Well okay, now its the 5th, but Happy Extended Celebration of American Independence! I worked in the Chandlery yesterday, and it was really interesting seeing how another museum celebrated the day. Mystic Seaport's roleplayers are set in 1876 (one year after Walnut Hill at Living History Farms). While the Farms is 3rd person, not 1st person, it is still fun to get pretty into the day. There is always a parade, in which two years running I got to be a suffragist, a medicine show, a speech, lots of decorations everywhere and of course good food. In Tangen last year we had fried chicken, German style potato salad and a sour cherry pie I made myself. All cooked on a wood stove, of course.
Yesterday at Mystic followed some of the same themes. There was a grand parade, where squad dressed in costumes like Neptune and the Grim Reaper, the actors lugged the giant fire engine around, a band played, some "vets" marched, and though I couldn't see their flag, a group of finely dressed ladies strolled in a dignified manner. My guess is either temperance or suffrage. There was also, of course, the mandatory parade of adorable children, led down the route by my roommate Ginger. I love kids, and I love watching how excited they are to be able to participate in something like a parade. All of this came right by my stoop at the Chandlery, but unfortunately we are very much stationary during the day so I didn't really get the chance to wander around and see what else was happening. According to the schedule my first visitor of the day "borrowed" (isn't that always the way!), there were Civil War reenactors, a game of croquet on the village green, a picnic, and ice cream making, along with the normally scheduled squad demonstrations. Normally I will try to find a way to interpret the holiday within whatever site I am stationed at, but yesterday was mostly answering questions about the blast gun, baggywrinkle, and oakum. It was a good day, not as busy as the first weekend but not slow either.
One thing I have on my list of big life goals is to visit the other big living history/open air museums and see how they portray the 4th of July. Do we make it one big party with a red white and blue theme, or do we still work to reach out and teach our visitors what that day meant to a particular group in a particular time? I know the roleplayers at Mystic talk all year long about the Centennial celebration in Philadelphia, and what the nation's 100th anniversary meant to them and their neighbors. I would really love to see even more of that incorporated into all of the lh/oa museums, and not just for the roleplayers. But, in the meantime, there is nothing wrong with cherry pie and a good game of hoop and stick!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Emotions
Is it the job of a museum to try to inspire in its visitors particular emotions? I am talking about the step beyond "hey this whaling ship is awesome!" sort of thing.
"The USS Constitution Museum serves as the memory and educational voice of USS CONSTITUTION, by collecting, preserving, and interpreting the stories of "Old Ironsides" and the people associated with her. We seek to create a positive, memorable experience for both children and adults by inspiring within them a love for the freedom that CONSTITUTION symbolizes. We will share CONSTITUTION's contributions with a global audience, and we will strive to be the best museum possible based on scholarship and innovative ways of sharing CONSTITUTION's stories." (emphasis added)
This is, as you can probably tell, the mission statement of the USS Constitution museum. I talked a little bit about the museum a couple of posts ago, but in our follow-up seminar this was something that came up. Some of us were uncomfortable with the phrase I highlighted above, especially considering that the museum itself is a privately run institution. If the mission of the ship herself had included that phrase, we would have been a little more okay, because she is run by the Navy. Do not take this as a criticism of the museum itself or as my opinion of American freedom, it is not my intent to negatively portray either. I just am unsure how a museum goes about inspiring those particular feelings in a person. If I were British, and came to the museum, I believe I would have very different feelings about the meaning of the USS CONSTITUTION.
I'm not sure if there is a right or a wrong answer here. A lot of museums will be spending this weekend celebrating the 4th, and I know that all three of "my" museums have special events planned. Those celebrations, in their essence, lift of the tenets of our American identity. So the Constitution Museum is not alone in celebrating freedom, but I am still not sure if that fits as the central mission of a museum.
