The decline and/or rise of the historical museum

[BjornP]

(Yes, I'm in a curious mood, today... )

https://humanitiesindicators.org/conten ... aspx?i=101

In 2017, 28% of American adults reported visiting a historic site in the previous year. This represented an increase of 4.4 percentage points from 2012 (the last time SPPA was administered), but a decrease of 8.9 percentage points from 1982 (Indicator V-13a). The bulk of the decline in visitation occurred from 2002 to 2008.

Finding data on why there has been a general decline in visits to US historical sites since 1982, or why Americans started visiting more historical site (presumebly this data includes history museums, as well) after 2017, yields no clear data, though.

If you don't visit historical museums, or sites, in your spare time, what - if anything - could make you want to? Not neccesarily talking content (like whether you prefer military historical museums or worker's history museums, etc.), but better methods, about how they best show you their artifact collections. Generally, in what way do you think most historical museums today communicate/disseminate their collections and knowledge in a wrong way? And how do you think it could improve?

One of my personal annoyances about historical museums (including my own) is that it's still primarily about getting the guest to come to the museum. Today's historical museums should disseminate history more in the form of podcasts, or set up small signs in places of both small, large, funny and serious historical importance. One of the ways our museum is really making bank these last couple of years, are our historical tour guides around the city of Aalborg. That's how people today really seem to want their history: Not walking around in corridors looking at artifacts in a glass casing with a load of text next to it, they want to feel immersed in history.

On some level, I don't like that development. Too much emphasis of emotionality and the dramatic to my taste, but otoh, if that's what can get people interested in history, I'll take that over indifference. Plus it sells. Can't preserve artifacts for posterity, fund archaeological digs, register artifacts in our database or make exhibits by just wishing on a star.

Anyway, what's the ideal for a historical museum that YOU would want to visit, and what should they work better at, in your opinion?

[Speaker to Animals]

When the museum opens up the back to the public it is pretty cool. I found a meteorite once and was curious what kind it was. A lady at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry invited me to bring it in. She took us back into their labs, shaved a piece off it, and showed us their process for identification.

The fake immersive interaction doesn't interest me.

It does seem to me that archeologists and historians have a lot of untapped free labor where people might want to volunteer and help out with digs and doing lab work. Maybe they are just thinking about it completely wrong. Instead of a museum where people go to look at artifacts, maybe become an institution where people can get involved in history and archeology. Who here doesn't want to spend a weekend digging dinosaur bones if you have the time to spend on it?

[Smitty-48]

I'm not so much into closed off museums and displays, I prefer to visit hallowed ground and historical sites archived by me own self to my own interests.

[Fife]

[Montegriffo]

I love a good museum. It doesn't take much to get me interested in anything old. I'd rather see things being used than in glass cabinets though. There's something a bit sad about seeing something like a vintage car or warplane mothballed in a museum never to be driven or flown ever again.
A Spitfire sat in a hanger is never going to inspire the same feeling of awe as one flying past at 350mph, 100ft above your head.

[Smitty-48]

I do like art galleries.

I like to see great works of art in the flesh so to speak.

Doesn't have to be the Mona Lisa, but famous works of art.

Seeing what they're actually like up close and personal.

[BjornP]

When the museum opens up the back to the public it is pretty cool. I found a meteorite once and was curious what kind it was. A lady at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry invited me to bring it in. She took us back into their labs, shaved a piece off it, and showed us their process for identification.

The fake immersive interaction doesn't interest me.

It does seem to me that archeologists and historians have a lot of untapped free labor where people might want to volunteer and help out with digs and doing lab work. Maybe they are just thinking about it completely wrong. Instead of a museum where people go to look at artifacts, maybe become an institution where people can get involved in history and archeology. Who here doesn't want to spend a weekend digging dinosaur bones if you have the time to spend on it?

Some archaeologists, mostly those at bigger museums, don't want volunteers to some extent because of the risk of theft, but mostly simply because volunteers might inadvertently destroy something. Other museums, and other archaeologists are fine with it, though, as long as the volunteers have understood their instructions. As a way to introduce people to how museums work behind the scenes and beyond what's exhibited, it's a great way to both educate and involve people in history, I agree.

In South Carolina (that's where you currently live, right?) I found this:

https://www.islandpacket.com/news/state ... 60574.html

Outdated by now, but it seems your archaeologists can be flexible, as well. Also:

https://discoversouthcarolina.com/artic ... -dig-sites

What you can do:Charles Towne Landing has an active volunteer program for anyone interested in archaeology. There are archaeology programs and excavations are open to visitors.

Of note: The findings have helped the park recreate a portion of the 17th century palisade and earthen fortifications. Charles Towne Landing is now planning a large-scale excavation to provide research needed to recreate the palisade wall built by the Charles Towne residents during the early years of the settlement.

https://southcarolinaparks.com/products/10003566

Dig into history at Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site. Discover how archaeologists see beyond written records and learn about past cultures based on artifacts left behind by visiting with our archaeologist and professionals from historically significant sites. Join us for “Piecing Together the Past with Archaeology” for a firsthand look at Charles Towne Landing’s archaeological resources and discover the history revealed below the surface.

DETAILS
October 19, 2019, 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM

When it comes to stuff like lab work or registering the provenance of historical artifacts that's not something for volunteers who only show up one weekend. Uncovering provenance of artifacts can sometimes take days, or weeks depending on where it's from and if you need outside professional insight or not. But while volunteers shouldn't be in overall charge of the registration, they could assist in finding, for example, the archival data required to give context to a historical artifact's provenance. That could shave time off the process. But in order for that to work optimally, the volunteer would need to coordinate when they can work with the registrar. And that's when volunteer work may start to look a little too much like regular work. As most Danish museum volunteers are pensioners, there's a physical limit to how many hours one can expect them to take on. Not sure about the average age of museum volunteers in the US, though.

Volunteers at our museum together with the now retired museum's old curator did however rebuild, and were trained in maintaining an old, nearly collapsed Dutch windmill near my place of work in the 80's. Today the museum pays for upkeep and materials, but since it was the volunteers themselves that took the initiative to get the old mill up and running again (it produces flour that we sell at our museum), it's also the volunteers that formally own the mill, do minor repairs, and do tours. I think two of them have jobs, but the rest are all retired. No one there under 60. though.

[BjornP]

Simple and effective and excatly what I think makes good historical dissemination. You're literally in the same spot where that general died, and if my eyesight ain't failing me, the sign's quoting a primary source who was there. Your imagination does the rest.

[Smitty-48]

the sign's quoting a primary source who was there.

Isham G. Harris.

The Governor of Tennessee, serving as a volunteer aide-de-camp on General Johnston's staff at Shiloh.

[C-Mag]

Finding data on why there has been a general decline in visits to US historical sites since 1982

The reason is pretty obvious. Our history is all wrong, it actually all started in 1619.