The exhibitions staff at the Indiana Historical Society is breathing a collective sigh of relief, having recently opened to the public its newest You Are There offering that recreates a wonderful moment in Indiana (and national) history: the discovery and distribution of the polio vaccine. Bringing to life a scene of workers at Eli Lilly […]
We tried a new workshop format this week. We had a panel of presenters talk about managing people Dan McCain from the Wabash and Erie Canal Interpretive Center and Museum spoke about managing volunteers; Tanis Monday from the Putnam County Museum talked about managing interns; and Diane Ballard from the Monroe County History Center spoke […]
Ok, storage seems simple, but beyond handling with care, how and where our valuables are stored will actually affect long-term preservation. Materials should be guarded from light, excess heat and humidity, harmful pollutants and pests as well as human error. Light can actually initiate and accelerate damage. Ultraviolet light is the most harmful, causing paper […]
April 2, 2012. The wait is over. If you are a genealogist, you have had this date circled for some time. For those of you wondering the importance of April 2, 2012 no, it is not a new day after April Fool?s holiday it is the release of the 1940 Census! For privacy reasons, censuses […]
A few days ago, while enjoying some chocolate sandwich cookies and walking on the canal, Jeff Harris and I started a conversation about how much (or little) we ever talk about history content with local history groups. As the Local History Services department, you might expect that we’re the place to go to get your […]
Why is it so quiet today in Exhibits Design and Prep? This week, more than half of the exhibits team is off enjoying a well-deserved spring break (as isthe rest of the IUPUI campus), and boy do we miss them. For anyone who has visited the History Center in the past two years, it should […]
Why is it so quiet today in Exhibits Design and Prep? This week, more than half of the exhibits team is off enjoying a well-deserved spring break (alongside the rest of IUPUI campus), and boy do we miss them. For anyone who has visited the Indiana History Center in the past two years, it should […]
The Indiana Historical Society Local History Services staff met with members of the Field Services Alliance in Indianapolis at the end of February. FSA is a network of folks from different states who serve local history groups and cultural organizations to help them do what they do better. Like the AIM Conference, AAM conference, AASLH […]
So, National History Day contests are right around the corner and your project finally looks like it is all coming together. You’ve fought through paper cuts, delusional partners, sabotaging pets and other distractions. Your board stands up without duct tape, your bibliography is annotated, and your process paper is written. Now that you are seeing […]
It amazes me how early children learn that grandmas are one of their biggest allies. Maybe it is because they don’t hear the word “no” as often or they get chocolate chip cookies for breakfast, but grandchildren know they have a special bond with grandma. So when I came across this letter from Mary Stewart […]