"The USS Constitution Museum serves as the memory and educational voice of USS CONSTITUTION, by collecting, preserving, and interpreting the stories of "Old Ironsides" and the people associated with her. We seek to create a positive, memorable experience for both children and adults by inspiring within them a love for the freedom that CONSTITUTION symbolizes. We will share CONSTITUTION's contributions with a global audience, and we will strive to be the best museum possible based on scholarship and innovative ways of sharing CONSTITUTION's stories." (emphasis added)
This is, as you can probably tell, the mission statement of the USS Constitution museum. I talked a little bit about the museum a couple of posts ago, but in our follow-up seminar this was something that came up. Some of us were uncomfortable with the phrase I highlighted above, especially considering that the museum itself is a privately run institution. If the mission of the ship herself had included that phrase, we would have been a little more okay, because she is run by the Navy. Do not take this as a criticism of the museum itself or as my opinion of American freedom, it is not my intent to negatively portray either. I just am unsure how a museum goes about inspiring those particular feelings in a person. If I were British, and came to the museum, I believe I would have very different feelings about the meaning of the USS CONSTITUTION.
I'm not sure if there is a right or a wrong answer here. A lot of museums will be spending this weekend celebrating the 4th, and I know that all three of "my" museums have special events planned. Those celebrations, in their essence, lift of the tenets of our American identity. So the Constitution Museum is not alone in celebrating freedom, but I am still not sure if that fits as the central mission of a museum.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Modern Town in the Old Town
Yesterday was my first day interpreting at Mystic Seaport. I was in the chandlery, and although going in I was extremely nervous, I shouldn't have been. It went very, very well. One of the things that surprised me was the number of international visitors. I talked with at least have a dozen Britons, a woman from Japan, a pair of Quebecois, and three other groups from France. I got the chance to interpret my interpretation to one lone Frenchman from small-town Brittany, and with a couple from the southern part of the country. That was fun, but made my brain hurt. The best visitor of the whole day was an employee of Dengameleby, a Danish open air/living history museum. The gentleman was in town "spying" on all of the New England open air museums, as well as attending the recent ALFHAM conference. Apparently his museum is opening a new section of their town, including a 1920's and a 1970's section. How cool is that? It is my understanding that LHF, if it ever has a fabulous donor who makes it possible, wants to start a 1950's farm. So often we act extremely retroactively, and are trying to gather artifacts from hundreds of years ago. We'd be able to put together a much better approximation of what happened only 60 years ago compared to two hundred or more. This Danish museum is now going on my list of places to visit!
Boston
Last week, the interns took our first field trip of the summer. There are some great ones lined up, but we started off with a bang. We got up early and made the trip to Boston's USS Constitution Museum, the USS Constitution herself, and the Museum of Science. It was an intense but really great day. The woman who toured us through the Constitution was a naval historian, and is quite possibly the best interpreter I have ever heard. Everything she said she related back to our own experiences at the Seaport. When talking about the dimensions of the Constitution, she compared it to the ships we have. And as she was doing this, she name and date dropped like she was a walking textbook of United States and British history. It was fantastic.
Two things really struck me as interesting during the Constitution portion of our trip. First, the ship itself is maintained and toured by the Navy. The museum, next door, is a private institution. And all of it sits on the wharf owned by the National Park Service. We didn't really have time to get too deeply into the complications that causes, but I am sure there are a few. I would love to dig more into those relationships and see how they work.
The second thing that was interesting was the top floor of the museum. In this exhibit, I believe opened a year ago, the museum is really aiming to engage families. Their goal is to create an opportunity for inter-generational conversation. Now, we interns are not a family. We're a group of 20-30 somethings. We, in general, did not feel that the exhibit was something we would have particularly gotten into as visitors. It was very child oriented. That is not a bad thing, at all. Kids often don't feel comfortable in museums, so it is great to be able to show them there is a place for them to be. But as a group of adults, we weren't as engaged by the exhibit as we would have liked to be. I would be interested to go back with my own family, or with another peer group that is perhaps a bit closer. Maybe we would have had a different experience. There was also a school group there at the same time, and while I only saw them briefly, I would be very interested to hear how that particular type of visitor engages the exhibit. I would have loved more time to see the downstairs, which we really only walked by, but that will have to wait for another day.
