Interpretive Planning for Historic Sites and Museums: Why, What, and How

1-day workshop

What is interpretive planning? Essentially it combines all the elements that create an optimal visitor experience at a historic site, exhibition, or museum. At this workshop we will consider the interpretive planning process and discuss the various elements that are included in an interpretive plan. We will discuss experiences that participants have had—both positive and negative—in visiting historic sites or exhibitions, and we will apply these experiences to an interactive session based on a current exhibition installed at the Alice Paul Institute. Participants will learn why interpretive planning should be an essential part of any strategic or master planning exercise at a historic and/or cultural institution.

Instructor: Page Talbott (fall 2017)
Credits: .5 CEUs

Dr. Page Talbott is a senior fellow at the Center for Cultural Partnerships at Drexel University and is the principal consultant at Talbott Exhibits and Planning. From 2013 to June 2016, she served as president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Among her career highlights are her role as associate director of the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary and chief curator of Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World, the international traveling exhibition commemorating the anniversary of Franklin’s 300th birthday (2003–2008), and the creation of the content for the Benjamin Franklin Museum at Franklin Court, which opened in August 2013. She has also served as senior project manager to assist the Barnes Foundation with its collection move from Merion to Philadelphia; consulting curator for 15 years for Moore College of Art & Design; consultant for the Philadelphia documentary company History Making Productions; and planning consultant for dozens of historical organizations including Historic Morven, the Lancaster County Historical Society, and Historic Germantown. Dr. Talbott is the author and editor of several books and monographs, as well as dozens of articles on a variety of topics, ranging from American fine and decorative arts to cultural history. She has lectured and taught extensively on a variety of topics. Dr. Talbott holds a BA from Wellesley College, an MA from the University of Delaware/Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, and an MA and PhD in American Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania.