Are we inclusively excluding people from museums and heritage sites?

I’ve recently read English Heritage’s consultation on under-represented heritages [1] and it got me thinking, yet again, about target audiences. Here are some of the points that struck a chord with me: We don’t want [insert under-represented heritage here] sites In fact, one respondent called this idea ‘horrible’ (p. 10). In other words, they didn’t … Continue reading Are we inclusively excluding people from museums and heritage sites? →

Taking stock on leaving St Albans, or: From Site Staff to Consultant

Last week I left my job as Audience Development Manager for St Albans Museums Service to join Jura Consultants as a Senior Consultant. The change has prompted a few reflections, not the least around what it means to me to go from being a site-based member of staff to becoming a consultant. There are a … Continue reading Taking stock on leaving St Albans, or: From Site Staff to Consultant →

Interpretation, using questions, and preferred readings

I recently read Sharon MacDonald’s fascinating book Difficult Heritage. Negotiating the Nazi past in Nuremberg and beyond [1]. There were a lot of thought-provoking observations in the book, but the one I’d like to focus on today are the guided tours of the Nazi rally grounds. Geschichte fuer Alle organises these tours. Their website explains … Continue reading Interpretation, using questions, and preferred readings →

Community Engagement at Museums and Heritage Sites

Last week we had to cancel a training day on community engagement because of low uptake [1]. The training co-ordinator suggested that community engagement may still not be seen to be important to the work of museums. He may be right, but I very much hope he isn’t. After all, there is, and has been … Continue reading Community Engagement at Museums and Heritage Sites →

Interpretation and Ethics: Displaying Human Remains

If you’ve been reading my blog you will know that I don’t believe in making my own opinion known when I interpret. No matter how contentious the story, I think it’s important to share all the facts, allow room for all the views. I’m a facilitator, not a dictator of opinions. I feel that we're … Continue reading Interpretation and Ethics: Displaying Human Remains →

And that’s what good architecture can add to interpretation

In March last year I blogged about my thoughts on architecture and interpretation. When I visited the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California last week, I was reminded of that post –as an example of where it works brilliantly. Now, I’m sure an Egyptologist would find plenty of faults with the pseudo-Egyptian museum buildings, … Continue reading And that’s what good architecture can add to interpretation →

Interpretation: If they notice it, it’s bad

As I continue to plough my way through transcribing the visitor interviews that I’ve done at Museum und Park Kalkriese in Germany I am struck by one observation: a lot of visitors refer to ‘the presentation’. They came because they wanted to see how the story was ‘presented’. They liked ‘the presentation’. ‘The presentation’ was … Continue reading Interpretation: If they notice it, it’s bad →

Marking Place – The Role of Interpretation

I spent yesterday at the Battle of Hastings site [1]. They had a big event on to mark the upcoming anniversary of the battle, and at some point during the day, people laid down wreaths at the Harold Stone – the stone marking the place where King Harold is said to have fallen [2]. It … Continue reading Marking Place – The Role of Interpretation →

Interpretation Needs More Self-Criticism

I know I keep writing about how we need more research and critical self-analysis in interpretation. But when I recently read Dr Bernadette Lynch’s report ‘Whose Cake is it Anyway?’ (2009) and Skibins, Powell and Stern’s 2012 ‘Exploring empirical support for interpretation's best practices’ I didn’t feel validated. I felt depressed. Lynch researched ‘the real … Continue reading Interpretation Needs More Self-Criticism →

Objects don’t equal objectivity, or: The pitfalls of object-driven interpretation

Last week I was back in Germany finishing up the visitor interviews at Museum und Park Kalkriese for my doctorate research. One interview in particular struck a note with me. A visitor was very upset about what they felt was a major lack of balanced representation. They felt that there was little to nothing about … Continue reading Objects don’t equal objectivity, or: The pitfalls of object-driven interpretation →