We all know the value and satisfaction of making personal connections at museums and historic sites. However, if visitors to museums and historic sites do not make personal connections, they are less likely to be satisfied and, consequently, may never recommend your site to others or darken your doors again. John Latschar, Superintendent, Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania, considers the personal connection paramount. “If a personal connection between visitor and site is not made sometime in the visit, it’s not satisfying.”
“To the degree that a museum can provide personal connections,” John Herbst, President and CEO, Indiana Historical Society, notes, “that is the degree to which visitors will return.” Rex Ellis, Vice President of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s Historic Area agrees: “If we don’t make the experience relevant…they won’t come [again]. It all begins with making strong personal connections.”
The above comments and sentiments are from Personal Connections and the Great Cosmic Soup (see below). To read that article and others that relate to creating more engaging live interpretation that connects to visitors, click on the links below, or visit the Resources page of Making History Connections.
Personal Connections in Museums and Historic Sites
Leaders in the history field talk about personal connections – what they are and how they happen, and how they relate to meaning, relevancy, and visitor satisfaction.
Live Interpretation
A Technical Leaflet for incorporating theatrical techniques into historical interpretation.
A guide for planning engaging living history
How living history and theatre were successfully implemented at an urban site, the Baltimore City Life Museums.
Visitor Research and Evaluation
An overview of 20 museum theatre evaluations indicating the power of museum theatre
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