By Heather Collins
Conner Prairie is getting national recognition for the revitalization and reinterpretation of one of Indiana’s most historic properties.
The American Alliance of Museums honored Conner Prairie with an Excellence in Exhibition award for the William Conner House, the longest-running exhibit at the museum. Conner Prairie was one of only five museums in the nation to receive the award.
“It is always an honor for our work to be recognized by our peers. This is a prestigious competition, and exhibit designers and developers eagerly await the announcement each year. It certainly garners attention in the museum field,” said Cathy Donnelly, exhibits developer at Conner Prairie.
Conner Prairie worked with museum artisans, historic trades specialists and local artists to revitalize and creatively tell the story of the William Conner House in a way that inspires creativity and fosters curiosity in visitors of all ages.
AAM judges noted that the museum team “made great use of the interactive media throughout William Conner House for reinterpretation, which encourages visitors to be part of the experience of a historic house through multiple engagement strategies.”
“It is a distinct honor, the latest in a string of national awards and recognition that Conner Prairie has achieved. Museums like ours that typically win this award are nationally, even internationally, recognized as leaders in the museum industry,” said Duane Brodt, director of public relations at Conner Prairie.
Recently, the museum received the top honor that a museum can receive when it was recognized with a national medal from the Institute for Museum and Library Services. The museum was awarded a $2.3 million grant by The National Science Foundation to create a STEM-based exhibit with interpretive programming that debuted in 2014.
In 2013, Conner Prairie was recognized as one of six “magnetic” museums in the nation and featured in the book, “Magnetic: The Art and Science of Engagement.” The museum was cited as one of the most-visited outdoor museums in the nation by the Outdoor History Museum Forum.
Conner Prairie, Indiana’s first Smithsonian-affiliated museum, reopened the William Conner House last year after new interactive and media experiences were installed.
“William Conner House is unusual in the museum field in that the house has the look and feel of an historic 1825 house, with furniture and wall treatments accurate to the time period, yet there are modern new media experiences and hands-on activities imbedded in the rooms that visitors explore,” Donnelly said.
Donnelly said young visitors enjoy the hands-on games, trying on clothes, including women’s corsets and testing out the beds. Donnelly said adults are drawn to the Conner family tree, the interactive map of Indiana and learning about hearthside cooking techniques.
The William Conner House, built nearly 200 years ago, was first opened to the public by Eli Lilly in 1934. Through the years, the house has undergone several renovations. The latest revitalizations occurred between March 2015 and November of last year as an official Indiana Bicentennial Legacy Project.
“Indiana’s bicentennial was a great opportunity to showcase the Conner story,” Donnelly said. “William Conner was present at many of the events that led to Indiana’s statehood. He fought in the War of 1812 and served as an interpreter at several of the treaties the federal government negotiated with the Native Americans. When he built his house, he was already well-known in the local community and in the state as a merchant, farmer, trader and land speculator. His personal story reflected what was going on in the state at the time. The state was changing, and Conner was an important agent of that change.”
For more, visit http://connerprairie.org.
5 Outdoor exhibits at Conner Prairie
- 1836 Prairietown: A 19th-century village experience immersing visitors in the routine life of central Indiana in 1836. The exhibit features animals, schoolhouse games, including hoop and stick and ninepin, and an outfitter’s cart where visitors can learn a 19th century trade.
- 1859 Balloon Voyage: Explore the history of manned flight, airmail and take a trip 350 feet into the sky in Conner Prairie’s tethered balloon.
- 1863 Civil War Journey: Visitors can gather supplies and participate in military drills as they learn more about the southern Indiana town of Dupont during the Civil War. The exhibit also features a River Cross Play Area where children can board the Alice Dean steamboat, fire a water canon and run the general store.
- Animal Encounters: Learn about the behaviors of various animals at Conner Prairie’s farm, including English longhorn cattle, Ossabaw hogs, Leicester sheep and Arapawa goats. Visitors can talk to an expert, work like a farmhand and pet the animals.
- Treetop Outpost: Bang on a drum, build with bamboo poles and wooden blocks, paint concrete vases and learn to tie rope in Conner Prairie’s four-story treehouse. The exhibit encourages visitors to unplug, dig in the dirt and explore.
2017 AAM Excellence in Exhibition awards winners
Conner Prairie joins the ranks of top museum exhibits in the nation that received the American Alliance of Museums Excellence in Exhibition award. The mission of the AAM is to champion museums and nurture excellence in partnership with AAM members and allies. The AAM helps develop standards and best practices and provides advocacy on issues of concern in the museum community. The AAM represents more than 35,000 individual museum professionals, volunteers, institutions and corporate partners. For more, visit http://aam-us.org.
Here are the other 2017 winners:
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site
Philadelphia, Pa.
Exhibit: Prisons Today: Questions in the Age of Mass Incarceration
Overall award winner for overall excellence
Oakland Museum of California
Oakland, Calif.
Exhibit: Altered State: Marijuana in California
Winner for civic engagement, respect of audience from multiple viewpoints
The Getty Research Institute and The Getty Conservation Institute
Los Angeles, Calif.
Exhibit: Cave Temples of Dunhuang: Buddhist Art on China’s Silk Road
For commitment to comprehensive research and conservation
The New Children’s Museum
San Diego, Calif.
Exhibit: The Wonder Sound
For exemplary innovative practice
