In this 5:17 video, author David McCullough shares the five most important ideas high school students should learn before graduating (and it’s not memorizing dates and quotations). This was recorded by CSPAN at the 2011 National Book Festival.
Author Archives: Max van Balgooy
Can the Exploratorium Help Us Explore History?
Last week I visited the Exploratorium in its new home on Pier 15 in San Francisco. If you haven’t veen there, it’ll seem like a science center but you’ll quickly discover it’s really a place about learning, especially through direct experiences with art, tinkering, and phenomena (yep, that’s how they describe it). It’s an incredibly active place (almost to the point of overwhelming) that seems to effectively engage its visitors, so I continually watch to see if any of their exhibits or ideas can be applied to historic sites or history museums. During my latest visit, I found two exhibits that with a mild tweak could be really be innovative for interpreting history.
1. Question Bridge: Black Males. This temporary exhibit is, “comprised of many individuals asking and answering questions about the experience of black men in modern America.” Inside the small dark room are Continue reading
Video: 2014 NCPH Conference Recap
The Institute of Oral History at the University of Texas at El Paso just produced a 2:49 video covering the 2014 annual conference of the National Council Public History in Monterey, California. Using video from the conference and Monterey along with interviews, it highlights the value of the conference. This was created by Karina Arroyo and Jesus Genaro Limon, who I believe are students at UTEP. Perhaps your site could create something like this for your events or conferences with the help of a local college or university.
Ten Answers to Eleven Questions of Museum Bloggers
On March 19, the Berlin Museum of Natural History launched a series of eleven questions for museum bloggers on Museum Blogger Day, which is slowly making its way around the blogosphere. I received the list of questions from Gretchen Jennings of Museum Commons, who received it from Linda Norris at the Uncatalogued Museum, who received it from Jamie Glavic at Museum Minute, who received it from Jenni at Museum Diary, who received it from the Museum Things blog at Natureskundemuseum. I suppose this might be a new version of the old “chain letter,” but more fun and with no dire consequences if you fail to participate (and of course, the questions were modified along the way, just like a telephone tree). It’s also introduced me to another neighborhood of bloggers!
1. Who are you and what do you like about blogging?
I’m the president of Engaging Places, LLC, a design and strategy firm that connects people to historic places. I love visiting and working with museums and historic sites, so the blog allows me to Continue reading
Webinar: Making Heritage Tourism Work for Your Community
Walking tour of historic Monterey, California.
Heritage tourism is a growing industry that can improve community engagement, economic revitalization, and preservation advocacy. People want authentic and meaningful experiences—and are willing to pay for them. On May 13, 2014 from 12 noon to 1:30 pm Pacific Time, I’ll be presenting a webinar for the California Preservation Foundation exploring the benefits of heritage tourism and how it may (or may not) benefit your community or region. We will examine the latest research on the motivations and interests of tourists (they’re not all alike), how to identify or create destinations that will attract tourists, and how to build support and attract funding for a heritage tourism program. You’ll learn the overall elements of a heritage tourism program and leave with a list of the next steps to take in your community. Although much of the webinar will be focused on California, the principles and process for developing a heritage tourism program will be same for other places. Cost is $45 for CPF members ($60 for non-members) and advance registration is required.
It’s part of a three-part webinar series on economic development using historic preservation from the California Preservation Foundation. For those interested in continuing education credit, it’s available for AIA, AICP, and ASLA.
Video: Sleepy Hollow Cast Members Love NC Historic Sites
In this 32-second video, Tom Mison and Orlando Jones, stars of the television show “Sleepy Hollow” promote the historic sites of North Carolina.
Gamble House’s Clever and Attractive Sandwich Board
I have to admit that I’m the strange visitor at historic sites. I not only take photos of the architecture and landscape, but reception desks, walkway paving, light fixtures, wheelchair ramps, and signs. These are the things that make a visitor experience good, bad, or ugly, but they’re often overlooked and it’s hard to find good examples.
Gamble House Tour Menu Sign
Here’s one from the Gamble House in Pasadena, California. It’s a sandwich board placed on the driveway leading from the sidewalk to the garage, which now serves as the bookstore and admission desk. The sign isn’t big, but the bright color and location makes it easy to spot from the sidewalk. Visitors can comfortably learn about the options and then go inside the bookstore to buy their tickets. Notice it’s called a “tour menu,” using familiar terms so that visitors quickly grasp the purpose of the sign. The sign is placed outside in shady spot in front of the bookstore (those are the doors behind the sign). The store is small and often busy so encouraging people to make their selection outside is much more comfortable, especially because these types of decisions are typically Continue reading
Video: YAP! The North Star Journey
In this 5:29 video, students in the Youth Ambassador Program (YAP) discuss their visits to historic sites as inspiration for their music. Featured are the Nathan and Polly Johnson House in Connecticut and the Bucktown Village Store in Maryland.
Recap of NCPH Annual Meeting in Monterey
NCPH 2014: Presidential Address by Robert Weyeneth
NCPH 2014: Tom Hanchett on the Levine Museum
NCPH 2014: Drop in sessions to discuss digital projects
NCPH 2014: Vendors in the exhibit hall
NCPH 2014: Discussing the History Relevance Campaign
NCPH 2014: Speed Networking about to begin.
Walking tour of historic Monterey, California.
The National Council on Public History held its annual conference in Monterey, California a couple weeks ago. More than 600 people attended from around the country plus ten countries, making it the largest stand-alone meeting (at times, NCPH will co-host a conference with another organization, such as AASLH). Monterey, of course, is a wonderful place to enjoy history and nature, especially if you’ve been enduring a long winter. This year’s theme was sustainability and a task force is developing a white paper, which is available for public comments.
I attended primarily to discuss the History Relevance Campaign and collect more comments and ideas on our goals and projects. I also participated in a couple sessions, a morning of speed networking (graduate students and new professionals rotate among several mid-career and seasoned pros), and ran into lots of friends and colleagues in the hall and on the street. NCPH is a mix of Continue reading
Video: A Content-Free Social Studies Classroom
James Kendra, who has been teaching social studies at Kenowa Hills Middle School for the past nineteen years, explains his approach of a “content-free social studies classroom.” In this 12:35 video from TEDx Muskegon, he explains that social studies is the most important class students take in school but not when the emphasis is on facts and dates. “Students want to know why these events are happening,” Kendra says. “Historical events (if they were truly significant) would connect to events of today. We shouldn’t be telling students which events were important, but them discovering how past and present connect.” How would your tours or exhibits change if they were based on current events and then looked to the past for explanations and understanding?
Engaging Places 