ALHFAM   

The Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums   

Some people equate "Living History" with costumed role-players portraying life in a different time. Some think that it is only the group of folks who put on uniforms of past wars and have a good time reenacting battles. While the Past can not change, history -- which is an interpretation of the past -- is always changing. What we call "Living History" is a relatively recent development in the interpretation of history.

The concept of an "open air museum" dates to Skansen in Sweden in 1891, the idea being to preserve the material culture, especially the buildings, of a pre-industrial era -- a folk culture, in a rapidly industrializing world. A similar idea was at work in 1929 in the United States; the year work began on the privately funded development of both Greenfield Village, in Michigan, and Colonial Williamsburg, in Virginia. A new twist that developed in the American scene, however, was the effort put into placing the houses and objects collected into an appropriate context and in using them as educational resources in public programs meant to capture the imagination of visitors. Attempting to breathe life into static exhibits, staff were put to work recreating the work and the daily life of the people who populated these historic environs.

Within ALHFAM, "Living History" is taken to mean just this, the efforts of history museums, historical societies, and other educational organizations to truly engage the public with the impact of history on their lives today. This is accomplished using historic objects and environs and appropriate recreations to tell the stories of the people who used those objects. In the effort to "contextualize," some sites try to recreate a particular time and place in the past, ignoring the intrusions of the present. The missions of other living history sites may make it difficult to be so exacting, but the effort to bring history to life is evident perhaps in living animals and plants, in staff performing historic work or trades, and in the effort made to provide an environment rich in artifacts that focus attention on life in past times.

Resources

A glossary for "Living History," focusing on first-person interpretation techniques, from Stacy Roth's new book, Past Into Present: Trends & Techniques in First-Person Interpretation, Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, forthcoming.

E-Mail to Judi Sheridan for a membership brochure or other information.

E-Mail to Blake Hayes for Page Updates

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