode the Hershell Spellman Carousel, the same manufacturer of the six carousels here in Broome County.

More: When was the last eclipse in Binghamton? Past solar events in Broome County history

Some even danced to music being provided as the carousel went around its circular path.

It was an interesting introduction for this writer to the world of the museums of our state, and to the many types who promote the arts and heritage of New York.

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: NY museum leaders paused annual conference to witness solar eclipse