Category Archives: Historical interpretation

HBR: The Truth About the Customer Experience

Harvard Business Review, September 2013

Harvard Business Review, September 2013

The September 2013 issue of Harvard Business Review features four articles on women in leadership, which will be of interest to many people who work at historic sites and museums.  The first is on the subtle gender bias that obstructs women’s access to leadership in even the most well-meaning organizations (and how to correct the problem), the second article describes companies who have successfully incorporated inclusivity, and the third reveals the way women make buying decisions differently in a business-to-business (B2B) setting from men.  The fourth article is a roundup of recent research on women in the workplace, such as women receive less criticism but also less challenging assignments.  Of course, the museum and historic site field is dominated by women, so I wonder what these statistics would look like for us.

There’s also a good article on “customer journey mapping.”  It’s a relatively new method of studying a customer’s buying experience by identifying all the places that a company interacts with a customer and evaluating each of these “touchpoints.”   By mapping the customer’s journey to buy a product from their initial search for information to its delivery and installation, a company can better understand the Continue reading →

Snapshots of AASLH in Birmingham

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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.

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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.

Review of 2013 NEH Grants Reveals Opportunities and Challenges

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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.

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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 →

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?

News from Montpelier and Belle Grove in Virginia

Last Friday I was in Virginia and thought I’d share what’s been happening at James Madison’s Montpelier and Belle Grove, two historic sites that I’ve been associated with for more than a decade.  

James Madison’s Montpelier as seen from the entry drive.
Montpelier’s Interiors and Interpretation Committee.
Drawing Room at Montpelier.
Committee visiting the Dining Room of Montpelier.
Committee in Madison’s office.

 

The day started with a meeting of the Interiors and Interpretation Committee at James Madison’s Montpelier to see the most recently restored rooms at the mansion, advise them on the next phase of work, and to meet Kat Imhoff, the new president of the Montpelier Foundation.  The committee hasn’t met for a couple years so I was particularly anxious to see what’s been happening at this nationally significant site.  The drawing room, dining room, new library, and James Madison’s office are furnished (or nearly so) and with revisions to the tour, it’s a dramatically different visitor experience.  If you haven’t been there in a couple years, it’s well worth another visit.  I enjoy participating as a committee member because Montpelier gives me the unique privilege of staying overnight on site (not in the mansion, alas, but in a nicely updated house in the Constitutional Village).  Even better are the people I work with when I visit–passionate and enthusiastic colleagues who are among the best in their fields.  This meeting included Conny Graft, Betty Monkman, Gail Serfaty, David Mattern, and Robert Leath and to give you a glimpse of their fervor, one of the committee members brought an undiscovered Madison letter that descended through her family and we stayed up until midnight (at least that’s when I went to bed) to discuss and analyze it.  

Belle Grove retirement party for Elizabeth McClung.
Kent and Elizabeth McClung and Max van Balgooy.
Belle Grove retirement party for Elizabeth McClung.
Model unveiled by Jane Dodds and Scott Guerin of 4274 Design Workshop.
Detail of Belle Grove in 1820 model.

In the evening, I stopped by Belle Grove in Middletown on the way home to congratulate Elizabeth McClung on her retirement.  Their board of trustees hosted a well deserved celebratory party with lots of speeches, food, and wine.  Elizabeth has served for 17 years at the helm of this historic site, making tremendous strides in preservation and interpretation to make it a major point of pride in the community.  She helped create the Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, launched new research initiatives on African American and women’s history, acquired extremely important family portraits and adjacent land parcels, fought bloody preservation battles in the Shenandoah Valley, revised the website, authentically restored the parlor and dining room, and raised LOTS of money (those are just the things I’m aware of from my distant view!).  Her last major project was the rehabilitation of an early 20th century barn for educational activities and while funds still need to be raised for the exhibits, 4274 Design Workshop unveiled a new model of Belle Grove as it appeared in 1820.

It was an incredibly full and fun day visiting these two historic sites, and because I was mostly traveling the Virginia countryside, a great day of driving on a beautiful day as well.

Early Bird Registration Discount on AASLH Meeting Ends this Week

The American Association for State and Local History just released its program for its annual meeting on September 18-21, 2013 in Birmingham, Alabama this year and it’s full of educational sessions, workshops, and field trips for people who work, volunteer, and love historic sites, including:

  • A tours of historic sites in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Florence
  • A visit to the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church on the week of the 50th anniversary of the bombing that killed four girls.
  • A workshop on interpreting slavery at historic sites and museums
  • A breakfast for professionals working  in historic house museums with the provocateurs who wrote The Anarchist Guide to Historic House Museums.
  • Sessions on interpreting women at historic sites, incorporating the arts, integrating African American voices into historic plantation tours, strategic planning through scenarios, and the creation of heritage trails.

Lots of events happen at the same time so it’s always hard choosing, but this year’s meeting is being held in partnership with the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, so along with the sessions that focus around historic sites, there are also many sessions on community engagement, organizational leadership, interpretation of controversial topics, and the incorporation of new perspectives.   It’ll be a good meeting and I plan to be there, so I’m taking advantage of the early bird discount that ends this Friday, July 26. Registration is $325 for members, but this week it’s only $235 (staff of institutional partners get this same low price until August 16, so you have a few more weeks).  For more information, visit AASLH.org.

An Exhibit that Teases You For a Closer Look

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I’ve just returned from Yellowstone National Park–the nation’s first–and while I have much to share on my experiences from my visit, I wanted to start with an exhibit that teases you to take a closer look.  In the new visitor education center at Old Faithful Geyser, you’ll find a diorama of a hot spring as the centerpiece of the exhibit gallery.  It would be easy to just point out the blue waters of the hot spring or the coyote nearby, but several flipbooks on the railing encourage you to “Look Closely” with the words, “Life abounds in Yellowstone’s hydrothermal areas.  How many things can you find here that are evidence of plants, animals, or other life?”  Rather than just put the answers on the next page, they first say, Continue reading →