Author Archives: Max van Balgooy

Unknown's avatar

About Max van Balgooy

President of Engaging Places LLC, a design and strategy firm that connects people to historic places.

Snapshots of AASLH in Birmingham

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I’ve just returned from three days in Birmingham, Alabama, where I attended the annual meeting of the American Association for State and Local History.  Lots of great sessions and I was often caught struggling to decide which one to attend.  Of course, it’s always great to meet colleagues from around the country but I was struck by how many graduate students attended.  Melissa Bingmann, who directs the public history program at West Virginia University, brought a dozen students because she believes it’s a more effective use of her limited funds–students hear more “guest” speakers, visit more museums and historic places, and learn more about the field than if they had stayed on campus all year.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Birmingham isn’t high on my list of tourist destinations, but the AASLH meeting gave me a chance to see Continue reading →

AASLH Award Winners

Lee Wright at the History List created a Slideshare presentation of the 87 history projects that will be receiving awards today from the American Association for State and Local History at their annual meeting in Birmingham, Alabama.   You’ll see exhibits, books, websites, preservation projects, outdoor multimedia tours, and much, much more.  It’s an easy way to get ideas for your museum and historic site (perhaps your staff can watch it over lunch together?).

Lee also mentioned that he’ll be offering the “Make this Holiday Historic” at the History List again in December to promote events, gifts, and membership at historic sites and house museums but may include some tweaks to make it more engaging.  If you are interested in participating (I especially encourage sites that are in a city or region that’s a tourist destination), contact Lee@TheHistoryList.com.

AASLH Meets in Birmingham

The American Association for State and Local History is holding its annual meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, attracting about 700 people from a variety of history organizations around the country.  The schedule is packed into three days and today started with an outstanding tour of the Civil Rights movement using historic sites around and the public art in Kelley Ingram Park.  We learned about the many people involved, the strategies and obstacles, using both local and national (sometimes even international) stories. A new sculpture was just installed to honor the children who were killed fifty years ago (four girls from a bombing of the church and two boys on the streets of Birmingham), now accompanying statues of Martin Luther King Jr., children facing fire hoses, and the famous walk-through sculpture of attacking police dogs.  I’ll be sharing more from the annual meeting in the following days, including a summary from the discussions on the relevance of history.  

Video: The Heart of the Matter

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences produced this 7-minute video to accompany its report, The Heart of the Matter: The Humanities and Social Sciences for a Vibrant, Competitive, and Secure Nation.   You’ll see lots of familiar names and faces along with many provocative and inspiring thoughts to bolster your day (and some sufficiently pithy to make great quotes in a fundraising letter).

We’ll be discussing the Heart of the Matter report and the state of history at the AASLH annual meeting this week, first at today’s CEO Forum chaired by Kent Whitworth of the Kentucky Historical Society, which will include presentations by Conny Graft and Pharabe Kolb and discussions facilitated by me.  Tomorrow, Tim Grove of the Smithsonian Institution moderates a general session with Conny Graft, Pharabe Kolb, and Kim Fortney.  I’ll be sharing the results of those meetings in the weeks that follow.

Video: History Lives in Alnwick Castle

This is a 0:30 television commercial promoting Alnwick Castle in England, which uses the slogan “Where History Lives.”  This historic site continues as the home of the Dukes of Northumberland, so along with tours of the castle and gardens, they offer a very wide range of activities, such as broomstick training (just like Harry Potter), archery (“one of England’s oldest skills”), and a theatrical behind-the-scenes adventure (called “The Lost Cellars”).  Historic sites rarely are able to produce advertising for television, so enjoy this rare treat.

Review of 2013 NEH Grants Reveals Opportunities and Challenges

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The National Endowment for the Humanities has announced their last round of grants in the America’s Historical and Cultural Organization‘s (AHCO) program for fiscal year 2013, and a review suggests that opportunities and challenges await applicants–and NEH.  AHCO offers the largest grants for both planning and implementation of exhibits, programs, and activities for history organizations, and it’s often the one that people think of first for funding from NEH.

NEH awarded twenty-five grants totaling $4.2 million in 2013, with history organizations (i.e., historical societies, history museums, historic sites) receiving ten grants (40 percent) and $1.3 million in funding (32 percent).  That’s pretty good compared to the other categories, such as art museums and universities, although I’ll admit it’s a bit subjective depending on how you categorize an organization (I counted the Peabody Essex Museum as a history organization but could as easily be considered an art museum).  NEH funding has long been known as prestigious but rare (NEH states that about 9 percent of applications are funded) so history organizations are doing pretty well.

A Closer Look

A deeper analysis suggests that the chances of obtaining a grant may be easier for some than others.  When you examine Continue reading →

Video: History Lives in Charleston

Charleston, South Carolina has one of the most active convention and visitor bureaus in the nation and it has embraced the value of history and historic preservation in its promotion of the region.  This past year they launched a series of videos on different distinctive aspects of Charleston, including “History Lives,” which features interviews with George McDaniel of Drayton Hall, Kitty Robinson of the Historic Charleston Foundation, Charles Duell of Middleton Place, and Robert Russell of the College of Charleston.  At 5:41, it’s a bit longer than most videos I’ve shared previously but it’s a good example of content, production, and pacing.  If you’d like to see all of their videos, visit the Charleston Area Visitors and Convention Bureau website or their channel on YouTube.

Interpreting Historic Sites: a GWU version

This fall I’m teaching a graduate-level class on interpreting historic sites and house museums at George Washington University, which has one of the best museum studies programs in the nation (I can’t say THE best, because I attended the University of Delaware’s museum studies program).   Historic site interpretation is so popular at GWU that there are two classes:  one taught by me in the museum studies program and the other by Carol Stapp in the museum education program.  My class is focusing its work on Carlyle House, a mid-18th century house in historic Alexandria, Virginia.  Director Susan Hellman has graciously allowed my class examine its interpretation for the next few months and I’ll be sharing a few of those experience on this blog.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I’ve significantly revised the syllabus for this fall, and because the readings form a core library on historic site interpretation, it might be useful as a bibliography of sorts to readers who are interested in this topic.  Three books are required for the course, including Interpreting Historic House Museums, edited by Jessica Foy Donnelly (Altamira, 2002).  It’s more than a dozen years old but Continue reading →

Engaging Places blog on Vacation in August

One of the traditions in Washington, DC is a long vacation in August because it’s just too hot and humid to work.  Even though most offices, homes, and cars are now air conditioned, the tradition still holds (note that Congress recently adjourned until September) and we’ll be observing it here as well.  There won’t be any posts unless something incredibly interesting happens and we’ll focus on sweeping out spam, refreshing pages, and perhaps even get around to a little remodeling.  We’ll be back again after Labor Day with the usual 2-3 posts each week, so it’s a good time to subscribe so you don’t miss the news when it comes out again this fall.  Thanks for your continued support and interest this year and we look forward to seeing you in a few weeks.

Video: Summer Walk on the British Coast

Summer has arrived and what better time of year to get out and explore the best of British wildlife. Join Fred Rumsey, Botanist at the Natural History Museum in England, as he goes on a coastal walk in search of plants living in extreme conditions at West Wittering Beach in West Sussex.  This is part of a series of videos exploring nature in different seasons.  Can your site be interpreted differently in summer than it can in winter?