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.  

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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.

The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership works with the Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia to provide an unusual summer camp that visits historic sites to create vodcasts on leadership.   This 3:11 video describes the camp and includes interviews with students, teachers, and staff.  According to one 7th grader, “I would recommend it to kids that like history, computers, or sports.  If you don’t like one of those three, then some parts you won’t enjoy.”  This video is the first in a series of nine, and you’ll find them all on YouTube.

This will be the last post for this year as I close out 2012 with a couple weeks of vacation from posting on this blog (but I’ll probably be updating the design and layout).  Thanks to all my readers and especially those who shared their thoughts, comments, and recommendations via comments and emails.

I launched the EngagingPlaces blog on October 24, 2011, so I’m also celebrating a one-year+ anniversary with some statistics for those who like them:

Most viewed posts for 2012

1. HBO CEO named Mt. Vernon CEO; A Step Backwards IMHO (9,043 views)
2. Let’s Give SWOT a REST (2,327 views)
3. Embezzlement: Is it Our Dirty Little Secret? (2,172 views)
4. Take Advantage of the Ten Cultural Trends for 2012 (581 views)
5. Best Practices (568 views)

The top referrers for 2012 (how readers find the blog)

1. Google Search
2. Facebook
3. Twitter
4. Linked In

Not so much through Bing, Yahoo, Pinterest, delicious, or StumbleUpon.  Although Google Reader and NetVibes weren’t among the top, their popularity surprised me so perhaps folks are becoming convinced of the benefits of news aggregators).

See you in 2013!

MuséoParc Alésia in Burgundy, France. The new orientation center is on the right and reconstructed sections of Roman fortifications are on the left.

On the site in Burgundy, France where Julius Caesar laid siege to Gallic leader Vercingetorix, architect Bernard Tschumi of New York created a circular concrete orientation center wrapped in a wood lattice on the site occupied by the Roman army.  (Although Napoleon II erected a 22 foot tall statue of Vercingetorix in 1865, he doesn’t seem to have caught on as a celebrity and no one names their kids after him.)  Called MuseoParc Alesia, the design of the interpretation center echoes the ringed fortifications built by Julius Caesar in 52 BC.  The building not only interprets the site through the exhibits inside but emphasizes views out onto the historic landscape via the windows and balconies that circle the building.  After watching a film about the battle, visitors exit the auditorium onto the tree-shaded roof terrace to enjoy a panoramic view so that, “vous vivez une expérience au cours de laquelle vous allez comprendre l’histoire de ce site, apprendre à regarder les signes dans le paysage mais aussi partager un lieu, un moment, un récit.”  And it includes an innovation for French museums:  a “toy library” for children ages 3 to 8 where they can learn while having fun (I think we call this a discovery room in the U. S.).  Strangely, the architect wanted the lobby to be empty.  I wonder if visitors will find this a confusing and sterile experience after encountering this dramatic building outside?  Seems to me to be a bit jarring, but I guess I’ll have to go to Burgundy to find out for myself.  A second circular museum built in the brick Gaul style will be located about a half mile away.

You’ll find a slide show of images at Architectural Record and initial reviews on Trip Advisor look promising.  Thanks to Barbara Campagna for alerting me to this new building!