Tag Archives: Museums

New training module: Interpreting Difficult History

One of our newest modules is also fast proving our most popular. In the past few months, several different museums and historic sites have contracted us to deliver a short session introducing some of the challenges of interpreting complex or difficult history, as well as providing tips and strategies for interpreters doing so. This isContinue reading “New training module: Interpreting Difficult History”

Steal this Idea: Whenfinding

This isn’t a new or really different idea, but it’s surprising how many museums don’t do this very well. Simple, clean design and clear calls to action. Give your guests a reason to come back. Also did I just coin “whenfinding?” It must appear somewhere else, right? Got other examples? Put them in the comments!Continue reading “Steal this Idea: Whenfinding”

Clio’s Armada: Freedom Schooner Amistad and adding Social Justice to Sail Training

I have covered several replica tallships for this blog already and was looking for something that took a different approach or had a unique take: enter Freedom Schooner Amistad. This two-masted schooner is a replica of La Amistad, the slave ship at the centre of a seminal moment in the history of abolition in theContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: Freedom Schooner Amistad and adding Social Justice to Sail Training”

Clio’s Armada: 1893 Viking and the Mystique of the Viking Longship

I still think I’ve found the earliest modern example of heritage boatbuilding with Napoleon III’s 1863 trireme reconstruction effort, but I was still shocked at the vintage of this 1893 viking longship replica, appropriately called Viking. In 1880, a new archaeological discovery of a longship sparked a great deal of interest. The Gokstad is aContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: 1893 Viking and the Mystique of the Viking Longship”

Clio’s Armada: The Bartolomeu Dias Caravel and Challenging History in South Africa

I’ve been lucky enough to travel widely in my life. This has often contributed heavily to my passions, including history but more specifically museums and heritage watercraft. In 2017, my partner and I visited Mossel Bay in South Africa, home of the historic Post Office Tree and I was delighted to find another replica vesselContinue reading “Clio’s Armada: The Bartolomeu Dias Caravel and Challenging History in South Africa”

Steal This idea: Sitting with Meaning

There will be lots of time when visitors need or want to sit in your museum. Or your neighbourhood. Why not make that an experience in and of itself? It can be as complex as building a custom theatre for your exhibition… …or as simple as using the right materials and ensuring those taking aContinue reading “Steal This idea: Sitting with Meaning”

Steal this Idea: Better Donation Boxes

For sites that rely on donations, museums don’t always do the best job at 1) making the case for donating, and 2) making it easy to donate. I don’t pretend to be an expert, but a few examples in New Zealand/Aotearoa really stood out to me. By simply taking your annual budget and dividing itContinue reading “Steal this Idea: Better Donation Boxes”

Clio’s Armada: Fraser River Flat-Bottomed Skiffs and Britannia Shipyards Nat’l Historic Site

In the 1990s, the Britannia Shipyard National Historic Site Society built two replicas of the Fraser River flat-bottomed skiff. These craft fished the Fraser River in what is now British Columbia in the 1870s and 1880s before being replaced by round-bottomed boats. They could be maneuvered by oars as well as sprit-sails in favourable weather.Continue reading “Clio’s Armada: Fraser River Flat-Bottomed Skiffs and Britannia Shipyards Nat’l Historic Site”