House museums across the country are confronting difficult questions about relevance, sustainability, and meaning in the 21st century. What worked twenty years ago—traditional tours, decorative arts displays, and carefully preserved interiors—often isn’t enough today to engage visitors or generate financial stability. Communities are changing, audiences have new expectations, and historic sites are under increasing pressure to demonstrate their value.
That’s why Ken Turino (formerly at Historic New England) and I developed Reimagining the Historic House Museum, an intensive one-day workshop that helps professionals and volunteers tackle these challenges head-on. Over the past decade, we’ve led this program at sites across the United States, working with hundreds of staff, board members, and volunteers to think creatively about interpretation, audience engagement, and business models. Each workshop is highly interactive, blending case studies, small-group activities, and practical exercises. Participants leave not only with new ideas, but with concrete tools to implement change at their own sites.
This fall and next spring, we’ll be offering two opportunities to join us in person:
The winter holidays are some of the most beloved and heavily attended times of year for museums and historic sites—but interpreting them can be a challenge. Whose stories are told? What traditions are represented? How can we ensure our programs are welcoming, accurate, and relevant to our communities?
If you’ve been asking these questions, join me at an upcoming webinar hosted by the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH):
“Interpreting Winter Holidays with Your Community”
I’ll be speaking alongside Ken Turino, Martha Katz-Hyman, and Morgan Lloyd, each of whom brings experience and insights into crafting more inclusive, community-centered holiday programs. We’ll explore ways that museums and historic sites can move beyond nostalgic or monolithic narratives and instead embrace a richer variety of traditions and histories—from Hanukkah to Kwanzaa, from secular seasonal festivals to the complexities of Christmas. Whether you’re revamping long-standing programs or launching something new, this session will offer fresh ideas, examples, and practical steps for engaging your community during the holiday season.
In my portion of the webinar, I’ll share strategies for refreshing an existing Christmas event by incorporating research on state and local history, helping organizations better connect with their communities and interpret traditions in a meaningful context.
The webinar is inspired in part by the recent bookInterpreting Christmas at Museums and Historic Sites, which Ken and I co-edited and which features contributions from many practitioners grappling with these same questions. As a bonus, webinar attendees will receive a 30% discount on the book.
I know, we’re barely out of winter and we’re talking about winter holidays?? If you work at a museum or historic site, I know you’re already planning and we’re here to help!
Building upon the AASLH publication Interpreting Christmas at Museums and Historic Sitesand our 2024 webinar on Maximizing Your Museum’s Holiday Potential, this webinar will explore how historic houses and history museums can transform the holiday season into a powerful opportunity for community engagement, inclusivity, and innovation. Focusing on Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, this presentation will offer case studies of successful programming and exhibits from across the country and brainstorming on how participants can scale and adapt these ideas to fit their local contexts and community needs.
Are you ready to explore how the holiday season can transform your museum? Today at 12 pm Central Time (1 pm Eastern), the Illinois Association of Museums is hosting its monthly “Museum People Call”, and this month’s topic is Christmas at Museums and Historic Sites!
I’ll be joined by Ken Turino, my co-editor of the new AASLH book series Interpreting Christmas at Museums and Historic Sites, to discuss how your organization can leverage the holiday season to its fullest potential.
We’ll cover key topics to help you:
Leverage the holiday season to attract visitors and engage your community.
Increase financial stability through creative programming, gift shop sales, and end-of-year giving campaigns.
Enhance cultural sensitivity and inclusivity, ensuring your holiday interpretation is meaningful and welcoming to diverse audiences.
Whether your site has a long history of holiday programming or you’re just starting to explore the possibilities, this session will offer practical tips and inspiring ideas to align holiday traditions with your mission.
Let’s come together to make the holiday season brighter, more inclusive, and impactful for your museum and its visitors. We look forward to seeing you there!
Last week, Ken Turino and I conducted two “Reimagining House Museums” workshops in Mesquite (near Dallas) and Houston. These sessions sparked meaningful conversations about the future of house museums, but the inspiration didn’t stop there. We used our free time to visit several nearby museums, each offering unique approaches that left us thinking about how museums can better serve their audiences. Here are some standout ideas we discovered:
1. Personalizing Donor Recognition and Wayfinding at the Perot Museum of Science and Nature
The Perot Museum caught our attention with its donor wall, which didn’t just list names but included statements of intent from the donors. This added a personal touch, connecting visitors with the motivations behind the support. Another smart detail: wayfinding signage that directed visitors to “more cool exhibits.” This casual yet engaging language was both clear and inviting, proving that small touches can make a big impact.
Donor wall with statements of intent at the Perot Museum in Dallas.Continue reading →
Looking for new ideas to bring the magic of Christmas into your museum or historic site? Join us on Tuesday, November 26 at 3 p.m. Eastern for an engaging session of AASLH’s History Hour, where we’ll explore the many ways museums and historic sites are interpreting Christmas. It’s free to participate however pre-registration is required.
History Hour is a free, monthly online networking event hosted by the American Association for State and Local History that has grown from 6 participants in January to nearly 230 this month! It’s a fantastic way to connect with colleagues from around the country, share ideas, and pick up fresh tips.
