This is actually an old topic.  I worked at a Living History Farm while
in graduate school 10 years ago.  It's very different from a traditional
indoor 'static' museum.  I came to the program with a background in
artifact care and had a hard time accepting the use of artifacts in the
living history setting where the history is the primary artifact on
display. We worked the farm with old farm equipment, cooked meals on a
wood stove and ate the meals as part of the interpretation.  We tried a
compromise of using lesser valuable objects, newer objects that looked
older or reproductions.  The more valuable objects were either stored
and used for research or placed where they would not be touched.
Unfortunately there were some items we could not afford to reproduce so
we used the old ones.  Fortunately our farm was set in 1917, so it
wasn't that hard to find multiples of most of the equipment.

Living History is not an American phenomenon.  Some of the best sites
are in Europe and Canada. Although I'm back in a 'static' museum where
as Curator of Collections I agressively protect the artifacts, I still
enjoy visiting Living History Sites.  I recomend them as fun as well as
educational.  With a short surf on the Internet I found a list of
international sites.
http://www.alhfam.org/alhfam.links.html

Have fun.
Jerrie Clarke
Valdez Museum
Valdez Alaska



Peter Rebernik wrote:
>
> I always thought that the reason for museums to exist, is to show the
> originals! And NOT replicas!
> Maybe we should call those replica museums: THE FAKE MUSEUM, to get it clear
> to the public.
> The originals belong to the public and not to the museum director! It is
> his/her duty to protect the original, but to show it, for God's sake!
>
> I am not amused!
>
> Peter Rebernik
>
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