The HRC thanks Laurie Pasteryak for serving as guest author for the following entry. Laurie has held several positions in the fields of history, archaeology, and education, working with the National Heritage Museum in Lexington, MA, the USS Constitution Museum in Charlestown, MA, and as the Director of Education at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, CT. Currently, Laurie is working as a consultant with the Mashantucket Pequot Museum on the National Park Service American Battlefield...
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The HRC thanks Nina Zannieri for serving as guest author for the following entry. Nina has been the Executive Director of the Paul Revere Memorial Association in Boston, MA since 1986. She served on the Board of the American Association of Museums from 1999-2002 and as Vice Chair from 2002-2003. She also was President of the New England Museum Association from 1998 - 2002. Nina recently completed a 4-year term on the Governing Council of...
What do people want from visits to historic sites? In "Excursions into the Un-Remembered Past: What People Want from Visits to Historical Sites," anthropologists Catherine Cameron and John Gatewood answer the question in one word: Numen. Numen, they explain, refers to a transcendent experience, a connection to the holy, or a sense of awe. Authenticity is important in fostering numen as visitors seek "real" historic objects and "real" historic sites, places and things which allow...
Be direct and frank. Focus on uniqueness.Go slow.In Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want, authors James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II present an exceptionally thought-provoking and example-studded discussion about the "appeal of the real" in the current consumer-driven market. The premise here is that consumers, "no longer content just with available, affordable, and excellent offerings," purchase goods and experiences that reflect their self-image - or the image they want to portray to the world....
