Category Archives: Resources

Historic House Museums Gather for AASLH Workshop in Charleston

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For the past fifteen years, George McDaniel and I have taught a two-day workshop on the management of historic house museums for the American Association for State and Local History.  We cover a wide range of topics from fundraising to interpretation to disaster response to collections management–we really need a week, especially if there’s a lot of discussion.  That was certainly our experience last week in Charleston, South Carolina (and thanks to our hosts, the Historic Charleston Foundation!), where our discussions were so rich that I wasn’t able to complete most of my presentations.  That’s okay because the workshop is for the participants and as long as they find a topic that’s worth exploring, I’ll stay with them.  Indeed, George and I often find that we’re not instructors but facilitators, raising ideas and questions to provoke thoughtful discussions to help participants improve the management of their historic sites.

At the core of workshop is each participant’s “burning question.” They share their biggest concern or issue at the start of the class and at the end, they describe how they might address it when they return to their site.  It’s not only a way to make the workshop more relevant to the participants, but it also gives us a glimpse into the issues facing historic house museums around the country.  This year the questions included: Continue reading →

Want to Sharpen Your Historic Site Management Skills?

If you manage an historic site or house museum, there are several ways to sharpen your skills in the next few months.

Historic House Museum workshop at the Haas-Lilienthal House in San Francisco, 2014.

Historic House Museum workshop at the Haas-Lilienthal House in San Francisco, 2014.

For nearly fifteen years, the American Association for State and Local History has offered a two-day workshop on historic house museum issues and operations and next month it will be in Charleston, South Carolina on February 26-27, 2015.  Held in partnership with the Historic Charleston Foundation (one of the oldest historic preservation organizations in the US) and co-taught by me and Dr. George McDaniel of Drayton Hall, we’ll examine a wide range of topics from the unique perspective of house museums and historic sites, including leadership, interpretation, disaster preparedness, membership, and audience, through interactive presentations, group discussions, and site-specific exercises.  You’ll leave with a better sense of how your organization can better fulfill its mission and be more financially sustainable.  Registration is $345, $270 for AASLH members, plus there’s a $40 discount if you register by January 22.  Be sure to add a day to explore the historic sites in Charleston–it’s one of the best places to see a wide variety of visitor experiences in one place.

New this year is “Re-inventing the Historic House Museum,” a one-day workshop offering current thinking, practical information, and solutions to the challenges facing historic sites. The historic house museum in America is not dead nor are most of them dying. The field, however, needs to reflect and renew as the world around our historic sites continues to change.  This workshop was inspired by a sold-out symposium presented by the Historic House Museum Consortium of Washington, DC at Gunston Hall in March 2014, and now has been taken nationally to various regions by the American Association for State and Local History.  Ken Turino of Historic New England and I will be giving the core presentations and the others will vary to take advantage of the workshop location.  We’ll be at Strawbery Banke in New Hampshire on April 21, 2015 and the Margaret Mitchell House in Georgia on June 12, 2015.  Registration is $170; $95 for members of AASLH and NEMA (for April 21).

AAM’s Education Committee revives its Web Page

AAM EdCom web pageEdCom, the Education Professional Network of the American Alliance of Museums, recently revived its web page after a few months on hiatus.  You’ll not only find basic information about EdCom, the group that’s focused on education and interpretation in all types of museums (including historic sites), but resources, such as “Excellence in Practice: Museum Education Principles and Standards,” and a suggested bibliography.  If you want to keep on news, you’ll want to join them on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

With the recent restructuring of membership at AAM, you can join any one of the 22 professional networks (there’s even one for Historic House Museums) for free if you’re an individual professional member.

Online Learning Opportunities for Historic Site Interpreters

The opportunities for sharpening your skills as an historic site interpreter continue to grow online, sometimes even for free.  Here are a sampling of a few non-degree granting organizations where you’ll find workshops and classes on the Internet to keep your thinking fresh and improve your technique.  All times are Eastern unless noted.

American Alliance of Museums

  • Embracing 360 Engagement, Widening the Circle.  September 2, 2014 at 2:00 pm Eastern.
  • Building Trust through High Performance, Becoming Essential.  December 3 at 2:00 pm.

American Association for State and Local History

  • Historic House Calls: Using Futures Thinking to Navigate Ongoing Change.  August 20, 2014 at 2:00 pm. Free for AASLH members.
  • Writing the Grant: What’s the Process Like?  August 27 at 3:00 pm.  $115; $40 members.

Coursera

Continue reading →

AASLH Annual Meeting in September Offers Lots for Historic Sites

Alexander Ramsey House in St. Paul, an historic site of the Minnesota Historical Society.

Alexander Ramsey House in St. Paul, an historic site of the Minnesota Historical Society.