The second half of the trip took us to the Boston Museum of Science. They have a new traveling exhibit on whales from New Zealand, including some great info on the Maori people and their interactions with the whales. I think this exhibit probably ranks in the top ten I've seen so far. It was beautifully done, had a great blend of artifacts and interactives, and was just a pleasure to look at. I only wish we would have had more time. The rest of the museum I didn't spend as much time going through as I did last fall, but I had the same impression again. It was much more of a kid-focused space, without much real structure to it. It makes me wonder if this is the way all museums are going? Are we doomed to be either stiff and boring on one hand or catering exclusively to children on the other? I wish we could find some common ground.
Two things really struck me as interesting during the Constitution portion of our trip. First, the ship itself is maintained and toured by the Navy. The museum, next door, is a private institution. And all of it sits on the wharf owned by the National Park Service. We didn't really have time to get too deeply into the complications that causes, but I am sure there are a few. I would love to dig more into those relationships and see how they work.
The second thing that was interesting was the top floor of the museum. In this exhibit, I believe opened a year ago, the museum is really aiming to engage families. Their goal is to create an opportunity for inter-generational conversation. Now, we interns are not a family. We're a group of 20-30 somethings. We, in general, did not feel that the exhibit was something we would have particularly gotten into as visitors. It was very child oriented. That is not a bad thing, at all. Kids often don't feel comfortable in museums, so it is great to be able to show them there is a place for them to be. But as a group of adults, we weren't as engaged by the exhibit as we would have liked to be. I would be interested to go back with my own family, or with another peer group that is perhaps a bit closer. Maybe we would have had a different experience. There was also a school group there at the same time, and while I only saw them briefly, I would be very interested to hear how that particular type of visitor engages the exhibit. I would have loved more time to see the downstairs, which we really only walked by, but that will have to wait for another day.
The second half of the trip took us to the Boston Museum of Science. They have a new traveling exhibit on whales from New Zealand, including some great info on the Maori people and their interactions with the whales. I think this exhibit probably ranks in the top ten I've seen so far. It was beautifully done, had a great blend of artifacts and interactives, and was just a pleasure to look at. I only wish we would have had more time. The rest of the museum I didn't spend as much time going through as I did last fall, but I had the same impression again. It was much more of a kid-focused space, without much real structure to it. It makes me wonder if this is the way all museums are going? Are we doomed to be either stiff and boring on one hand or catering exclusively to children on the other? I wish we could find some common ground.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Bring Some Fun Into It
Long story short, in 2005, right after graduating high school, I got the chance to perform in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Edingburgh, Scotland. My high school theater club did "All I Really Know I Learned in Kindergarten", adapted from the book by Robert Fulghum with the same title. If you have never read anything of his, I highly, highly recommend it. This picture was taken at the foot of Arthur's Seat, a dormant volcano in the middle of Edinburgh. We had an afternoon off, and went on a hike. And, this blog is focused on museums, here is the tie-in.
Sometimes, even though I do love museums, I wish they were a little more fun. This picture comes from a free afternoon we had in Edinburgh. We had toured around a lot, visited several historic sites, but it was fun to do something just a little goofy. I think this is the big reason why my passion is in living history. At living history museums, instead of walking slowly and reading signs, I get to touch, try, and play. And yeah, maybe sometimes its more formulated for kids, but at 23 I still think I get to play around a bit. Science museums are also a good way to give it a try, though those that I have been to have really focused only on kids and very basic science principles that I luckily learned awhile back. That being said, my boyfriend and I quite enjoyed playing with the weather front machine at the Minnesota Science Museum.
