I recently read this article on a museum closure. Unfortunately, some of the sentiments expressed by the owner of this museum are shared by many older volunteers, board members, and community members. A privately owned museum in Washaba, Minnesota is closing because its owner has decided it’s time to close.
Photo from Winona Daily News
The museum was opened 26 years ago when he ran out of room to store his collection of guns, stuffed animals, and trophies.
Les and his wife, Shirley, will close Arrowhead Bluffs Museum next month after more than 26 years in business. While the lack of visits — and lack of young visitors’ interest — wore him down, he’s mostly closing because what began as a hobby became a full-time job.
The owner added “Kids have no interest in history. They pull out their phones and start texting right away.”
I hear this all too often. Volunteers, older community members, and friends state that young people just don’t care. Nothing could be further from the truth. When kids get a firsthand experience at frontier places like Old World Wisconsin or Lincoln’s New Salem the historical experience is compelling and personal. It’s hands on and authentic.
Unfortunately, while a personal historical collection of artifacts may be interesting to the owner, the wider appeal to kids may not be there. If these kids could go on a trip to Alaska, and the Arizona Desert I am sure they would be far more engaged than seeing dead stuffed animals on the walls of a “museum” secondhand.
What ultimately drives this closure is the truth of when the larger public isn’t as interested in the personal hobby as the owner or volunteer it is hard for some to reconcile. When people blame kids for not being interested in history, it doesn’t address the underlying truth that the experience being offered isn’t compelling, personal, or relevant to the young visitor. When young people don’t eat a certain dish at a restaurant the chef doesn’t say “Young people don’t care about food.”
Old World Wisconsin from http://mcgrathfamilyroadtrip2010.blogspot.com
Historic sites and societies have to work hard every day to craft experiences that are interesting and compelling to visitors, and the work is never finished. Ask any volunteer. Historic sites and societies should work to meet the public where they are, with experiences that are personal, relevant, and compelling.
