Ecomuseums began in Europe,in particular France.
Ecomuseums can be entire village sites which include perhaps  defunct
industrial sites such as an iron mine , a brickyard and whatever
commercial and historic sites that was the reason for the town or
village developing in the first place. A good example in Great Britain
is" Ironbridge
I have also seen it tried in British Columbia on Vancouver Island with a
fishing port. It is just off the Malahat hiway nort of Victoria but I
cannot recall the name. The cannery was the commercial mainstay of the
community . A large plywood sign upon entering the port outlines the
sites to visit and announces their community as being an ecomusem . It
relies heavily on the revenues of tourism and itself generates increased
tourisim breathing life back into the community-so the principal
is.Steveson on the BC mainland near Vancouver Canada has converted the
once defunct salmon canneries with success I hear.
Usually the chamber of commerce is the epicenter along with the museum
community and together interested parties such as local artists and
craftspeople combine forces to volunteer and  illustrate to the visitor
what drove the community . Tours are self conducted or with guides ,
following a map like a walking tour. Often retired workers from the
specific site become the docents who are most qualified to illustrate
what it was like to work in that industry.
The community benefits from the tourisim dollars and the once fading
economy begins to regenerate. It relies heavily on volunteerism. Most
begin with energy but fail because of apathy of some of the townfolk.
They take a lot of organizing and energy .They originated in France .The
french are often most enthusiastic and so are successful. Without my
course notes here I cannot give you an example in France.
I hopoe this sheds some light on ecomuseums.Try the internet for
Ecomuseums to see what listings you retrieve.

Len Hambleton - Objects Conservator
North Carolina Museum of History
5 East Edenton Street
Raleigh NC. 27601-1011
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919-715-0200 x244
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Wilson, Linda [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, March 05, 1998 6:22 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: Ecomuseum sites
>
> Sandy,
> How do you define ecomuseum?  There are lots of natural history
> museums,
> nature centers, park sites and the like with ecological messages, but
> I've never heard your term before.
>
> Linda Wilson
> Visitor Studies and Evaluation
> Shedd Aquarium
> Chicago, IL 60605
> [log in to unmask]