So, and I know this has already been debated to death, but really, why can't history be fun? When Nate and I toured through the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit, it was like walking through a library with the stereotypical extra strict librarian. Nobody spoke a word. I think it would have been a great place to really get conversation going, especially since both Nate and I are historians and really like to discuss things like that. Instead, we waited until we were back out into the main part of the museum. Would something as simple as having music piped in have helped? I'm not sure. So think about it. What museums have you been to that could use some "funning" (yes I know that isn't a real word) up? What do you think would help? Could it be as simple as encouraging more discourse while visitors are still in the museum?
Ethnic Studies
As you may know, Arizona's governor recently signed into law a bill that "prohibits public schools from including courses or classes, which promote the overthrow of the U.S. government or resentment towards a race or class of people, and specifies rules pertaining to pupil disciplinary proceedings are not to be based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin or ancestry."1 Critics, including the United Nations, argue that this prohibits individuals from learning about their own culture and origins.
At the same time, the state of Texas has been working to revise its social studies curriculum. Historians have blasted these proposed changes, and with the amount of impact Texas has on textbooks (which in turn impact other states education levels), I am inclined to agree.
I have to be honest. In every history class I've taken since high school, there has been a topic covered that made me unhappy with the United States government. In college I took a class on Social Justice and learned about our governments preference for dictatorial, sometimes cruel leaders, as long as they weren't socialists. I read about the Iran-Contra Crisis, and wondered what actions today we are taking today. No, I have no desire to overthrow the government, other than the part where I consider it my civic duty to vote. Through that means, I do take a stand against those in power who I feel are not best representing our nation's interests. But I digress.
My big question is: What is a museum to do? If you are a museum in either state, or in another where you believe there to be a problem with the education system, is it your museums responsibility to try to fill the void? Do Kansas science museums have a responsibility to present the evolution side of things? Will Arizona's history museums put up exhibits highlighting its ethnic groups, or the Mexican side of the Mexican-American War? I've been tossing this idea about museums and social responsibility a lot lately, as my thesis topic could have some overlap. Is it our job as museum professionals to effect change? To right wrongs? Or is that overstepping our role in the community? Are we instead better suited to teaching, preserving, and protecting? I'm really not sure. I think, for me personally, I'd like to do both.
Arizona State Senate, "Fact Sheet for Bill H.B.2281", Arizona State Legislature. (http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/2r/summary/s.2281ed_caucus-floor.doc.htm) (accessed May 25, 2010).
At the same time, the state of Texas has been working to revise its social studies curriculum. Historians have blasted these proposed changes, and with the amount of impact Texas has on textbooks (which in turn impact other states education levels), I am inclined to agree.
I have to be honest. In every history class I've taken since high school, there has been a topic covered that made me unhappy with the United States government. In college I took a class on Social Justice and learned about our governments preference for dictatorial, sometimes cruel leaders, as long as they weren't socialists. I read about the Iran-Contra Crisis, and wondered what actions today we are taking today. No, I have no desire to overthrow the government, other than the part where I consider it my civic duty to vote. Through that means, I do take a stand against those in power who I feel are not best representing our nation's interests. But I digress.
My big question is: What is a museum to do? If you are a museum in either state, or in another where you believe there to be a problem with the education system, is it your museums responsibility to try to fill the void? Do Kansas science museums have a responsibility to present the evolution side of things? Will Arizona's history museums put up exhibits highlighting its ethnic groups, or the Mexican side of the Mexican-American War? I've been tossing this idea about museums and social responsibility a lot lately, as my thesis topic could have some overlap. Is it our job as museum professionals to effect change? To right wrongs? Or is that overstepping our role in the community? Are we instead better suited to teaching, preserving, and protecting? I'm really not sure. I think, for me personally, I'd like to do both.
Arizona State Senate, "Fact Sheet for Bill H.B.2281", Arizona State Legislature. (http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/2r/summary/s.2281ed_caucus-floor.doc.htm) (accessed May 25, 2010).
