Presented at the 2012 Danish Canadian Conference in Toronto

1. Some Musings on "History"
Museums, Small and Big
History
Museum?
Location
Stories

2. Topics
• Is "history" a four-letter word?
• Museum - Is it good to be one?
• What if your story "ends" too soon?
• Location location location
• Closing Thoughts

3. Is "history" a four-letter word?
• Waterloo Region Museum, where I work, IS a
history museum
• But we left it out of the name on purpose
– Due to negative perceptions
– Improves marketing and branding

4. Is "history" a four-letter word?
• For many people, sadly, it is
– Taught poorly in schools
– Facts, dates, figures, names, memorization…
– Many museums don't present it very well either
• People will tell you they "don't like it"
– Or just aren't interested
• But if you get them talking…
– They actually are very interested in and excited about
it
– Need more engaging, personal connections
• Likely a positive it doesn't appear in Danish
Canadian National Museum & Gardens (!)

5. Is "history" a four-letter word?
• So, don't hang your hat on "history" moving
forward
• But consider HISTORY…
• The key is actually hiSTORY
– So it's a five-letter word
• Stories engage our minds to fill in the gaps left
by facts
• Focus on the stories you want to tell

6. Museum - Is It Good to be One?
• Yes and no…
• Just like "history", the word "museum" has
negative connotations for many people
– There are a lot of poorly done, boring museums
out there
– Often "forced" to go as children in school
• It's a positive as it does indicate
– That you have real stuff
– Collect + preserve real stuff
– Let people see the real stuff
– Sense of "trust"

7. Museum - Is It Good to be One?
• "Museum" also comes with expectations on
the part of potential visitors
• Particularly those people that have been to
larger, mainly urban, institutions
– Coherent content and programming
– Professional staff
– Quality exhibits

8. Museum - Is It Good to be One?
• What people expect

9. Museum - Is It Good to be One?
• What people fear they will get

10. Museum - Is It Good to be One?
• So, managing and meeting expectations is a BIG
challenge
• WRM, like DCNM, offers multiple services
– Museum/exhibits
– Historic village/buildings
– Curatorial facilities
– Rentals/meetings/weddings
• It can be confusing to potential visitors
– "What are we really going to be able to do there?"

11. Location Location Location
• DCNM is out of the way, in Alberta
– With a perfectly good, historical reason
• Danish Canadians live throughout the country
– Attracting visitation from outside Alberta is
probably a challenge
• Located between Edmonton and Calgary
– Large urban centres
– Large competitors that raise the bar
– Probably serve as barrier to visitors traveling to
Spruce View

12. Location Location Location
• These factors tie in to "history" and "museum" as
discussed before
• Can DCNM meet expectations of untapped
potential visitors?
– Need compelling reason to travel
– Compelling content and programs
– Need to strive to meet standard set by urban
institutions
– I understand the food, coffee, and hospitality are
already terrific!
• Can DCNM surmount all the possible negative
percpetions?

13. What if Your Story Ends Too Soon?
• Three waves of Danish migration, most recent
ends in the 1970s
• This is essentially ancient history to younger
generations of visitors, Danish or not
– WRM has similar issue with German migrations
• Oddly enough, it may also be viewed as being
"not old enough"
– "Why should I go there to see what I can see here
for free?"
– WRM has same issue with contemporary
immigration and artifacts

14. What if Your Story Ends Too Soon?
• How do you make the story compelling and
engaging, then?
– Connect it contextually to important national events?
– This is easy in the US – Revolution, Civil War, Civil
Rights etc
– It's harder in Canada
• Most significant influences or events are external
• Without the connections, attracting visitors is
tough
– Colonial Williamsburg = tied to birth of US nation
– Old Sturbridge Village = early 1800s, no big events

15. What if Your Story Ends Too Soon?
• WRM's situation
– Mennonites end around 1830
– Germans in waves, ends post-WWII
– Scots, mostly ends mid-1800s
• Now 90 to 95 languages spoken in the Region
• What is common thread?
• "What Makes Us Who We Are?"
– Sometimes, "The Stories That Connect Us"

16. What if Your Story Ends Too Soon?

17. So What to Do?
• Why not become a "Heritage Centre"?
– Sidesteps issues and expectations related to being a
"museum" (as a brand)
– Provides bigger umbrella for very varied offerings at
DCNM
– Stays away from "history"!
• Augment web presence to reach wider Canadian
and international audience
– DCNM website is terrific!
– Keep adding content to it as you are able
– Give finished exhibits a continued life online

18. So What to Do?
• Think about producing and travelling an
exhibit of Danish immigration and Danish
Canadians
– Reach larger Canadian audience
– Good way to ramp up to possible future new
museum
• Focus on the stories!!!!
– Chronology still serves as a framework for them

19. My Story
• Carl Jensen, my father's father, was born in
Silkeborg in 1898
• Came to Canada after WW I, to Taber, Alberta,
worked in dairying
• Moved to Regina, married my father's mother
• Worked in management at the Regina Co-op
Creamery
• Passed away in 1970

20. Dedicated to Papa Jensen

21. Thank you!
Mange tak!