Bite-Size or Banquet? How Do You Like Your History?

Several weeks ago I was in Indianapolis and had a chance to visit both the Indiana Historical Society and the Indiana State Museum and was struck by the differences in the way they presented history, differences that reflect both the DNA of the organizations (one primarily an archives and one an encyclopedic collection)  and a distinct approach to involving visitors.

The Indiana Historical Society is, unlike many historical societies, solely an archives, a repository of millions of photographs and archival materials.  But it's housed in a big, grand space that has now become a place to experience,  on a changing basis,  bite-size bits of Indiana's past.  The You Are There project takes a historic photograph, re-creates the particular space, and peoples the space with live, first-person interpreters to, in any way you wish,  connect with the visitor.  While there,  I heard a bit of Cole Porter sung, met a sponsor of a Holocaust refugee resettled to Indianapolis as she described their arrival, and a listened to a true-believing (and a little cranky) WCTU activist at the site of an illegal still.   I stood in the dark as Robert F. Kennedy announced the death of Martin Luther King to a shocked audience.   Each experience surprised me and led to interesting conversations with my fellow visitors (museum professionals all on that morning). 

The project is an ongoing experiment as the historical society staff listen to visitors, work hard to pick engaging photos from their enormous collection,  and figure out what works and what doesn't.  Several elements take the experience further:  there's a staff member, sort of an introducer, outside each experience.  S/he sets the scene, and even said, in one case, "I like to ask her about..."  to give shy visitors a starting point.  Wall exhibits outside each experience allow interested visitors a place for deeper exploration. 

After RFK's speech,  a staff member engaged us in conversations about the speech, about the members of the audience that night (we were all given a simple description of one and got the chance to learn the rest of their story);  and encouraged us to use a talk-back board sharing what gives us hope.    I'm a sampler,  I like to dip in and out of things,  and this approach really gave me a chance--not to learn a full overview of Indiana history--but to connect with the stories of the state. 

The Indiana State Museum takes a familiar, now seeming a bit old-fashioned, approach. After the You are There experience, I struggled to find the same kind of meaning.  The State Museum takes the long view, starting with the geographic formation of the state.   I've been in meetings where we try and figure out the appropriate sized time period to include in an exhibit.  Here it was the birth of the earth to now--the really long view.

Artifacts and text were layered and layered and layered, to the point that it was tough to make sense of any of it.  I appreciated the care that clearly had gone into developing the exhibits (like the embedded roads, below) but I couldn't find myself caring about much of it.  And I couldn't find that I would find much reason to return to the museum.   But in the case of the historical society,  I'll be fascinated to see the next photo chosen and the next stories shared.

And, by the way,  in this contentious election year, it was meaningful and important to hear Kennedy's words that sad night spoken aloud, "What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice towards those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black."

Bite-size or banquet?  I vote bite-size.  I think that the historical society's approach could serve as a model for so many other historical societies, large or small.  If the model of the billion years ago to now exhibit is the encyclopedia,  perhaps as museum workers, we should be considering if we're headed the way of the Encyclopedia Britannica.  But the historical society's bites of history perhaps better suit contemporary life.  No high-tech media,  just solid research,  a commitment to training great staff, engaged presenters,  and a passionate desire to share meangingful stories.