September 2, 2022

What Carolyn Did this Summer

This week's Musings from Main comes from Executive Director Carolyn Venne, about her family's trip to Philadelphia and some of the museums they toured while there. 

Venne Family Museum Adventures

I have always loved museums, and my 12 year old boys have grown up with them.  In 2019, we took a family trip to Washington D.C. and they still talk about the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.  In 2021, we walked the entire Freedom Trail in Boston.  Last month, we spent a long weekend in Philadelphia.  

These days, when I tour museums, I'm always thinking about the user experience.  How do I interact with the exhibits?  Am I getting my questions answered?  Most importantly, are my kids engaged?  What ideas can I bring back, especially inside Nowashe Village?

Elfreth's Alley

This charming residential alley dates to 1703, when cart paths were cut between the large city blocks that made up the design of Philadelphia.  As a National Historic Landmark, Elfreth's Alley is one of the oldest residential streets in America, and two of the houses are now used as the Elfreth's Alley Museum.  As it's only open on a limited and seasonal basis, to welcome visitors all year-round, there is a $3 self-guided audio tour which can be purchased on site via a QR code, or on their website.  While we have text and image QR content available in Nowashe, perhaps audio and video would be more engaging (and not distracting) during less crowded times if we were to open Nowashe on a more consistent basis.  What do you think?

The Penn Museum

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology is a fascinating tour of classic civilizations from around the globe, and how we know what we know about them.  It's also the type of academic museum that could easily get boring.  But a conversation with the gift shop administrator (I love museum gift shops, by the way, and this was a fantastic one) informed me that the Penn Museum has been undergoing major exhibit restorations, with a focus on increased accessibility and promoting a better understanding of studying and appreciating history.

This was evident to me in two ways.  Firstly, a handout encouraged visitors to seek out the QR code featured in each gallery room, which provided a video of just one highlight in great detail.  The Fu Lions, one of which is pictured above, was the highlight in one of the Asia galleries.  The video not only provided their historical significance, but encouraged you to examine specific details in their craftsmanship.  These highlights helped to focus your attention and keep everything from blurring together as you toured ancient worlds.  

The second example was a large area where visitors can watch researchers and conservators in action.  To get there, you first pass through a long glass hallway in which you can peer into open shelving of crates and artifacts laid in packing materials, featuring makeshift tags, identification numbers and notes.  This made you appreciate Penn's 135 year history of engagement with archaeology and anthropology around the world!

Eastern State Penitentiary

The historic Eastern State Penitentiary is in ruins.  Literally.  But, it's supposed to be that way.  This fascinating tour of the world's first true penitentiary used the "Pennsylvania System" of incarceration, which was pretty much solitary confinement, all day, every day.  I had read a lot about Eastern State as a national model in museum interpretation today.  

After picking up your head set, visitors walk a small portion of the facility, listening to audio stops narrated by actor Steve Buscemi.  (In fairness, the picture below is peering down a hallway that visitors cannot enter, the rest is a little more cleaned up.)  You end in the courtyard where facts and figures are shared about global prison systems today, and a nearby award-winning exhibit furthers the conversation.  This was a great connection about the past and the present.  

For years, Eastern State has also featured artist installations on an annual basis, often inside cells that are relatively still intact.  Current exhibits range from photographs of murdered victims of Eastern State's inmates, to modern commentaries on issues facing gay and transgender inmates, and the "pipeline" of school or sexual abuse to prison.    

Dozens more audio tour stops are labeled on a map and with signage, color coded by type, including the artist installations, notable prisoners, the museum today, and more.  Overall, a fascinating place and interpretation that I keep thinking about!

I hope you enjoyed taking a small journey with me through some museums as I reflect on what I saw and how I saw it.  Our staff is always sharing stories, websites, brochures and ideas we run into.  We've been talking a lot about what it means to be "open" to the public and how to create meaningful, engaged and relevant visits.  Interpreting historic sites can be challenging - not everything can be fun and interactive like the amazing Franklin Institute or the eye-catching Philadelphia Magic Gardens.  How do you like interacting with museums, especially historic spaces?  What are some of your favorite places, and why?  We'd love to hear from you!