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Interpreting Historic House Museums Today - AASLH's 2025 Historic House Museum In-Person Summit
Includes Multiple Live Events. The next is on 04/21/2025 at 4:00 PM (EDT)
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Register
- Early bird pricing available!
- Nonmember - $205
- Academic Program - $175
- Academic Faculty - $175
- Academic Student - $175
- Partner Institution - $175
- Partner Institution Staff - $175
- Premier Partner Institution - $175
- Premier Institution Staff - $175
- Platinum Partner Institution - $175
- Platinum Institution Staff - $175
- Complimentary - $175
- Individual Membership - $175
- Subscription Services - $175
- Institutional Budget - $175
- Institutional Staff - $175
- Individual Student - $175
- Institutional Member - $175
- Individual Student Renew - $175
- Regular Price after 01/18/2025 12:00 AM
- Nonmember - $255
- Academic Program - $215
- Academic Faculty - $215
- Academic Student - $215
- Partner Institution - $215
- Partner Institution Staff - $215
- Premier Partner Institution - $215
- Premier Institution Staff - $215
- Platinum Partner Institution - $215
- Platinum Institution Staff - $215
- Complimentary - $215
- Individual Membership - $215
- Subscription Services - $215
- Institutional Budget - $215
- Institutional Staff - $215
- Individual Student - $215
- Institutional Member - $215
- Individual Student Renew - $215
SPONSORS
This summit is sponsored by the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation and the Ford House.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Attendees at the summit will . . .
- Learn about the scope of historic house interpretation.
- Examine where the field currently is regarding interpretation and that it is important to define trends for the next 10-15 years.
- Identify big issues related to interpretation at historic sites and create a vision for what it will look like in the next 10-15 years.
REGISTRATION COST
$175 for AASLH Members/$205 for non-members through 17 January 2025. Beginning on 18 January, the prices are: $215 for AASLH Members/$255 for non-members.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Monday, April 21
4-6 pm - Opening Reception at the Ford House
Tuesday, April 22
8-8:30 am Registration Pick Up and Continental Breakfast
8:30 am-8:45 am Welcome and Introductions, Orientation, Review of Agenda and Outcomes
Speakers:
Michelle Moon, Saltworks Interpretive Consulting, Atlantic Highlands, NJ
8:45-10 am – Opening Keynote: Historic House Interpretation in the Future
Speakers:
Andrea Jones, Peak Experience Lab, Brentwood, MD
10-10:30 am Coffee Break
10:30 am-12:30 pm – Break Outs The Big Picture of Interpretation
12:30 – 1:45 pm – Lunch and Plenary Session Interpreting Climate Change and Sustainability
Speakers:
Alison Bruesehoff, Rancho Los Cerritos, Long Beach, CA
Debra Reid, The Henry Ford, Dearborn, MI
Kimberly Robinson, National Park Service, Harper's Ferry Center, Harper’s Ferry, WV
1:45-3:30 Tour of the Ford House and Grounds
3:30-4:15 pm Reception
4:30-6 pm – Plenary Session Reclaiming the History of the People Who Worked at Our Houses
Dinner On Your Own Attendees can sign up to eat in groups or choose to stay on their own.
Wednesday, April 23
8-8:30 am Continental Breakfast
8:30-9 am Welcome, Review Day 1
9-11 am - Workshop Sessions The Future of Interpretation
* Costumed interpretation
Speakers:
Tonya Staggs, Historic Castalian Springs, Castalian Springs, TN - Moderator
Rena Lawrence, Log Cabin Village, Fort Worth, TX
Dakota Russell, House of Seven Gables, Salem, MA
* Interpreting Sexuality
Speakers:
Speakers TBA
* Technology
Speakers:
Matt Davis, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA - Moderator
11-11:15 am Break
11:15 am-12:30 pm Small Groups
1-2 pm - Closing Lunch Interpreting Women’s History in the 21st Century
Speakers:
Heather Huyck, National Collaborative for Women's History Site, Mitchellville, MD
Andrea Malcomb, Molly Brown House, Denver, CO
2-3 pm Review of Outcomes and Next Steps
Cancellation/Refunds for onsite workshops must be submitted in writing via email to learn@aaslh.org or mail to 2021 21st Ave S., Suite 320 Nashville, TN 37212. Cancellations made prior to the early-bird registration deadline date will receive a full refund. Cancellations made between the early-bird deadline date and eight days prior to the workshop will be subject to a $55 processing/materials charge. No refunds will be given within seven days of the workshop date. AASLH is not responsible for cancellations that were mailed or emailed but never received.
Cancellations/Refunds for online professional development (webinars and online courses) must be submitted in writing via email to learn@aaslh.org or mail to 2021 21st Ave S., Suite 320 Nashville, TN 37212. Cancellations made prior to the start date for the online course or the day of the webinar will be given a full refund. No refund will be given after the start date for the online course or on/after the day of the webinar. Registrants may transfer their registration to another person. Registrations cannot be transferred between courses or course sessions. AASLH is not responsible for cancellations that were mailed or emailed but never received.
If you have any questions, please contact AASLH Professional Development staff at learn@aaslh.org or 615-320-3203.
