Museums that incorporate first-person interpretation provide their visitors with a dynamic means of engaging with the past. In order to accurately present the activities and physical surroundings of actual individuals, such museums must rely on detailed background research. What happens when the most direct connections to the past are not available: when the people to be portrayed, the settlements they lived in, and the industries they engaged in no longer exist? Accurate information regarding specific individuals, their physical spaces and the objects used in their everyday lives can be obtained using creative methodological tools. This paper will discuss some of those tools as applied to one example from east central Alberta.
Living History Museums
Vanishing Individual - Mike Onufruw
Vanishing Industry - Harness and Shoe Repair
Vanishing Places - St. Michael, Alberta
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