On day two of our London trip, we had the wonderful opportunity to go to the famous Tower of London. I took time to enjoy the sights and sounds as well as the wonderful onsite exhibits. It wasn't long before my analytic side began to dissect the presentations before me. There we so many different kinds of exhibits that I began to sit back and watch the foot traffic. More than ten thousand people from all over the world go through this site each day this time of year. I was interested in evaluating which types of exhibits people were drawn to. 

There were static exhibits, things such as the crown jewels, clothing, tapestries, weapons, and other artifacts. These exhibits garnered the most foot traffic. Certain objects received more attention but everyone dutifully filed past each exhibit. 

Next were the interactive exhibits. These were things such as armored helmets that you placed your face into in order to view a battle scene from the eyes of a knight. Other exhibits featured weapons, including a simulated bow and arrow that you actually drew (or tried to anyways) and fired. These exhibits were also very popular. However, because they took time for each person to experience, many people simply did not wait around to experience it for themselves. This fact significantly lowered the number of people who viewed these exhibits. 

Lastly, were the audio visual exhibits. These were projections and videos that brought several historic events to life. One animated a medieval tapestry that depicted the coronation of a king. Other videos showed the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. These exhibits gained everyone's attention. Groups would stop, stand together, and silently view each presentation. While these exhibits caught everyone's attention, the viewers were inactive and passive while viewing. 

All of this evidence made me consider what makes a successful exhibit. Is it one that gets the most attention or is it the one that captures the viewers imagination and draws them in? The answer is obvious, but given the above mentioned issues with interactive exhibits, how do we ensure that everyone gets in on the fun? The answer would be a combination of the group experience of audio visual presentations with the addition of the interactive experience. The execution of this would depend on the site and the subject matter. I always go back to the National Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. as a site that gets this combination right. By simply giving the viewers a card with a profile of a real Holocaust victim, it makes every exhibit personal and interactive. You can look at a pile of shoes and get a sense of what you would have felt like if you were there. The subject matter of the Holocaust lends itself better to this sort of interactive experience better than a site like the Rosenbaum House, but there must be a way to adapt some of these ideas into any site. 

These are all beginning thoughts on the proper administration and presentation of house museums, but after viewing all of these exhibits and others at the Museum of London, my mind is alight with ideas. This is a theme that I will return to several times throughout my research process. I plan to go to every museum that I can and evaluate each along these lines. On Friday we will have our first opportunity to research at the British Library. I have reserved some books about the foundations and operation of the National Trust. This research will be a bit less exciting to the casual reader but I am very excited to have this opportunity. Until next time. 

Well, I have survived my first full day in London. After traveling for several hours we landed at what my body was telling me was 4 a.m. the day after we started at 10 a.m. on Monday. In reality it was 10 a.m. on Tuesday local time in London. Thankfully I  had managed a few winks of sleep during the seven hour flight from Philadelphia, so in a way it tricked my mind into thinking it was the correct time of the morning. After my first trip on the Underground, we made it to the dorms where I had a quick and glorious shower. Three airports worth of grime washed away, we headed downstairs to meet the groups at around 2 p.m. 

The trick of the mind about thinking it was morning quickly faded away as we traveled on foot and by underground for the next several hours. A blur of station stops and walking led us to Brunswick for lunch, next to a place to buy temporary phones, an ATM, the British Library for readers cards, the main underground stop (forget the name) to buy an Oyster card (great thing these, you pay for the month and can ride all over the city), and then lastly to a wonderful pub for dinner. Makes me tired just writing it. All that on about three hours sleep in two days after traveling for 13 hours. 

Hannah and I made it until around 8 p.m. until we had to part very good company and head back to the dorms. We had to go around to the shops and buy toiletries and some things for the room. At times it felt like we would not make it another block. The blister on my foot was screaming as my wonderful wife's celebrated navigation skills began to fade with weariness.  Finally we completed our errands and made it back to the dorms. We went to our separate rooms, yes separate for they are tiny, and slept the sleep of weary world travelers. Unfortunately my brain woke me up around 3 a.m. and wondered why we had been sleeping from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m at night. Oh my! 

So far, what I can say is that this city is awe inspiring one minute and then quiet and quaint the next. You can turn one block and enter into a whole new world. I have not even seen one tenth of a percent of it and I am rapidly falling in love with it. The things that Hannah and I love and have to hunt for at home are all around. From the food, to the culture, to the people we have meet so far, it is what we love. 

As I sit here, with my window opened to the sounds of the city seven floors below, at 6 a.m. local time (midnight at home) I am full of excitement and anxious to meet the day.