Monday, April 5, 2010
Wiki-Writing
One of the blogs that I subscribe to, Museum 2.0, is written by Nina Simon. She just published "The Participatory Museum", and while I can't wait to get my hands on a copy, her writing process has intrigued me. In her blog's March 24 post, she talked about the process by which she actually wrote the book. Rather than sending off select pieces to trusted critics, Simon put herself and her work out there and posted her rough drafts on a public wiki. Those that signed up were allowed to comment, and apparently did so quite constructively.
The idea of being so up front, open, and trusting with your work seems to me to be quite intimidating. Three cheers to Simon for being able to put herself out there and trust that the public would treat her fairly. From the sound of her blog, they did just that. I am glad to hear that, while so many were initially interested in helping her, the end result was a manageable number of participants. I think if I were to follower her lead, I would be worried about either getting no responses or about being so overwhelmed by them that I would be unable to give them all the proper amount of attention.
One of the biggest things that I noticed from Simon's post was not necessarily the technicality of the responses given, but the motivation and confidence that putting her work out in public gave her. It makes me wonder how many other people have had this same idea, and how many are in the museum field, as Simon is. Right now there is a lot of talk about finding ways to be more transparent, and in being more inclusive when it comes to the visiting public. Could writing museum material in public like she did be a way to do more of this? Would this format work for exhibit design, public programs or articles? Or does the format work better for something more long term, like a book? Would a pure history topic be more successful, especially if contribution requests were aimed at others interested in the topic? I am very curious to out for myself, and will have to think about it more as my thesis starts to come together. Maybe not for the thesis itself, but definitely for anything that comes later. I think it is a wonderful way to get a broad range of responses from what would otherwise be a narrow pool. Great work, Nina Simon, and thank you very, very much for sharing your process. I'm looking forward to reading your book!
The idea of being so up front, open, and trusting with your work seems to me to be quite intimidating. Three cheers to Simon for being able to put herself out there and trust that the public would treat her fairly. From the sound of her blog, they did just that. I am glad to hear that, while so many were initially interested in helping her, the end result was a manageable number of participants. I think if I were to follower her lead, I would be worried about either getting no responses or about being so overwhelmed by them that I would be unable to give them all the proper amount of attention.
One of the biggest things that I noticed from Simon's post was not necessarily the technicality of the responses given, but the motivation and confidence that putting her work out in public gave her. It makes me wonder how many other people have had this same idea, and how many are in the museum field, as Simon is. Right now there is a lot of talk about finding ways to be more transparent, and in being more inclusive when it comes to the visiting public. Could writing museum material in public like she did be a way to do more of this? Would this format work for exhibit design, public programs or articles? Or does the format work better for something more long term, like a book? Would a pure history topic be more successful, especially if contribution requests were aimed at others interested in the topic? I am very curious to out for myself, and will have to think about it more as my thesis starts to come together. Maybe not for the thesis itself, but definitely for anything that comes later. I think it is a wonderful way to get a broad range of responses from what would otherwise be a narrow pool. Great work, Nina Simon, and thank you very, very much for sharing your process. I'm looking forward to reading your book!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Historians vs. Economists
I will be honest, the worst classes for me in college were micro and macroeconomics. I had to take them to fulfill my International Relations and Political Science credits, and while the macro side was interesting for the most part it didn't really click with me. One of the things I did enjoy was seeing the involvement economists have in the political world. That was why the recent poll posted on the History News Network asked why economists are more present in politics then historians are.
It is an interesting idea. It seems to me that as historians, we seem to dwell more in the past. Very rarely do we venture into the what may happen in the future. Economists, in contrast, create models for the future. I would like to see more historians do what we do best, look into the past, but then use what we know to project into the future. Politically speaking, a lot of current political issues (health care, gay rights, etc.) can be compared to issues that past administrations have faced (social security, civil rights, again etc.). I understand the point that Ezra Klein makes about money. Most of the issues currently being worked through revolve around the budget. A country that is so much in debt has to conscious of where it spends its money. To that extent, I understand involving economists and think that its an excellent idea. But I also think that those of us who study history can and should take a more active role in making policy.
