I recently came across an article by Thomas H. Benton called "Getting Real at Natural History Museums," in The Chronicle of Higher Education (July 1, 2010) (click HERE for article), and while his piece looks at natural history museums, the same points could be made about Historical Society Museums like ours. As we plan new exhibits, and work to establish new policies to keep our artifacts safe from theft or damage, we can move them all behind glass for starters. But one of the attractions of our museum today, albeit in a severely crowded environment, is that there are so many artifacts you can get close to, and even touch. So the question becomes, how much do patrons want to touch items? And if they do want to handle something, do we protect the original and have a reproduction made? Or is handling a reproduction an un-asked-for turnoff? I'd love to hear from some patrons. What do you find most engaging in local history museums? Do you care about touching? Do artifacts under glass dampen emotional appeal? Or is your engagement more influenced by presentation and interpretation?
Thanks to educator and museum administrator Lydia Johnson for tipping me off to Thomas' link. Part 2 of "Getting Real" is just as good -- click HERE.)
Thanks to educator and museum administrator Lydia Johnson for tipping me off to Thomas' link. Part 2 of "Getting Real" is just as good -- click HERE.)
