the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums
The article Honest Museum Audio Tour from The New Yorker is a quick read and quite funny. Having worked in museums my entire adult life and visited countless others, I related to much of the commentary in the author's made-up audio tour: "Note this intricately carved chair, which was made in 1573. The first person… Continue reading A Chair No One Sits On
From ALHFAM President, Tom Kelleher: I am sure you will agree that this has been an eventful year. . . ALHFAM launched a new and more functional website, with full access for members to the ALHFAM Skills and Knowledge Base (ASK), improved membership management and up-to-date membership directories, and full access and services for our… Continue reading Giving Tuesday. Remember ALHFAM.
Can you believe these are just a few of the spokes in the wheel that will be the ALHFAM 2017 Annual Meeting and Conference? Honestly, I'm ready to go based on just this alone. However, as we all know, ALHFAM conferences feature so much more: hands-on training and workshops, interesting and engaging sessions, and excellent… Continue reading Women’s Rights, Niagara Falls, Museum Hack, Jell-O, and a 19th Century Country Village (all in one conference)
Have you checked out the ALHFAM Historic Agriculture Resources Map? If not, you should. Available for about a year, the map continues to expand and include more resources. The map features information about ALHFAM members that have and/or use historic agricultural collections and techniques. It was created to help us share our historic agricultural assets… Continue reading The ALHFAM Ag Map is Growing!
As one of those rapidly aging Baby Boomers, inventing and building things were staples of my childhood. Sure, we had TV (but only one), but Mom would throw us out of the house after a couple of hours of Saturday morning cartoons with instructions to “Go do something.” We had grand adventures exploring the creek,… Continue reading Making the Most of the Maker Movement
While ALHFAM is not an exhibit-oriented organization, some of its members deal with collections on a daily basis whether it is storage, care, loan or exhibition. Pieces from collections are used as patterns to reproduce that item so that it might, in some sense, provide an “up close and personal” experience for visitors when the… Continue reading Ideas on Preserving and Sharing Collections
I realize the title of this blog could confuse. It is quite logical, given our organization's mission, that I might literally be referring to promoting ALHFAM in a field. However, in this case I'm speaking of the larger "museum field" at the American Association for State and Local History conference last week. Still bountiful but… Continue reading Promoting ALHFAM “in the Field”
I recently came across a TED talk that combines my inner science nerd with my history nerd. I have long been a follower of the exciting work taking place at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, but never had it crossed my mind that experiments there could be related to my history… Continue reading Is Your Site a Super Collider?
Ask any ALHFAMer what they like most about the organization, and nine times out of ten, the answer is sure to be “the conferences,” which provide a chance to learn new skills, share ideas with like-minded folks, and experience new places. Regional conferences help to widen our reach, introducing sites to the magic of ALHFAM,… Continue reading For the Love of Regionals
Recently on the ALHFAM listserv a member, who is dealing with a horse nipping problem at their museum, wanted some advice on signage as they are " . . . discussing posting more warnings/signage of some sort but also don't want to litter the landscape with dire threats and graphic warnings in blood red and… Continue reading Warning! Museum! Do Not Touch!
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