For a historic house museum where the physical structure is often the most important object in the collection, balancing the impact of events on collection can get complicated.  But let’s face it – running a house museum is neither a cheap nor easy endeavor. If we spend all this time and money preserving our collections but don’t share them with our community, why bother? (And the money comes in handy too.)

Just like most things, I try and identify a happy medium between the extremes and prioritize. For example at Lippitt House Museum, when planning events I’m most concerned about mitigating possible damage to the original grained and stenciled painted finishes on the walls.  As a result, the long-term preservation of the painted surfaces is always considered when determining what activities will be permitted in the museum. Anytime you have visitors in your space, whether that’s an event rental or a public program organized by the museum, bad things can happen. But on the flip side, many good things can happen too. “Back in the day” all kinds of events happened in these buildings– holiday parties, weddings, dinner parties, etc.  Hosting events is another way to bring life and vibrancy to historic spaces and allow new audiences to connect with them.

When planning events everyone needs to be on the same page about what activities will be happening in the spaces and what equipment is needed. Hours before the event is scheduled to start is not the time to veto the caterers’ plan for a made-to-order omelet station in the Drawing Room with the silk damask paneled walls. Have that conversation months in advance so there can still be a lovely event that doesn’t wreak havoc on the house and collections. At Lippitt House Museum, we schedule a walk through with caterers and clients about a month before every event. Even if the caterer has worked in the Museum previously, personnel changes, specific client requests and weather conditions can impact event logistics. Make sure everyone working the event is clear on what’s permitted and makes sure polices are enforced before, during and after the event. My personal risk assessment test when setting up for an event is: “Would I be sad if something happened to this?”  If the answer is “yes” then move it to a more secure location. Most visitors don’t want to damage anything so clearing the decks helps put them at ease so they can better enjoy the event.

As a profession we’ve answered the question whether to have events in our museums.  Now we just need to make sure the short-term gains don’t inadvertently result in long-term losses to our institutions.

Creating a dynamic and welcoming atmosphere for guests while ensuring the safety of collections is always a difficult balance. At the Maine Historical Society (MHS), we try to be open to considering every opportunity on a case-by-case basis, but with some key, consistent understandings. First, the safety and security of the collection is of utmost importance. Without the collection, we wouldn’t be a museum! That said, there are certain spaces in our museum and library building that are understood to be better suited for events than others and we recognize the need to keep these available for our public. For example, our main gallery space typically holds our featured and more sensitive objects, plus items on loan from other organizations, so no food or drink are ever allowed in that area of the museum. Our lecture hall is adjacent to the gallery, and serves a combined role of providing a room for public programs and events while also serving as a two-dimensional exhibit gallery. Because we use that room for programs on a regular basis, the MHS staff is careful to choose what items go on exhibit there, knowing that many people will use it for a variety of purposes. The collections items on display in that room must be safely behind glass (ie. framed) or in a location where it can be safe. We decide if food or drink can be allowed in that room based on what objects are on display at the time.

Last year, MHS experimented with using library space for exhibitions and public programs. We installed an exhibit of cased photographs in our second floor library space. While the room was beautiful and enjoyed by many, we found that the risks posed to collections in that space were too great. Because our library stacks are located in that room as well, a constant staff presence was required. Due to the demand on staff and the risk posed to collections, we’ve decided to no longer use that space for exhibitions until the collections can be adequately secured. Instead, we will occasionally use the space for public programs, during which there is a heavy staff presence and everything can be safe.

So, the balance of events and collections is ever present in my mind, and something that needs to be juggled to ensure the success of both critical areas of our work.

While we do have some events - such as Free Fun Friday - our visitation for special events and programs is on the low side. We don't usually have trouble protecting the collections with the help of our able staff of guides, museum attendants, and at times volunteers.  

But for a large special event like Free Fun Friday (supported by the Highland Street Foundation) - we try to utilize our outdoor spaces as much as possible with demonstrations from historic tradesmen, groups like the Society of the 17th Century, and activities like face painting, horse drawn carriage rides, open hearth cooking, and craft making.  These activities appeal to all audiences and help to absorb the large crowds.  Since the historic houses can't take that many people for wear and tear reasons - we do limit touring on that day to just the first floor rooms in most but not all houses.  There are some houses that are so crowded with objects (for example, our Allen House) that we can't open them to large groups so they remain closed for the protection of objects.  Some of our houses are self-guided with glass and wooden barriers already in place to keep visitors and collections separated. We also limit the number of people who could go through the houses at one time by having a guide or volunteer control the numbers. We rope or stanchion off the rooms so that people can look in but not walk through. We have a stationed guide at the front door for crowd control and introduction to the house and occupants, usually one guide in the hall and one in a room for interpretation. Interpretation is quick and succinct - about 5 minutes of information or less. All the houses on tour are prepared the previous day by the curatorial staff.  Fragile, easily damaged, and "pocketable" objects are removed from the area and placed in a secure location. 

On FFF there are no tours of the second floors - just first floors. We do allow people to come in with their handbags but they leave their large bags, back backs, and baby strollers at the front door. We don't allow photography in the houses but we do in the Flynt Center (without flash).  The rationale for this distinction is that people often loose their sense of their surroundings when taking pictures. The Flynt Center's collections are much better protected by museum attendants and exhibition barriers. For the most part, this works out well. We are able to get a large number of visitors through the houses with no appreciable wear on the collections.  For those people who are disappointed that they can't see the entire house, we encourage them to come back when they can see everything they would like. 

So FFF is very labor intensive - we use a lot of guides, all HD staff, and many volunteers to help us through this important program/special event.  At the end of the day, the curatorial staff moves everything back in place in the houses for regular touring the next day.

Last year we had over 1000 visitors that day, and it was fabulous.