Historic sites and house museums will find lots of educational sessions and workshops just for them at the upcoming annual meeting of the American Association for State and Local History on September 17-20 in St. Paul, Minnesota (the right half of the Twin Cities).  There are more than 70 sessions and workshops offered this year, so I’m only highlighting a few to show the diversity of topics on or about historic sites:

  • Putting the Native American Voice into Historic Sites
  • Saving the Charnley Norwood House
  • Interpreting Religion at Historic House Museums
  • Two Very Different Historic Houses Ask:  We Got the Money–Now What?
  • Telling a Whole History:  Methods of Interpreting Domestic Servants
  • Welcoming All Visitors:  Accessible Programs at History Museums and Sites
  • Diversity and Inclusion:  What Does that Really Mean for Museums and Historic Sites?
  • Diversity in Education:  Teaching About Slavery, Innovative Strategies, and Best Practices
  • Making the Invisible Visible:  Using Mobile Technology to Reach New Audiences, Improve Accessibility, and Breathe New Life into a Virginia Historic Site
  • Redefining Success:  Tips and Techniques for Training Interpreters to Talk About Slavery
  • They Can’t All be Museums
  • Pocket Change:  Moving a House Museum into the 21st Century on a Budget

Of course, there are many more sessions that address related topics, such as boards, fundraising, Continue reading →

IMLS’ Count of Museums in the US May Be Exaggerated

LIMLS Museum Distribution by Type 2014q3ooking for museums in your county or state?  Want to know how you compare to other museums across the nation? You’ll find them in the Museum Universe Data File recently produced by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).  It’s a free database of museums in the US that includes names, addresses, contact information, total revenue and expenses, and GIS data.

IMLS held a webinar today to explain the datafile and answer questions.  They constructed the list from several sources, including the Internal Revenue Service and Foundation Center,  which were then reconciled to remove duplicates. Data will be updated every six months based on continuing research and community feedback. IMLS will be using the datafile to conduct sampling surveys for future research projects, such as collections care, to inform their programs and share results with the field and Congress, however, you are encouraged to use it as well.

The big news is that of the 35,144 total museums in the US, most are related to Continue reading →

Is Planning Giving You the Creeps?

Scope CreepThis afternoon at the annual meeting of the American Alliance of Museums in Seattle, Washington, I’ll be part of “Strategic Planning Made Simple,” a panel session discussing approaches to designing and implementing strategic plans with Liz Maurer (National Women’s Museum), Laurie Baty (National Capital Radio and Television Museum), and Steve Shwarzman (Institute of Library and Museum Services).  I’ll be highlighting four ways to overcome “planning creep,” the seemingly inevitable and invisible force that pulls you away from your goals:

1.  Adopting a Meaningful Purpose and Vision.  Strategic plans have been with us for nearly a century, first for military purposes and then adopted by businesses in the 1970s.  It’s now pretty clear that planning without a purpose is a wasted effort and now you’ll find both businesses and non-profit organizations adopting “mission statements.”  While mission statements are needed, not all mission statements are helpful.  I’ll be outlining the six elements of a Continue reading →

Museum Advocacy Day Highlights

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Last week was Museums Advocacy Day and this week is Historic Preservation Advocacy Day, so Congress is getting lots of visits from people who care about our nation’s history and culture.

Museums Advocacy Day has improved each year.  The schedule is well organized and the training and materials are thoughtfully assembled to give everyone a clear idea of what might happen during a congressional visit and the priorities for requests (with lots of good background information so you can speak about issues confidently).  At the top of the list was a request for “robust funding” for the Office of Museum Services at IMLS, protection of the charitable deduction, and permission for museums to be eligible with schools for federal teacher training funds.  Even if you weren’t able to join us, the American Alliance of Museums provides lots of information and ideas for advocacy at home (although the handy “Issues at a Glance” from the Advocate Handbook doesn’t seem to be available online).

IMLS, NEH, NPS, NFS, and NEA talked about their needs but they didn’t seem to be aware Continue reading →

Nancy Duarte’s “Resonate” Free on iPad

A multi-touch version of Resonate is available free on iPad.

A multi-touch version of Resonate is available free on iPad.

Nancy Duarte is one of the leading producers of presentations, including the Academy Award-winning film, “An Inconvenient Truth” with Al Gore.  There may not be agreement on climate change, but everyone was impressed by the quality of that documentary.  Duarte has shared her expertise through Slide:ology and Resonate, and these books have not only helped me improve and enhance my Powerpoint presentations but also my interpretation skills.  Her approach is firmly grounded in the techniques of effective communication, which can be applied to many situations at museums and historic sites.  If you’re not familiar with Nancy Duarte, she explains her ideas in an 18-minute presentation at TEDxEast in 2011.

The good news for iPad owners is a “multi-touch” version of Resonate is available free through iBooks.  All of the content from the book is supplemented with videos, quizzes, backstories, and other interactive experiences to better engage you.  You’ll not only learn about building better presentations and communicating more effectively, but you’ll also experience an example of one of the most effective eBooks available.  If you’re not sure how to do this, open the iBooks application and search the Store for “Resonate by Nancy Duarte”.

AASLH Refreshes its Website

AASLH website 2013The American Association for State and Local History refreshed its website at aaslh.org, launching a significantly improved and enhanced version that’s rich with color and photos, along with continually updated news, blog posts, and tweets laid out in a magazine format.    You’ll need to explore the various pages to discover the new features and content, but I especially like News and Views to quickly soak up what’s happening and the Learn and Search Interests pages, where you can browse popular topics with just a click of a mouse, such as “administration” or “funding.”  There’s also a Your Feed page that allows you choose from a menu of topics that interest you, such as “best practices” or “historic houses” and viola! you get a special page created just for you.

As a member of the AASLH Council, I officially receive the credit for the new website, but it actually belongs to the AASLH staff, particularly Rebecca Price, Bob Beatty, and Terry Jackson.  This new website has been a longtime in coming, but it was worth the wait.

PS.  If the new website comes up broken, as it did for me at first, just refresh your browser to clear its memory of the old website.