Creative adaptation at the 1867 DeLong House in Glen Falls, NY

The Chapman Historical Museum’s 1867 DeLong House was languishing as a Victorian historic house museum. The approach felt tired and passive and it was no longer attracting many visitors. They needed low-cost, creative ideas and new approaches to interpreting local history.

In 2018 I lead a training workshop for staff and board members, then guided the DeLong House interpretation team in brainstorming local history themes and new interactive elements for each room of the house. I coached them through the process of prototyping and reworking the displays.

The refreshed approach has expanded the museum’s family audience, increased the amount of time visitors spend in the house, and energized the staff.

Staff reflections at the end of the project:

• “We broke the mold, and that was refreshing. I realized we don’t have to be so constrained.”

• “I am proud that people seem more engaged, and that we got it done so quickly.”

• “It required thinking about our objects in different ways—not the same narrow lenses, but starting with the end perspective of the visitor. The objects have their own integrity now—you can really see them.”

• “I felt energized working on this project.”

• “It was a more positive kind of stress—more freedom, more possibility.”

• “It felt like before we were presenting things in 2D and now we’re presenting them in 4D. I see it now more as an experience, where visitors remember what they saw and did afterwards instead of remembering what we presented. That’s challenging, but in a good way.”