Openings
This article originally appeared in Exchange, a
newsletter published by the Wisconsin Historical
Society. (Volume
37, Number 4, 1995) It is the fifth in a series
of articles titled Public
Appeal. The series deals with public
programming and public information. It was
written by Tom McKay, retired local history
coordinator for the Wisconsin Historical
Society.
Scanning the guest register kept at the entrance of a site or museum operated by a small historical society often reveals a high percentage of visitors from outside the local community. Like the question of the glass half empty or half full, turning the equation around shows a low percentage of visitors from the local community. While appreciating the interest of all visitors, some local historical societies need to find ways to attract visitors from nearby as successfully as they do those from afar. Special openings and open houses represent one avenue for increasing interest and visitation from the local community.
Most historical societies that operate museums or sites will have one or more opportunities for a special opening each year. Many small historical societies maintain public hours on a seasonal basis during the warmer months of the year. The beginning of the visitor season each year presents the perfect occasion for an opening reception. Any museum, whether operated on a seasonal or year-round basis, has the opportunity to plan a special event when it produces a new exhibit or hosts a traveling exhibit. Even historical societies without museums sometimes produce temporary exhibits or host traveling shows in other facilities in their community. These societies can plan a special opening to be part of the overall exhibit project.
Openings serve primarily to bring attention to a historical society and its work. With this main purpose in mind, a society must determine whether the goal of an opening is to attract attention from its members or from its members and the community as a whole. Some societies choose to present exhibit openings, preview evenings, or receptions for the opening of visitors season as members-only events. An invitation-only opening for members adds an incentive for people to join the society and gives the society a way to say thank you to its core supporters. Many small historical societies have few tangible benefits to provide to members other than a newsletter. Special openings for members create another type of benefit.
Historical societies must balance the need for members' benefits against the attention they might attract through an event open to the entire community. An open house for the community as a whole presents excellent possibilities for newspaper or radio publicity. These opportunities do not exist for a members-only activity. Either a temporary exhibit created by a local historical society or a traveling exhibit borrowed from another organization may have the potential to attract new segments of the community. A public opening for the entire community can send the message that the historical society welcomes new people to its ranks. A local historical society may wish to reap the benefits of both members-only events and public open houses. In such cases, a new exhibit project may be the occasion for a members' preview followed by a community open house.
Open houses and opening receptions combine social and educational activities into a single event. The balance reached between the two often depends upon the intended audience for the event. Members-only openings usually emphasize the social aspect of the occasion and encourage the people who make up the historical society to spend time together enjoying the exhibit or museum in the company of fellow supporters. However, even the most social opening should take time to acknowledge the society's educational mission. A brief, formal ceremony with the society's president, director, or appropriate committee chair presiding can highlight the historical significance of the new exhibit or the changes accomplished in the museum for the upcoming visitor season. The formal opening ceremony also allows a time to thank volunteers, donors, and others for their contributions to the new exhibit or museum improvements. The ceremony should also include thanks to the members for their attendance at the event and their continued support throughout the year.
Public openings for the entire community often focus more attention on the educational side of the event. Traveling exhibits or those funded by grants may require public programs to be part of the project. An opening may provide a good venue for an accompanying public program. When a historical program is part of an opening, the event should begin with time for visitors to browse through the exhibit before the program. Viewing the exhibit first allows the visitors to become better informed about the subject of the program.
Public programs for exhibit openings often feature expert speakers. Local historical societies may find that following the speaker's address with a panel of community members heightens interest. The expert speaker can provide the broader context of the historical subject while the panel of community members adds specific information about the local experience and increases the sense of community participation. A program that combines an expert speaker with a local panel must be carefully planned to end within a reasonable time.
Opening receptions and open houses usually conclude with hospitality. The food and conversation that members and visitors share will help them leave with a positive feeling about the historical society. People love food customs and traditions. A historical society that becomes known for the secret recipe punch, largest strawberries, biggest selection of cheeses, or best homemade kolaches at its openings will strengthen its public appeal. Unfortunately, museum objects do not love food. Cracker crumbs that draw insects, frosting fingerprints on a photograph, or punch spilled on a historic quilt can do irreparable damage. Historical society openings must restrict food to the location designated for hospitality. A meeting room in the museum or the society's grounds may serve this purpose. Other groups may have to move to a community center or church hall for the hospitality portion of the event.
The organizers of museum openings should recognize that these activities provide their greatest value in positive attention to the historical society. This makes attention to a thoughtfully created invitation for members or a well-written news release for media essential to the success of the opening. The society should also be ready to put its best foot forward. This can mean scheduling the opening of an exhibit or the seasonal open house for a museum a few days later than the society actually opens its doors for regular visitation. The slight delay can allow all the work on the exhibit or museum to be completed before anyone begins decorating the meeting room or baking kringle.
Openings seldom offer the best time to visit a new exhibit. Crowds and conversations limit comprehension of the historical materials and information on display. Whoever presides over the ceremonies or program for the opening should be sure to invite everyone to visit the museum again to more thoroughly enjoy the exhibit and to bring their friends and family. This may even be an appropriate time to explain how to arrange group tours. If the new exhibits pique the interest of the people in attendance and they return with others, the grand opening will have achieved great success.
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