I have worked in many parts of the country during my museum career, but nowhere have I had the marvelous professional development opportunities offered in Philadelphia, thanks in large part to the Heritage Philadelphia Program. On Wednesday, May 13, I had the good fortune to join an HPP-assembled group of about 20 regional colleagues for a trip to New York City. The purpose of the trip was to visit the newly-renovated and opened Museum at Eldridge Street and Potion Design Studios, the developers of one of the museum’s main interpretive tools.One of the great benefits about traveling with HPP groups is that you not only get to see other museums, but you get to meet the site’s staff members and ask them all those process questions we wish we could ask when we visit cultural institutions with family and friends. At the Museum at Eldridge Street we were able to meet with Hanna Griff-Sleven and Amy Stein Milford, who generously took time out of their work day to answer “why” and “how” questions from our inquisitive group.
Our visit to the Museum at Eldridge Street began with a tour by Miriam, one of their fabulous docents. The tour started in the lower level of the building, which includes a still-used small synagogue space for the Orthodox congregation, the museum’s gift shop, and the interpretive/exhibit space. The most attention-grabbing part of the space was definitely the interactive “tables” designed by Potion. These high-tech tables are actually surfaces onto which an interactive computer program is projected. With these tables, visitors are able to see 3D maps of the historic neighborhood, create, view and e-mail community newspaper pages based on actual newspaper stories, and simulate the painstaking restoration of the main synagogue.
From the exhibit area, we moved upstairs into the beautifully restored synagogue. As in all restored spaces, it was difficult to imagine what it looked like before the renovation, but thankfully the museum left some visual clues, including a section of a balcony wall not restored. Our group also got to vote on a real preservation issue facing the museum staff: what to do with the main window in the synagogue, where original stained glass was replaced by glass block at some point in the synagogue’s history.
After a hectic but very filling lunch, our group traveled to Potion Design Studios where we learned more about the design and development of the interactive exhibits at the Museum at Eldridge Street. We also learned about some of Potion’s other projects, and even got to see some of their work-in-progress.
Everything we saw throughout the day made for great informal discussions on the bus ride home: what is the role of technology in interpreting historic spaces and collections? Does technology necessarily enhance learning and visitors’ experiences? How can institutions with modest budgets implement cutting-edge technology? And while we didn’t arrive at any definitive answers (I think we would have needed a longer bus ride for that!) the discussions were very engaging and thought-provoking.
Andrea (Ang) Reidell is the Education Specialist at National Archives, Mid-Atlantic Region.
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