I’ll be co-hosting with Ken Turino, and we’ll be diving into themes from our new book, Interpreting Christmas at Museums and Historic Sites, released in September. During the session, we’ll briefly introduce the topic and then jump into small group discussions where participants can talk through questions like:
How can historical and cultural traditions in your local communities be woven into your Christmas programs?
How have partnerships and sponsorships shaped your Christmas programming?
How do you ensure your Christmas interpretation aligns with your organization’s mission while staying relevant to today’s audience?
Given the diversity of Christmas traditions, how do you decide what to include or exclude in your interpretation?
What small steps have you taken to reinterpret Christmas at your site, and how have those changes influenced long-term planning?
After 30 minutes of lively group discussion, we’ll come together as a large group to share insights and takeaways. It’s a wonderful opportunity to gain new perspectives and learn from your peers.
Whether you’ve been interpreting Christmas for years or are just beginning, we’d love to have you join us for this festive and thoughtful event. Mark your calendar for November 26, and come ready to discuss your ideas and challenges!
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be co-teaching two Reimagining the Historic House Museum workshops in Texas this November with Ken Turino, hosted by the American Association for State and Local History in collaboration with the Texas Historical Commission. It’s a big state, so we’re offering it twice! If you’re a museum professional, volunteer, or student interested in exploring fresh strategies for engaging visitors and revitalizing historic house museums, these workshops are a great opportunity to explore new ideas and connect with colleagues.
Why Attend?
Historic house museums are at a pivotal moment, navigating changes in visitor expectations, community needs, and funding models. These workshops are designed to help you tackle these challenges, offering practical solutions for making your house museum more accessible, sustainable, and relevant. By focusing on innovative interpretation, strategic planning, and community engagement, you’ll be empowered to breathe new life into your historic house museum.
What You’ll Learn
This one-day, hands-on workshop explores the most pressing challenges and rewarding opportunities facing historic sites in America today. We’ll delve into the latest social and economic research to help you identify how these trends impact your own house museum, sparking new ideas for growth and engagement.
Throughout the day, we’ll introduce a variety of field-tested tools and techniques drawn from diverse areas like non-profit management, business strategy, and even software development. You’ll hear about innovative historic sites that are successfully adopting new models to engage their communities, offering fresh interpretation and programming, and generating income to boost financial sustainability.
A key highlight of the workshop is our facilitated brainstorming session based on Michael Porter’s Five Forces framework, where you’ll work with fellow participants to reinvent an event or program for an actual house museum. This practical exercise not only puts theory into action but also showcases the power of collaborative thinking to drive change.
Details and Registration
Mesquite Workshop (near Dallas): November 12, 2024 – Heritage Plaza Visitor Center
Houston Workshop: November 14, 2024 – Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Cost: $350 for non-members, $225 for AASLH members
Registration: Visit AASLH’s website for more information and to sign up. Participation is limited.
I hope to see you there as we explore how to bring new life and relevance to historic house museums. Together, let’s make these vital cultural spaces vibrant, engaging, and sustainable for generations to come!
If you missed out on purchasing a copy at the annual meeting or were unable to attend, you can order it online at Rowman.com or mail this order form. Use code RLFANDF30 at checkout to save 30%. This discount is available through September 2025. The book officially releases on September 20, so it should ship immediately when you order.
If you’ve had a chance to read Interpreting Christmas, we’d greatly appreciate a review on Amazon.com. Since history museums and historic sites are such a specialized field, your feedback can help others make more informed purchasing decisions.
Ken Turino, Sara Bhatia, and I are currently compiling the index for our book Interpreting Christmas at Museums and Historic Sites, while the other authors are meticulously reviewing the proofs for any final corrections. But we are much more excited to announce that we have a colorful cover featuring images from Old World Wisconsin and Strawbery Banke, and that Rowman and Littlefield have made the 270-page book available for pre-orders at this link.
To get a start on the holidays, join us in July when we’ll be hosting a live AASLH webinar, “Jingle All the Way: Maximizing Your Museum’s Holiday Potential.” Drawing from some of the insights in the book, we’ll discuss how your historic house or history museum can leverage December’s holiday season to enhance community engagement. Mark your calendar for July 23 at 3 p.m. Eastern and secure your spot by registering here for $45 ($25 for AASLH members).
For a preliminary glimpse inside Interpreting Christmas, I’m sharing the proofs for the table of contents and introduction. Just remember, they’re publisher’s proofs so they are subject to change!
The Reimagining the Historic House Museum workshop at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio in June 2023.
“Reimagining the Historic House Museum,” the one-day workshop co-led by me and Ken Turino (Historic New England) will be held on Friday, April 19, 2024, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm at Montpelier, a 1780s house museum in Laurel, Maryland (between DC and Baltimore). This workshop is part of the professional development series produced by AASLH. Registration is $325 but it’s $200 for AASLH members (and you receive an additional $50 discount if you register by March 22!). Participation is limited to 35 people.
Our workshop, while inspired by the book Reimagining Historic House Museums (2019), provides a more comprehensive hands-on exploration of house museums’ challenges. We assess current programs using a “double-bottom” line for a holistic view, analyze influencing forces to pinpoint opportunities and hurdles, and spotlight how house museums have successfully reinvented themselves. While the day is rich with information and activities, we ensure a well-deserved lunch break and networking time. You’ll leave with new tools and ideas to enhance your historic site and have an enjoyable experience.
Engaging Places 