Conference Location

Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center
One John Nolen Drive
Madison, WI 53703

Hotel and Travel Information

Room block reservation links will be available at a later date.

Hilton Madison Monona Terrace
9 E. Wilson Street
Madison, WI 653703
Room Rate: $219 per night plus tax

Embassy Suites by Hilton Madison Downtown
231 S. Pinckney Street
Madison, WI 53705
Room Rate: $249 per night plus tax

Click here for information about getting to Madison.

Q. When and where will the conference be held?
A. The 2027 Conference will be held in Madison, Wisconsin, September 20-23. Main conference activities, including concurrent sessions, will be held at Monona Terrace in downtown Madison.

Q. How do I register for the conference? 
A. Online registration will open in May 2027.

Conference Fellowships and Scholarships

The Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko Memorial Scholarship, Douglas Evelyn Diversity Fellowships, and Small Museums Scholarships are the three programs that AASLH offers to assist those who would like to attend the AASLH Annual Conference. Applications will open in spring of 2027.

Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko Memorial Scholarship
Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko will be best remembered because she used her power to change lives, inspire movements, and challenge the status quo for the better. In memory of Cinnamon and her generational impact on museums, historic sites, and public history, AASLH has created a special scholarship in her name to advance her legacy of transformational change across the museum community. The fund will provide one $1,000 scholarship for the AASLH Annual Conference which includes a full conference registration. The remainder of funds can be used for ticketed events or travel costs. Eligible applicants include those working in small museums, as either full-time or part-time paid or volunteer employees and who are institutional or individual members of AASLH; and Indigenous persons and those employed as staff members with a tribal organization, program, or collection. Click here for guidance on what constitutes a small museum.

Douglas Evelyn Diversity Fellowship
The Douglas Evelyn Diversity Fellowship is named in honor of Douglas Evelyn, AASLH president from 1992-1994, and recognizes Evelyn’s strong support of AASLH’s professional development mission. A primary objective of the Douglas Evelyn Diversity Fellowship is to increase culturally diverse participation at the AASLH Annual Conference and in all the association’s programs. The scholarship covers full registration and a $750 travel stipend. Ticketed events with an extra fee are not included in the scholarship but can be covered with a portion of the travel stipend. AASLH will offer up to three full conference scholarships for culturally diverse attendees.

Small Museums Scholarship
AASLH’s Small Museums Committee is offering scholarships to any AASLH members who are full-time, part-time, paid, or volunteer employees of small museums. The $850 scholarship will cover the cost of registration and the Small Museums Luncheon. Any remaining funds can be used to offset travel and/or lodging expenses. To qualify, the applicant must work or volunteer for a museum with a budget of $250,000 or less and either be an individual member of AASLH or work for an institutional member.

Students, are you interested in free registration for our Annual Conference? Apply to be a volunteer at the conference!

We’re looking for student volunteers to assist with wayfinding, tours, the exhibit hall, special events, and other miscellaneous duties. In exchange for your services, each volunteer will receive a free conference registration.

Requirements:

• Volunteers must be currently enrolled students with a current AASLH membership in order to participate.
• Volunteers are required to work at least one full, four-hour shift to qualify for free registration.
• Volunteers must be 21 years or older at the time of the conference.
• There is a limit of two students per school and opportunities fill up quickly, so get your application in as soon as possible to secure a time slot.
• You will not be able to attend any conference activities during your four-hour shift (including sessions, workshops, working groups, and tours/field sessions).

A form to apply will be available at a later date.

What is the AASLH Annual Conference?

The AASLH Annual Conference is an in-person experience that engages and connects history professionals and volunteers and inspires them in their work. We encourage every attendee’s full participation in the sessions, workshops, tours, and discussions. Each session type is categorized so that attendees can see the level of participation it involves. Before you propose a session, think carefully about how it will engage your audience.

We hope the conference becomes a transformative moment for all, a chance to go deep, to reenergize, to build professional relationships, and to focus on a sense of place and history in the host city. In formal and informal spaces, participants will work through challenging discussions and learn new practices. While there will be an emphasis on communal events to build shared experience, we will offer multiple opportunities for personalized learning, in tours, workshops, and sessions.

Waiver and Photo Release

By submitting a registration for the AASLH Annual Conference, you agree to the following:

• AASLH is committed to provide a safe, productive, and welcoming environment for all meeting participants and AASLH staff. All participants, including, but not limited to, attendees, speakers, volunteers, exhibitors, AASLH staff, service providers, and others are expected to abide by the Meeting Safety and Responsibility Policy. You can read the full policy below.
• You authorize AASLH to use, reproduce, and/or publish photographs and/or video that may pertain to you — including your image, likeness, and/or voice without compensation. AASLH may use this material in various publications, recruitment materials, or for other related endeavors in print and online, including the AASLH website and email correspondence.

Meeting Safety and Responsibility Policy

AASLH is committed to providing a safe, productive, and welcoming environment for all meeting participants and AASLH staff. All participants, including, but not limited to, attendees, speakers, volunteers, exhibitors, AASLH staff, service providers, and others are expected to abide by this Meeting Safety and Responsibility Policy. This Policy applies to all AASLH meeting-related events, including those sponsored by organizations other than AASLH but held in conjunction with AASLH events, in public or private facilities.

