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Citation: 

Trofanenko, Brenda. “Playing into the Past: Reconsidering the Educational Promise of Public History Exhibits.” In Pastplay: Teaching and Learning History with Technology, edited by Kevin Kee, 257-69. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2014.

Abstract/Summary: 

Public history museums are considered to be powerful educational institutions. They are moving beyond the traditional forms of displays to include technology and the opportunities offered by the Internet have allowed museums to reach a wider digital audience. The last few years have seen an influx of research and scholarship in the relationship between museums and digital technologies. However, there have been issues raised by the research. The first concerns how the influx of digital technologies affects the level of involvement of the visitor with historical inquiry and the identification of objects, analyzing the information and understanding how it relates to historical events. The second issue relates to how museums see themselves as guardians of the past, culture and national identity and, in doing so, abridge the information relayed about an object when technology could enhance the experience with further information and context. Museums are at the state where they now must focus on how technology can aid their mandates and in reaching their goals and not rely on the adage that since the museum is there the public will come. According to the author, what is often missing for museums is the opportunity for youth to use technological tools to grapple with the resources. She states there are two reasons that museums limit the amount of play in their galleries. The first relates to how the museum staff members are so focused on the end goal, presenting the truth through factual knowledge, that they overlook any presentation of information other than the traditional didactic methods. The second issue discusses how the knowledge that is to be gained from an object is viewed unilaterally with only one correct response and is not open to interpretation. The author suggests that students, if given the opportunity, have the capacity to question historical narratives and engage with a historical consciousness. The author uses the case study of grade seven students’ engagement at the National Museum of American History as they sought to view the museum as an education resource. She presents an explanation of the research including the work that students completed. The author concludes with the suppositions of the research and how they can aid museums.

Source/Credit: 
Erika Smith