Why has this thread been hijacked?  This was a discussion on visitor orientation and mobility impaired access?  We now have overlaid a discussion on allegedly forged artwork in Mississippi.  What does this have to do with visitor orientation?

Randy Hees
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: matt leininger 
  To: [log in to unmask] 
  Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 7:09 PM
  Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Mobility, was Orientation Procedures for Historic House Museums


  Please see my post on a donor from Laurel, Mississippi placing known forgeries into museums. Call Matt Leininger at 405/278-8214 if you have works in your collection from a male donor from Laurel, Mississippi. Thanks!


  On 8/11/08, Randy Hees <[log in to unmask]> wrote: 
    Sarah, I like you process... it is similar to what we have done... Folding chairs in various closets, some "historic" chairs which have been identified as "sitters"... Joking with the guests to make them feel comfortable...

    While we take our historic house seriously, we try to treat the guests as guests, and make them feel comfortable.

    As for the original question... We don't have any space for an orientation... we start on the front porch, remind the guests of our rules No sitting, no touching, cell phones off keep together... (and occasionally even "no jumping up and down on the beds")  if time permits we may talk about the house, but it seems that my docents who need to orient tend to be very serious, to the point of too serious for most guests.

    Randy Hees
    Patterson House at Ardenwood Farm
    Fremont, Califrornia



      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: Sarah M. Allen Sarah Allen Museum Technician Knife River Indian Villages NHS Stanton, ND 58571-0009 701.745.3300 
      To: [log in to unmask] 
      Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 3:46 PM
      Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Orientation Procedures for Historic House Museums

       
      We have folding chairs artfully hidden, if anyone expresses doubt they can do our tour, the docents are to tell them about the chairs. On the rare occasion I have the pleasure of conducting a tour; I start with saying, "if anyone feels that standing for 40 minutes would take away from their ability to enjoy the tour, say the word, I can make chairs appear magically". I find people will be more honest with me when I approach it this way.

      It takes a second for me to whip out a chair, and I can usually do it without skipping a beat in the talk. If people feel walking from the visitors center might be too strenuous...we have wheelchairs available (pushed by interns;)....if they are reluctant, I remind them "you know what, you will never see these people again and you may never get to visit here again, who cares what they think, enjoy the ride."

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  -- 
  Matthew C. Leininger
  Registrar;Administrative Head
  Curatorial Department
  Oklahoma City Museum of Art
  415 Couch Drive
  OKC, OK 73102
  405/236-3100 ext. 214
  "The Oklahoma City Museum of Art enriches lives through the visual arts." ========================================================= 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). 

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