the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums
Photos courtesy of Genesee Country Village & Museum You can mark experiencing a “white hot” off your bucket list if you join us at the opening reception for the 2017 ALHFAM conference. But wait! Don’t dig in until you’ve taken the official tutorial on building a “garbage plate” or a “beef on weck” sandwich. ALHFAM… Continue reading Have You Ever Had a “White Hot?”
Bruises, bumps, scrapes, sore muscles, sunburn, windburn, chapped skin, blisters, an occasional dislocation, joint twist, strain or sprain…. Those body issues probably sound familiar when doing manual labor of living history interpretation or historical farming. However in the last few years, a new adventure has arisen: bacteria. In the last few years, bacteria and viruses… Continue reading A tick-ing problem in living history…
Is your institution still stuck in the cycle of the dreaded, annual performance review? I am afraid mine still is, and frankly it’s awful. (I am sure some of my coworkers reading this will rat me out. It’s okay the Boss knows how I feel.) I agree with a Washington Post business writer who called… Continue reading The Dreaded Performance Review
Recently a dedicated group of ALHFAM members, primarily from the Farm Professional Interest Group, took the time to develop and/or revise three documents relating to the use of livestock in museum settings. They are: Position statement on the Use of Livestock in Museum Settings (2016) Adopted by the board in 2016, this document clarifies ALHFAM's official… Continue reading Livestock Care in Museums
It's #MuseumSelfie Day! Did you know? The times they have a-changed since I started working in museums 20 or so years ago. Back then, "No Photography" signs were the norm (copyright and preservation issues). Then came the "No Flash Photography" signs (preservation issues). Now many museums have abandoned the signs altogether and are holding Instameets… Continue reading #MuseumSelfieDay
As 2017 starts afresh, many of us are in the position of tallying, tabulating, and filling out end of year reports for 2016. In particular, I’m working on making sure every single one of our volunteer’s hours were tracked and recorded. As I do so I’m also thinking about how we’re going to show our… Continue reading Guerrilla Volunteer Appreciation
Since we have many religions, traditions, nationalities and faiths, it's hard to keep up on ones that our own faith tradition do not fall under. But as we delve into our new year, let us enjoy one tradition - maybe we can turn it towards multi-denomination: "Plough Monday" (In 2017: Jan 9), a tradition from… Continue reading Plough Monday: Jan 9
Best wishes to you all for a healthy, prosperous, and joyous 2017. Let's all look forward to the many opportunities we'll have to come together again for fellowship. --Deb Arenz
The National Agricultural Museum of Estonia is pleased to announce the Call for Papers and information about CIMA XVIII – the 18th conference of the International Association of Agricultural Museums (AIMA). Save the dates: 9-13 May 2017; with an optional tour on 14-15 May). Plan to participate: propose a workshop, paper or panel, or join conversations around themes of interest to anyone involved with agricultural museums. These topics include:
Travel with colleagues on the optional tour following papers and site visits.
For the Call for Papers and information on tours, see the website dedicated to CIMA XVIII.
It's that time of year again. Love it or hate it, if you work in a living history museum or a historic house of any type you are likely in the thick of holiday programming. While I work at a computer-focused job now, I recall fondly the days of making wreaths and decorating houses and… Continue reading Holiday Programming: A Time To Share
ALHFAM 