Museum Studies Commons^™

If These Walls Could Talk: Best Practices For Storytelling In Historic House Museums, Hannah M. Gaston

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Historic house museums are one of the most common types of museums in the United States. These museums vary from large institutions with budgets of several million dollars to entirely volunteer-run organizations, but all these museums tell stories about their former inhabitants, their buildings, and their objects. While some of these museums excel at storytelling through programming and interpretation, many historic house museums still struggle to discover and implement recognized best practices. With limited resources, decreased visitation, and questions of sustainability, historic house museums have to learn to tell relevant and compelling stories to stay viable. Literature from the field …