Living History

Effective Costumed Interpretation and Enactment at Museums and Historic Sites

Engaging audiences through costumed staff at museums and historic sites is one of the most effective ways to interpret the past for a public used to multimedia presentations on their TVs and computers.

Here, David Allison, who has worked at several museums known for effective enactments, provides:

• the fascinating stories of three large living history museums as they adapt to changing audience expectations.
• a solid overview of the types of interpretation that living history museums use.
• best practices (and practices for you to avoid) from the reams of data and studies compiled by evaluators over the past 10 years.
• an exploration of the the intersection of public history, individual agency, and business imperatives at museums and historic sites.

Living History: Effective Costumed Interpretation and Enactment at Museums and Historic Sites looks at the history of these compelling techniques, provides best practices and strategies for implementing them today, and provides a roadmap for the future of costumed interpretation.