Interpreting Historic House Museums Today

Monday, April 21

Opening Reception at the Ford House
4 – 6 p.m.

Tuesday, April 22

Registration Pick Up and Continental Breakfast
8 – 8:30 a.m.

Welcome and Introductions, Orientation, Review of Agenda and Outcomes
8:30 – 8:45 a.m.

Michelle Moon of Saltworks Interpretive Consulting will serve as summit moderator.

Opening Keynote: Historic House Interpretation in the Future
8:45 – 10 a.m.

What if your home became a house museum? What would that look like? What would you want guests to know about your time and your life? Andrea Jones of Peak Experience Lab will use this exercise to help attendees think differently about how we interpret the past entrusted to us.

Coffee Break
10 – 10:30 a.m.

The Big Picture of Interpretation
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

What are the big issues about interpretation in the field of Historic House Museums for 2024 and beyond? Attendees will break into facilitated small groups to brainstorm how historic house interpretation will change in the future.

Facilitators:

• Susan Ferentinos, Public History Researcher, Writer, Consultant, Port Townsend, Washington
• Richard Josey, Collective Journeys, Inc., Newport News, Virginia
• Rena Lawrence, Log Cabin Village, Fort Worth, Texas
• Ann Loshaw, Ruth Mott Foundation, Flint, Michigan
• Ryan Spencer, Conner Prairie, Fishers, Indiana

Interpreting Climate Change and Sustainability
12:30 – 1:45 p.m.

Historic house museums and historic sites have a unique opportunity to tell the story of climate change in their region especially around agriculture, food preparation, and dining.  So often, historic houses interpret dining in a very traditional fashion and we don’t talk about the impact of climate change.  This session will talk about how landscape changes, weather patterns, and global warming has affected food production and use and water issues throughout the United States. Three historic house museums will share their experiences with climate change interpretation and how it has changed the narratives they tell. The preservation of these sites shows the tangible ways the climate has impacted their community. We can also encourage sustainability by including information about the ways we are helping the environment on the property we protect.

Presenters:

• Alison Bruesehoff, Rancho Los Cerritos, Long Beach, California
• Debra Reid, The Henry Ford, Dearborn, Michigan
• Kimberly Robinson, National Park Service, Harper’s Ferry Center, Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia

Tour of the Ford House and Grounds
1:45 – 3:30 p.m.

The tour will include information about The Shoreline Restoration Project, a collaborative endeavor between the Ford House and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which is funding the project through a $7 million grant. The principal objective of the grant is to support transformational projects that restore marine, estuarine, coastal, or Great Lakes ecosystems, using approaches that enhance community and ecosystem resilience to climate hazards.

Reception
3:30 – 4:15 p.m.

Reclaiming the History of the People Who Worked at Our Houses
4:30 – 6 p.m.

There has been a lot of work over the last three decades to expand the way historic house museums are interpreted to include the enslaved workers and other domestics who inhabited these spaces. As we are in Michigan, we wanted to focus on domestic labor during the post-slavery period. How can these important stories help visitors connect to the past through the lives of the workers that made life in many of these houses possible?

Dinner on Your Own

Attendees can sign up to eat in groups or choose to stay on their own.

Wednesday, April 23

Continental Breakfast
8 – 8:30 a.m.

Welcome, Review Day One
8:30 – 9 a.m.

Moderated by Michelle Moon, Saltworks Interpretive Consulting, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.

The Future of Interpretation Workshop Sessions
9 – 11 a.m.

Costumed Interpretation
Should historic house museums still be doing costumed interpretation? How do we determine what is appropriate and where? How do we deal with assumptions, different races, differing genders with staff/volunteers? Who is pushing the envelope with costuming? How does the growing trend of museum theater in historic houses fit into this discussion?

Moderated by Tonya Staggs, Historic Castalian Springs, Castalian Springs, Tennessee.

Panelists:

• Rena Lawrence, Log Cabin Village, Fort Worth, Texas
• Dakota Russell, House of Seven Gables, Salem, Massachusetts

Interpreting Sexuality
Historic house museums invite visitors into the most intimate of places – the bedroom – but often do nothing more than describe the quilts and furniture. How are we missing the opportunity to connect with visitors over shared experiences by ignoring the sexuality expressed there? How does that expand to telling LGBTQ+ stories? How do interpreters deal with ambiguity in personal histories? What about labeling people of the past with present-day lexicon?

Panelists:

• Susan Ferentinos, Public History Researcher, Writer, Consultant, Port Townsend, Washington
• Ken Turino, Museum Search and Reference, Lynn, Massachusetts

Technology
Does technology help interpretation or is it a hindrance? Do visitors even want it? What does good use of technology in historic house interpretation look like?

Moderated by Matt Davis, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia.

Panelist:

• Kristine Allegretti, Alice Austen House, Staten Island, New York

Break
11 – 11:15 a.m.

Small Groups
11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Topics will be determined by facilitators based on discussions held each morning of the summit. This time will be used to unpack the themes and plan for next steps.

Facilitators:

• Susan Ferentinos, Public History Researcher, Writer, Consultant, Port Townsend, Washington
• Richard Josey, Collective Journeys, Inc., Newport News, Virginia
• Rena Lawrence, Log Cabin Village, Fort Worth, Texas
• Ann Loshaw, Ruth Mott Foundation, Flint, Michigan
• Ryan Spencer, Conner Prairie, Fishers, Indiana

Interpreting Women’s History in the 21st Century Closing Lunch
1 – 2 p.m.

In March 2024, President Biden signed an executive order to “direct actions that will strengthen the Federal Government’s recognition of women’s history and the achievements of women and girls from all backgrounds.” What does this mean for historic house museums? What does the future of interpreting women’s history in historic places look like?

Speakers:

• Heather Huyck, National Collaborative for Women’s History Site, Mitchellville, Maryland
• Andrea Malcomb, Molly Brown House, Denver, Colorado

Review of Outcomes and Next Steps
2 – 3 p.m.

Moderated by Michelle Moon, Saltworks Interpretive Consulting, Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.