Since the 1970's the field of history has moved away from the traditional Great Men and War focus, and shifted, as Justin Fox mentions, to more cultural topics. Race, gender, sexuality, and ethnic studies are all vitally important, and still need to be looked at. But I don't want us to have thrown out the baby with the bathwater and eliminated the possibility that our voices will be heard when it comes to making important policy decisions.
So how does this play into museums? I think that, whether as historians or as museum professionals, it is our job to help educated the public about those decisions that have been made in the past, and how those impact what is being examined today. If the general public doesn't have a basic understanding of the background of these topics, how can they make an informed decision when they choose those who will represent them? Whether its explaining the process itself, as the State Historical Society in Iowa does with their wonderful exhibit on the caucus, or another museum that highlights the history of the GLBT community in the United States, we can help people see the connections between the past and the present. Are you up for the challenge?
Here is a video of the Iowa State Historical Society's Caucus Exhibit. Enjoy!
Here is a video of the Iowa State Historical Society's Caucus Exhibit. Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Iowa History Day - Innovation and Change
Two weeks ago, I stopped by the Iowa State Historical Society to see if they needed any volunteers for anything. I received an email asking me to come in last Thursday to help out. I showed up and found myself in the midst of History Day! Before I introduced myself, they started steering me towards concessions and running, but once I mentioned that I have a history background, they recruited me to judge! I was fairly unfamiliar with History Day, having only really hard about it from my Cooperstown roommate Mandy, who had worked extensively with the branch in Minnesota.
I had the chance to work with two other judges looking over websites. Not only do I know only a bit about websites themselves, but I wasn't quite sure what the rules of judging were. I caught on quick though, and ended up having a wonderful time. The projects ranged from those who cited Wikipedia as a primary source to an ambitious 8th grader who had conducted email interviews of the grandson of her innovation's inventor, as well as with a professor from MIT. I was quite impressed by the latter, and worked to find a positive way to correct the former.
All in all though, it was a great experience. They asked me to come back later this month to judge for the next round. I hope at the very least I get the chance to look at some of the non-website entries, as most of them had been taken down by the time I was done for the day. The best part, I think, was seeing kids so excited about history. They were passionate about their subjects, and every one I talked with gave me information above and beyond what they had put on their websites. All in all a wonderful experience, and one I hope to repeat again!
I had the chance to work with two other judges looking over websites. Not only do I know only a bit about websites themselves, but I wasn't quite sure what the rules of judging were. I caught on quick though, and ended up having a wonderful time. The projects ranged from those who cited Wikipedia as a primary source to an ambitious 8th grader who had conducted email interviews of the grandson of her innovation's inventor, as well as with a professor from MIT. I was quite impressed by the latter, and worked to find a positive way to correct the former.
All in all though, it was a great experience. They asked me to come back later this month to judge for the next round. I hope at the very least I get the chance to look at some of the non-website entries, as most of them had been taken down by the time I was done for the day. The best part, I think, was seeing kids so excited about history. They were passionate about their subjects, and every one I talked with gave me information above and beyond what they had put on their websites. All in all a wonderful experience, and one I hope to repeat again!
Musing on Museums
One of the things they teach in "museum school" is about the importance of social media. From Twitter to Facebook, museums and the professionals who run them are becoming more and more attracted to the wide variety of tools available online. Ideas are being shared between museums around the world at an ever quickening rate, and the amount of information available is astounding.
This blog is my effort to wade through some of the information I can get my hands on, and to show you why I think it may be important. Some posts will be about places I have visited, things that I have seen, or about ideas that I have read. I would love to use this as a place to dialogue about changes that are happening, and what we can do to make them positive. Happy reading!
This blog is my effort to wade through some of the information I can get my hands on, and to show you why I think it may be important. Some posts will be about places I have visited, things that I have seen, or about ideas that I have read. I would love to use this as a place to dialogue about changes that are happening, and what we can do to make them positive. Happy reading!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)