The Annual Meeting of the American Association for State and Local History is coming to Indianapolis on August 26-29, and National Trust Historic Sites will be coming as well in record numbers. I’ll be moderating the “Measuring Success at Historic Sites” session on Thursday, August 27 at 8:15 am but other sessions will include presentations by Barbara Campagna, FAIA, LEED AP (NTHP), Jim Kern (Brucemore), Sandra Smith (Villa Finale), Craig Tuminaro (Drayton Hall), and David Young (Cliveden). Jim Vaughan (NTHP) and Frank Milligan (Lincoln’s Cottage) will also be attending, so that’s a record of eight people (and I have a suspicion that others from the Sites will be there as well).
The AALSH annual meeting is one of the largest gatherings for people who preserve and interpret historic sites (aka historic house museums) in the United States and this year provides several sessions specifically targeted to this audience, including:
- Measuring Success at Historic Sites
- Technology, Web 2.0, and Historic Sites: Strategies for Engagement
- Finding Your Place in History: The National Historical Landmark Program
- Is Less More? Evaluating Environmental Management Systems at Historic Sites
- Four Decades of Innovation: Engagement, Excellence, and Entrepreneurship at Conner Prairie
- Historic Sites Providing Life and Leadership in Their Communities
- Why Change Utopia
- How Sustainable is Your Historic House Museum?
- Outdoor History Museums: Learning and Sharing Green Practices
I’m looking forward to hearing Mike Wallace (whose book Mickey Mouse History and Other Essays on American Memory helped form my ideas on interpretation) as well as attending the Educators and Interpreters Breakfast and the Historic House Museums Breakfast (even though they’re at 7 am and I’m NOT a morning person). Of course, I always enjoying seeing old friends and meeting new ones–it’s a great opportunity to find out what’s going on in the field. I’ll be sharing the best of what I discovered on this blog.
Here’s the final list of attendees from National Trust Historic Sites:
Frank Aucella, Wilson House
Barbara Campagna, FAIA, National Trust for Historic Preservation
Jim Kern, Brucemore
Cindi Malinick, Decatur House
Erin Mast, President Lincoln’s Cottage
George McDaniel, Drayton Hall
Frank Milligan, President Lincoln’s Cottage
Sandra Smith, Villa Finale
Craig Tuminaro, Drayton Hall
Max A. van Balgooy, National Trust for Historic Preservation
Jim Vaughan, National Trust for Historic Preservation
David Young, Cliveden
A dozen attendees!