Heidi: This is the first time I am answering one of these. I am sorry if it is not what you are looking for. I worked two summers as a living history interpreter in Copper Harbor, Michigan at the Historic Fort Wilkins Historic State Park. I was one of about 6 college students from Northern Michigan University who were summer interns there. We were a combination of history and theater majors who were employed during the summer for enough money to by food and a credit at school for our work that summer. We were immersed in first person for about 8 hours a day and you do have to be comfortable being someone else for a bit. The only problem we had was getting the visitors to realize what was going on. They just wandered around and didn't know what they were walking into sometimes. I am not sure how they run the site today, but I know that SVSU and U of M Flint are rather close by. Is there a chance you could partner with them, making it part of a credit might make them a bit more stable, even though you might have to change out by season. I know that Fort Wilkins is run by the State - the Department of History, Arts, and Libraries. Maybe someone there might have some ideas. The museum that I am currently with does not use living history, and I have not worked in it for a very long time, but I loved it and the children and adults actually get a lot out of the experience. I hope that I have been a little informative Good Luck. Stacey Gibson Education Staff Museum of Mississippi History Mississippi Department of Archives and History Jackson, MS Heidi Wing wrote: > Hello, > > I'm looking for some help and opinions on the topic of Living History, or first > person interpretations. Here's some background.... > > Several years ago, we received a sizeable donation to create a Living History > program for our museum. The main push of this Living History program was the > idea that kids learn better through first person interpretations and/or are more > engaged with dramatizations. We have found that this is successful--in part. > > One of the results was that a performance piece was created about the > Underground Railroad. Actors go out to schools and perform a play about the > UGRR and then take questions from the audience. This piece was most > successful the first few years of the project. But here we are, several years > later, and not as many schools are interested. It is a bit pricey ($600) but not > if you consider that 300 kids can see it at once, assembly style. We don't > think that it is a grade overlap problem (for example, this year's fifth graders > saw the play as third graders). > > Several of our regular classes that we offer at the museum, including one on > the birth of the auto industry in Michigan and one on WWII in Michigan, had > been utilizing Living History actors to portray real people to children. > Essentially, their field trip would involve "meeting" a person from the past, > hearing about their life, and participating in a hands-on activity. So we have > used Living History both in the museum, and as an outreach tool. > > And here are the problems..... Living History is expensive. We have established > the habit of paying our performers a sizable fee per event, making it all but > impossible for us the clear any profit on the activities (yes we are nonprofit, > but as you know, we still have to bring in the money). It is also a matter of > staffing. Our education team is not comfortable in first person, but happy in > third (and teachers don't seem to mind). Scheduling is difficult when our > acting pool is small, and often jumps at any chance to make more money, > sometimes leaving us in the lurch. > > So this is what I'm asking (in a very round about way, my apologies). Does > your institution utilize Living History, or first person interpretations? How > successful, or unsuccessful, are your programs? What works best? What are > the challenges that you run into? Why, or why not, do you use Living History? > > Again, apologies that this is such a long request... please help! > > Thanks, > Heidi Wing > Assistant Curator of Programs > Sloan Museum and Longway Planetarium > Flint, MI > [log in to unmask] > > ========================================================= > Important Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). > > If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). > -- Stacey Gibson, Historian Museum of Mississippi History PO Box 571 Jackson, MS 39205 Telephone: 601-576-6932 Facsimile: 601-576-6981 Email: [log in to unmask] ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).