the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums
Calling all farmers (new, historic, museum, and aspiring)! Learn how to use draft horses and oxen in your historic farming programing and to power your farms sustainably and productively. ALHFAM Institutional member Tillers International (Michigan) is offering scholarships that will cover 60% of the tuition cost for many of their draft animal training sessions including:… Continue reading Draft Animal Training Scholarships
I just finished reading An Anarchist's Guide to Historic House Museums. This is not a review. Whether or not you agree with many of the ideas espoused, it is thought-provoking. I do unabashedly love the idea of the Anarchist tags. They are brilliant and should be carried around by anyone who cares about and visits… Continue reading An Anarchist’s Guide to Historic House Museums
The article Life in the Slow Lane, Still a Draw for Heritage Fans appeared in the New York Times recently (and features a great image of the Frontier Culture Museum). ALHFAM President Tom Kelleher is quoted and our website it linked. It's an interesting and short read. What do you think about the points raised?… Continue reading “Life in the Slow Lane, Still a Draw for Heritage Fans”
Many great opportunities to learn new skills, meet new people, and see new places are available in the next few months thanks to ALHFAM regional and Professional Interest Group gatherings. Take advantage if you can: The Mid-Atlantic region has put together a fabulous program for their meeting being held April 1-2 at Historic St. Mary's… Continue reading Interpreting & Plowing & Bookbinding & More
Last week I blogged about my ALHFAM plow match experience and how it allowed me to experience an "artifact" in a new and thought-provoking way. I believe these experiences help museum professionals interpret the past. The knowledge we gain when we try our hand at a historic skill, using appropriate tools, far surpasses anything we… Continue reading Romanticizing the Past?
The plowing match is one of my favorite events at ALHFAM annual meetings/conferences. I wrote the following after a particularly rewarding experience: This summer at the ALHFAM annual meeting I plowed. Granted it was only two furrows in the horse-drawn plowing match, but in my mind, I plowed. I was nervous, as there were lots… Continue reading Why Every Curator Should Enter a Plowing Match
ALHFAM member Blake Hayes brought this wonderful resource to our attention on the ALHFAM-L a few weeks back. I've checked out their website and it's chock full of great stuff including jobs, event calendars, resources, newsletters, social media and in-person networking opportunities, and even a map of farm-based education programs. It's administered by Shelburne Farms… Continue reading Farm-Based Education Network
An interesting feature on the improved ALHFAM website are the forums. Forums are set up for all of the Professional Interest Groups (PIGs), for the membership at large, and for the MidAtlantic region (regional forums need to be initiated by your regional rep--if your region doesn't have one yet, contact your rep and tell them… Continue reading The Forums are Open
As the year draws to a close I 'd like to encourage you, once again, to consider ALHFAM in your year-end giving. Donations are tax-deductible and can be made easily on our website: Give to ALHFAM As of this writing we have almost met the modest goal set by our President, Tom Kelleher, but… Continue reading Consider ALHFAM
ALHFAM member Martha Katz-Hyman brought an article about marketing gift memberships during the holidays to my attention. The article from The History List gives helpful tips on how to make museum memberships attractive as gifts. It also suggests that Monday of Christmas week be branded as #MembershipMonday I like the ideas the article promotes and… Continue reading #MembershipMonday
ALHFAM 