Michelle,

Candace Matelic and I are just completing a project for the Minnesota
Historical Society that is re-visioning the Oliver Kelley Farm, a
30-year-old living history farm program of the 1860s-70s. They plan on
building  a new visitors center and developing a major new program
addressing changes in agriculture down to the present, focusing especially
on connections with contemporary agricultural issues. Needless to say, food
is a major component of this emerging new program with a large, modern
teaching kitchen. The interest in local foods, ag sustainability, and
renewed interest in canning are just two of the issues that will be
addressed. We are just finishing a multi-faceted audience study, best
practices survey of 16 agricultural/living history farm museums, and an
interpretive visioning report. 

There is a significant increase in the number of programs addressing
contemporary agricultural issues. Judging by our results, though, public
interest does not seem to be as high as expected. There may be many reasons
for that, such as some fear that a new program would overwhelm the much
loved living history farm program--but that is what the audience data shows.
A keys to audience buy-in to an expanded program that covers contemporary
agriculture seems to be lots of partnerships and retaining the successful
hands-on, participatory interpretive strategies that people have enjoyed
there.

Tom

Thomas A. Woods, Ph.D.
President, Making Sense of Place, Inc.
1521 Grandview Ave.
Oconomowoc, WI 53066-3422
[log in to unmask]
262-569-1698
Fax: same as phone

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