Author Archives: Adam Harness

A Reintroduction to National History Day (in Indiana)

In her call for improving history education in the US, Cathy Gorn, executive director of National History Day argues, The media, policy makers, and pundits are quick to point out the negative and report on what is not working. But where are the discussions on the demand for evidence-based, wide-ranging, effective, innovative approaches to teaching […]

Making of You Are There 1913: A City Under Water

Ourlatest You Are There exhibitwill take visitors back in time to experience an Indianapolis relief station in the midst of the 1913 floods that ravaged the Midwest. The flood exhibit is being installed in the space that once was You Are There 1920: Busted! Prohibition Enforced. While it is sad to see an exhibit go, […]

A Fresh Perspective

Last week I had the honor of joining President and CEO John Herbst and Vice President of Development Andrew Halter on their annual trip to Florida to meet with our members that are lucky enough to winter in the Sunshine State. What a wonderful opportunity to not only attend some incredible events, but also to […]

IHS Offers Free Admission for 12th Annual Circus Day

Indianapolis—The Indiana Historical Society will celebrate its popular 12th Annual Circus Day by offering free admission to the event, as well as the Indiana Experience, on Saturday, March 30, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, home of the IHS and the Indiana Experience, is located at 450 […]

How Small Is Too Small?

Last week I traveled to Carthage Elementary School in Rush County to present a Civil War program to fourth grade history club students. I have visited this school every year for the past eight years and always find myself looking forward to stopping in the less-than-1,000-people town. The people are friendly and the students are […]

The Resilience of Children – Today and Yesterday

I couldn’t help but tear up while watching the Sandy Hook Choir perform “America the Beautiful” on Super Bowl Sunday. I wasn’t alone. All I could think about was what those kids had gone through just weeks ago – losing friends and siblings, experiencing a tragedy we only hope our own children never have to […]

Museum Heroes

Lately I?ve been fascinated by stories of people and communities who have worked together to save our cultural heritage when it has been at risk. During World War II, people all over the world sandbagged, packed, transported and hid works of art and artifacts. There was a group of men and women museum directors, curators, […]

Transferring Images to Wood

In Exhibit Design, every day is a chance to try out a new technique.The Exhibits team discovered that transferring images to wood is easier than one might think! Here’s how it works, step by step, so you can try this at home. To get started, all you need is some laser jet prints, gel medium […]

Mocking up an Exhibit

In Exhibitions Design, we like to make to-scale paper copiesbefore moving to the more expensive materials. Tabitha Cravens is one of our very talented Design Interns. She graduated from Herron School of Art and Design with a BFA in Visual Communications. She is currently working hard on an exhibit that we are developing for the […]