![Speaker image](https://d221a1e908576484595f-1f424f9e28cc684c8a6264aa2ad33a9d.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/aaslh_b03ba7fae220d1b75e7398a3c0755640.jpg)
Michelle Moon (Moderator)
Saltworks Interpretive Consulting, Atlantic Highlands, NJ
Michelle Moon is a leader in museum education and an independent consultant recognized for her work on programming, audience engagement, and the intersection of museums and civic issues. She has led education teams at historic sites and interdisciplinary museums including the Tenement Museum (NYC), where she served as Chief Program Officer; the Peabody Essex Museum (Salem, MA), Strawbery Banke, (Portsmouth, NH) and Mystic Seaport (Mystic, CT), and developed interpretation for more than 20 major exhibitions on art, culture, and history. In 2016, Moon completed a Master's degree with honors in Museum Studies at the Harvard Extension School, focusing on interpretive communication and the civic role of museums; she also holds a bachelor’s degree in Education and American Studies from Connecticut College and was selected by Mellon as an Animating Museums Fellow, 2016-19. She is the author of Interpreting Food at Museums and Historic Sites (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015) and (with Cathy Stanton) Public History and the Food Movement: Adding the Missing Ingredient (Routledge, 2017).
Andrea Jones
Peak Experience Lab
Andrea Jones is an independent consultant and master educator with 20 years experience as a change agent and education strategist. She is a cheerleader for immersive experiences, messy history, and big questions over trivial facts. She works with museums across the country to reinvent storytelling and interpretive methods. In 2016, her team won the award for “Innovation in Museum Education” from the American Alliance of Museums. In 2018, she was part of a cohort of museum professionals who traveled to India to meet the Dalai Lama and discuss the growing importance of fostering empathy through museums. Operating under the name Peak Experience Lab, her clients include the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of Natural History, Huntington Library and Gardens, and Eastern State Penitentiary, among others. She holds a BA in Communications from Purdue University and an M.Ed from Georgia State University.
![Speaker image](https://d221a1e908576484595f-1f424f9e28cc684c8a6264aa2ad33a9d.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/aaslh_d7094af91ca2bb070cdf5aa547984f29.jpg)
Alison Bruesehoff
Executive Director
Rancho Los Cerritos, Long Beach, California
![Speaker image](https://d221a1e908576484595f-1f424f9e28cc684c8a6264aa2ad33a9d.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/aaslh_e926f877a2f6041f8f7f2a554778df7a.jpg)
Debra Reid
Curator of Agriculture and the Environment
The Henry Ford
Debra Reid is curator of agriculture and the environment at The Henry Ford, Dearborn, Michigan, and a member of the Climate & Sustainability Affinity Group of AASLH. She is also professor emerita at Eastern Illinois University. She is author of numerous articles and books focused on agricultural history and African American history and has written or edited three books in the AASLH Interpreting History series: Reid, Interpreting Agriculture at Museums and Historic Sites (2017); Reid and Vail, Interpreting the Environment at Museums and Historic Sites (2019); and Reid co-edited with Scholthof and Vail, Interpreting Science at Museums and Historic Sites (forthcoming 2023).
![Speaker image](https://d221a1e908576484595f-1f424f9e28cc684c8a6264aa2ad33a9d.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/aaslh_9e6866e7b9d6c9721e494de3e6f28f87.jpg)
Kimberly Robinson
Staff Curator and Planner
Harpers Ferry Center for Interpretive Media
Kimberly Robinson works at the Harpers Ferry Center for Interpretive Media as a Staff Curator and Planner. She prior to joining HFC she served as a Museum Curator at the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP), a National Park Service (NPS) unit in the Washington Metropolitan Area that includes Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial and Clara Barton National Historic Site. She graduated from the George Washington University’s Museum Studies Graduate Program with a Master of Arts degree with a concentration in Collections Management in 2006. She currently serves as a co-chair of the American Association of State and Local History’s Women’s History Affinity Community and as a member of their Climate and Sustainability Affinity Community. Her research interests are focused on 19th Century Fine and Decorative Arts as well as architecture, in particular the art, architecture and design of the Victorian Era. Ms. Robinson has given numerous talks on historic homes and museum collections management and recently taught collections management at the George Washington University.
![Speaker image](https://d221a1e908576484595f-1f424f9e28cc684c8a6264aa2ad33a9d.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/aaslh_337bab0d3ab105e2ee6a8987dd6fcaa1.jpg)
Rena Lawrence
Historic Site Supervisor
Log Cabin Village, Fort Worth, TX
![Speaker image](/images/no-profile.jpg)
Anneliese Meck (Tentative)
Museum and DEI Professional
Seneca Falls, NY
![Speaker image](https://d221a1e908576484595f-1f424f9e28cc684c8a6264aa2ad33a9d.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/aaslh_1695fc2fe92d8b659ca3497d535b333d.jpg)
Dakota Russell
Executive Director, The House of the Seven Gables, Salem, MA
Tonya Staggs (Moderator)
Executive Director
Historic Castilian Springs, Castilian Springs, TN
Tonya Staggs is the executive director of Historic Castalian Springs, a new organization in a rural outside of Nashville. Historic Castalian Springs includes three Tennessee state historic sites and historic homes. Prior to becoming director of HCS, Tonya spent nearly 18 years at Historic Travellers Rest, an eighteenth-century home in Nashville.
![Speaker image](https://d221a1e908576484595f-1f424f9e28cc684c8a6264aa2ad33a9d.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/aaslh_4a58218c5215ea465e472c0d6efe19d5.jpg)
Matt Davis (Moderator)
Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA
![Speaker image](https://d221a1e908576484595f-1f424f9e28cc684c8a6264aa2ad33a9d.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/aaslh_bfc70f40176a6ded412e431ce55bc7be.jpg)
Heather Huyck
National Collaborative for Women's History Site, Mitchellville, MD
![Speaker image](https://d221a1e908576484595f-1f424f9e28cc684c8a6264aa2ad33a9d.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/aaslh_e860ea2ba7fddb9b380a0fe3c23e2eec.jpg)
Andrea Malcomb
Museum Director
Molly Brown House Museum, Denver, CO
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