Recently I have been asked to think about the difference in interpretation of physical and digital museum sites. I see the benefits of both types of sites and here is one historic site that I looked at. With working at a physical one currently and starting to create digital sites, I am excited to take a deeper dive into that question.
Physical Sites:
Starting with physical sites that we all have known, like a field trip with a school or job, there are a lot of great reasons they have had staying power.
What Works:
At President Lincoln’s Cottage, even with a house that has no furniture, there is still something so important about the physical placement of the house that help many connect to this site. The house is in its own bubble away from the city of D.C. and that is what Lincoln loved about it. People have a chance to come here as an escape and enjoy the quiet nature, just like Lincoln. The space gives people time to feel comfortable thinking about difficult things. Whether that is the Civil War or just personal struggles, there is open discussions about what freedom and liberty mean to them. Now this discussion could happen in a digital space, but these rooms give visitors a moment to pause and think like a person from that time period.
There is a physical exhibit that is so emotionally heavy that only an in person visit could convey, the Grief Exhibit. This is a tree like structure that allows visitors to write on a “leaf” and hang it as a spiritual moment to connect with loved ones they’ve lost. This is to understand that grief and loss is different for every person. There is time to discuss how Mary Todd Lincoln lost three out of her four sons and a large amount of her siblings to the War. The loss was a devastating time for the family and led to some emotionally difficult times. Visitors get a chance to understand more about this and connect on such a personal level, being in that room with that tree full of names.
With that being said, since this specific site does not have furniture in the home, it tries to focus on storytelling from primary documents as a way to connect with the audience. Visitors are only let into the house with a guide to interpret the space and information from that time period. That audience is extremely broad however, and so each group gets a personalized tour. A regular day could include families, Civil War buffs, school groups and foreign diplomats coming to talk about freedom and liberty.
Improvements:
A wide audience does hinder the site in some ways however. The first major thing is accessibility. Since the tour is done inside a historic home, it is hard to find and get inside! There is a modern wheelchair lift, but this does concern many visitors who have limited mobility. Second is Language! This is a huge concerns as museums try to be as inclusive as possible, but still struggle. A physical site must decide how to use technology to work around that barrier while also considering limitations like Deafness or Blindness. Historical Interpreters have to work with all this to help facilitate a discussion about history and politics.
To finish out my thoughts on physical spaces, I will say this, there is a special place for historic sites in the hearts and minds of many (myself included). However, there are limits to what they can do and how to use them. In the Cottage, there is use of a few period pieces to make visitors “feel at home” as said by a guest who saw President Lincoln. There is a way for someone to come inside the house and walk on the same floors as Abe himself. But, audio clips in Victorian English are not the most accessible to all who come to visit today. Each physical site is asking themselves, “where can we improve or grow?” as technology expands. In the case of President Lincoln’s Cottage, there has to be an adjustment to the use of the house to support that growth either in adding digital expansion for accessibility (like translations) or maybe thinking of a more online presence where references to these primary sources could be found. The latter has been started with a podcast called Q&Abe where there is amazing potential for growth.
Digital Sites:
As a digital historian, it would be amiss if I didn’t dive into the possibilities President Lincoln’s Cottage could have if they expanded digitally. As a disclaimer, I will say that this site benefits from its physical location, so I am only focusing on a digital expansion.
The Podcast:
Starting with the podcast that I mentioned, this is a wonderful way to continue researching and discussing questions asked of the interpreters. Q&Abe is hard to find on the website but is still a great continuation of the conversation started at the Cottage. The mission of the Cottage is to “serve as a convener for individuals and organizations seeking to debate contemporary questions of national unity, justice, democracy, leadership, and power.” I think that it is able to transcend the physical location in many ways except one, the personal connection to Lincoln and history itself. These deep conversations take time and care to facilitate, and an online forum is a hard place to have it at times.
The podcast is valuable for people of all ages and backgrounds to listen to and think on. Since a lot of the questions come from students and a younger audience, there is a chance to continue and reward that curiosity. There is some big ideas being addressed in this like “Was Lincoln a Racist?” which is a huge question to think about and hard to simplify to that audience of children. I think that it is still quite academic in language, which can be hard to understand at times, and could be improved quite easily. This is really the most of their digital expansion currently.
The Blog and webpage:
There is a blog but also hard to find on the website and has quite a range of topics. There are updates on restoration of the house, a post about Mary Todd, and getting to know Michael Atwood Mason as the new Executive Director. These are a good way to get familiar with what is happening at The Cottage but very one sided. The rest of the webpage is similar, hard to navigate unless you know where to look. After some reorganizing and additions, like a virtual grief exhibit, the website could have a massive extension to those who want to learn more and connect with other. This could have approved commentary by visitors about grief and the loss of a child.