Changing History Museums: Thoughts on the AASLH Conference

"The Spirit of Rebirth", the theme of the recently completed AASLH (American Association for State and Local History) Annual Meeting, seemed to aptly capture perceptions of the host city of Detroit, as well as the state of the History Museum field itself.

This was my first time attending an AASLH Conference as a fully-registered participant, and I couldn't have been more impressed by how well the events and sessions were put together, and the warm welcome I received from History Museum colleagues.  Even though I don't think of myself as a History Museum person, my first museum job (as you can see in the photo below) right out of college was working as a living history interpreter portraying a Civil War soldier --- for the Detroit Historical Society!

But what really struck me in Detroit about the session topics as well as the hallway conversations (where the REAL information exchanges take place at conferences!) was the emphasis on change --- in relationship to both content and audiences for history-centered institutions.

There were a number of sessions on topics ranging from food interpretation to early learners to VR approaches toward historical architecture where it was clear that History Museums were drawing from approaches that might normally be found in Children's or Science Museums, or even mass media (one food-related session was titled "Don't Get Chopped!" after a popular TV show.)

VR historical architecture in the Exhibit Hall!

Before attending the Detroit conference, I honestly had the perception that history organizations were lagging behind in terms of incorporating many innovative, interactive, and immersive approaches toward their content, but I feel that History Museums really have the opportunity to be in the forefront of the museum field in their interpretive approaches.  (In that regard, I was happy to co-present a workshop called making/history with Lisa Brahms and Kristin Fontichiaro that explored how history folks can leverage the Maker Movement at their museums.)

making/history in Detroit!

The other evidence of true change I felt in Detroit were the conversations and sessions focused on ways for History Museums to become more welcoming and inclusive to the wide range of communities they serve (and want to serve!)  Perhaps with the city of Detroit as a backdrop (a place filled with social and racial upheaval for much of its history) it should have not been surprising that folks at the conference were having strong conversations about topics such as reinterpreting slavery, sharing stories of race and diversity, and using oral history as a tool for social action.

I took a picture of a slide from one of the last sessions I attended in Detroit, which really seemed to capture my feelings about the conference.  I look forward to seeing (and hopefully participating in!) the many positive changes in content and community that are happening in the History Museum field.

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making/history

 

A little more than a week from now, I'll be doing something I've never done before in my museum career.

I'll be attending an American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) Conference.  (In Louisville, Kentucky.)

It's not that I don't like History Museums, or admire the people who work in them, but my museum "tribes" tend more toward Science Center and Children's Museum folks (and their respective conferences.)

So what prompts me to make this trip to Louisville?  Well, Maker Stuff.  And by "Maker Stuff" I mean the vast worldwide network of MAKE Magazine, and Maker Faires, and the eclectic group of artists, craftspeople, tinkerers, and engineers (amongst others) who get herded under the big umbrella term "Makers."

A few months ago,  I was invited to a meeting of museum folks in Atlanta, and it turns out that many of the other folks in the room were History Museum people. And (me being me) at a certain point I started to berate those nice fellow museum professionals for "completely missing the boat" on the Maker Movement.  It also immediately became clear that many of the people at that meeting had absolutely no idea of what a Maker Faire or MAKE Magazine even were! YIKES!

I mean, what genre of museums is better placed than History Museums to engage people with the stories and stuff behind inventing, designing, building, and manufacturing things?  It's in their institutional DNA!  Not to mention the enormous opportunities for History Museums to tap into new sets of audiences and communities that are deeply engaged in Maker activities that would love to connect with such awesome repositories of the stories and stuff associated with Making.

(Of course this is not to say that there aren't any History Museums plugged into the Maker Movement. The Henry Ford has hosted several Detroit Maker Faires, and The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) is hosting a workshop later this month called  "What is a Maker Space (and why would I want one in my museum)?")

Shortly after that fateful meeting in Atlanta, Bob Beatty, the COO of AASLH, basically said "OK wise guy, I agree that History Museum folks should know more about the Maker Universe, what can we do about it?"

So I'm off to Louisville to launch something called making/history.  What can making/history be? I'm not really sure yet, but that's part of why I'm going to Louisville --- to meet and talk with a bunch of cool and smart History Museum people to find out.


If you're reading this post, and it resonates at all with you, please help in making/history in any (or all) of the three ways below:

1) Spread the word! (Tweet, Facebook, Email, Phone folks in your networks who can help with this.) I want to help brainstorm and instigate with folks who are interested in connecting more Makers with more History Museums.

2) Meet me in Louisville!  The plan is to let me set up shop in the AASLH Exhibit Hall on Thursday, September 17th.  I'll be doing Maker show-and-tell and giving away free swag, but most of all chatting with more folks to help making/history happen!

3) Add your two cents! Are you already plugged into the Maker Universe, or History Museums, or both?  Share your ideas for ways to increase the connections between Makers and Historians in the "Comments" Section below, or by emailing me directly.


See you in Louisville!


P.S. By an amazingly happy coincidence, Louisville will be hosting a Mini Maker Faire on Saturday, September 19th (the last day of the AASLH Conference --- good timing, or what?) that is FREE and open to the public (including AASLH Conference Attendees --- hint, hint!)




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