Every year 100 million visitor's tour historic houses and re-created villages, examine museum artifacts, and walk through battlefields. But what do they learn? What version of the past are history museums offering to the public? And how well do these institutions reflect the latest historical scholarship? Fifteen scholars and museum staff members here provide the first critical assessment of American history museums, a vital arena for shaping popular historical consciousness. They consider the form and content of exhibits, ranging from Gettysburg to Disney World. They also examine the social and political contexts on which museums operate.

All persons involved with natural history museums--from administrators to exhibit designers--will find this work useful. The chapters in the volume provide a general overview as well as address specific topics concerning the roles and functions of natural history museums. Topics in this survey include conservation, care, use, management, and preservation of collections; the role of exhibits and other educational materials, as well as ideas and guidelines for some exciting new approaches for this facet of natural history museums; and, in addition, useful information about possible sources of funding for natural history museums.

Locations including missions, trading posts, trails, landmarks, military forts, battlefields, railroads, ghost towns, and early Native American villages are featured here, along with details of what exhibits and artifacts are on view.".

Teaching History with Museums, Second Edition provides an introduction and overview of the rich pedagogical power of museums and historic sites. With a collection of practical strategies and case studies, the authors provide educators with the tools needed to create successful learning experiences for students. The cases are designed to be adapted to any classroom, encouraging students to consider museums as historical accounts to be examined, questioned, and discussed. Key updates to this revised edition and chapter features include: New Chapter 9 captures the importance of art museums when teaching about the past. Updated Chapter 10 addresses issues of technology, focused on visitors’ experiences in both physical and virtual museums. New coverage of smaller, lesser known museums to allow readers to adapt cases to any of their own local sites. Specific pre-visit, during visit, and post-visit activities for students at each museum. Case reflections analyzing pitfalls and possibilities that can be applied more broadly to similar museums. A listing of resources unique to the museum and history content for each chapter. With this valuable textbook, educators will learn how to promote instruction in support of rigorous inquiry into the past and the goals of democratic values of tolerance and citizenship in the present.

Provides an entertaining social history and a unique reference guide, because it tells where the museums are as of 1965, how they got there, who put them there, and what they contain. The Appendix includes a listing by state and city of more than 2500 operating museums. The index is cross-referenced, so that it is possible to locate anything from an important Rembrandt to a major entomological collection.