Unacceptable Behavior

AASLH has zero-tolerance for any form of discrimination or harassment in any form, including but not limited to sexual harassment by participants or our staff at our meetings. This policy also covers any virtual meetings hosted by the association.

Examples of unacceptable behavior include, but are not limited to, verbal comments related to gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, national origin, inappropriate use of nudity and/or sexual images in public spaces or in presentations, or threatening, cyber-bullying, or stalking any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, AASLH staff member, service provider, or other meeting guests.

Physical or verbal abuse of any attendee, speaker, volunteer, exhibitor, AASLH staff member, service provider, or other meeting guest or disruption of presentations at sessions, in the exhibit hall, or at other events organized by AASLH will not be tolerated.

Attendees should respect all participants’ personal choice on the mask issue and any harassment of any kind will not be tolerated.

If you experience harassment or hear of any incidents of unacceptable behavior, AASLH asks that you inform either John Dichtl, President and CEO, [email protected] or 615-320-3203, or Bethany Hawkins, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, [email protected] or 615-320-3203, so that we can take the appropriate action. You can also or email [email protected].

AASLH reserves the right to take any action deemed necessary and appropriate, including immediate removal from the meeting without warning or refund, in response to any incident of unacceptable behavior, and AASLH reserves the right to prohibit attendance at any future meeting.

Solicitation and Promotional Activities

All promotional activities, demonstrations, and distribution of marketing materials must take place within the exhibitor’s assigned booth space. Exhibitors may not distribute materials, engage attendees for promotional purposes, or conduct sales activities in aisles, meeting rooms, registration areas, networking events, or other common areas of the conference venue without permission from AASLH.

Non-exhibiting companies or individuals are prohibited from soliciting business or distributing promotional materials anywhere within the conference venue. Sponsors of the conference who are not exhibiting can distribute materials as outlined in their sponsorship level/agreement. The conference organizer reserves the right to remove any individual or company found in violation of this policy.

Based on guidelines from the American Society of Association Executives.

Conference Media Policy

Much of the language for this policy has been adapted from the American Historical Association’s Annual Meeting Media and Recording Policy, the American Library Association’s Conference Media Registration Guidelines, and American Philosophical Association’s Press Policies for APA Meetings. This policy was created in partnership with the National Council on Public History.

Registration
Members of the press attending the conference for the purpose of reporting on sessions, events, or conference activities are required to register and to notify conference staff of their participation, preferably in advance by email or at the registration desk upon arrival. Members of the press will be issued a badge identifying them as media representatives. AASLH staff cannot release emails or phone numbers for participants in the meeting or officers/staff of either organization.

A letter of assignment specifically about the conference is required in order to obtain a media badge. Members of the press showing up on site must also provide a business card. Editors, reporters, and freelance writers are all eligible for a media badge. Sales representatives and book authors do not qualify.

As a private event, AASLH retain the right to refuse to issue a badge to any media organization, reporter, editor, or freelance journalist for any reason.

Media Identification
Press badges must be worn and visible while attending conference sessions and events. Members of the press must also identify themselves as such whenever speaking with presenters or attendees. This includes when participating in the question-and-answer portion of a meeting session or when interacting with attendees informally, as at a reception.

Reporting and Coverage
Unless otherwise designated, conference sessions, presentations, and events may be reported on by registered members of the press. Ticketed events are closed to the media, unless granted permission by conference organizers. Attendees and presenters should be aware that media representatives may be present, and that information shared in sessions may be reported through news outlets, social media, or other publications.

Members of the press are expected to adhere to accepted standards of journalistic ethics and accuracy when reporting on conference activities.

Direct quotations obtained through interviews or private conversations should be attributed in accordance with standard journalistic practices. Journalists are encouraged to seek clarification regarding attribution preferences when appropriate. Members of the press may not quote or otherwise report on what a meeting attendee or presenter has said without that person’s express permission.

Photography, Audio, and Video Recording
Photography, audio recording, and video recording are permitted in public conference spaces unless otherwise indicated. In accordance with our recording policy, sessions, working groups, and workshops may not be recorded without the express permission of AASLH.

Equipment and Technical Services
Members of the press requiring electrical access, lighting, use of venue sound systems, and internet services beyond standard conference access must make arrangements directly with the venue’s authorized service providers and are responsible for all associated costs.

Disclaimer
Unless otherwise stated, opinions expressed by conference attendees, presenters, and speakers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of their employers, affiliated institutions, conference organizers, or sponsoring organizations. Members of the media will acknowledge this in their stories as a condition of receiving a media badge.

Notice to Speakers and Attendees
Attendance at conference sessions constitutes acknowledgment that media representatives may be present and that information shared during public sessions may be reported.

Upcoming Annual Conferences

September 6 – 9, 2028: Albuquerque, New Mexico

August 29 – September 1, 2029: Baltimore, Maryland