The Tent (and the Power of Authenticity)

Please enjoy the following transcript from a past episode of Exhibitsmith the Podcast. The Tent debuted on April 1, 2024. Find Exhibitsmith on your favorite podcast platform and at Podbean.

Let’s talk about the power of authenticity. Authenticity is real. True. And when it comes to objects, it might just be what turns something ordinary into something extraordinary. On today’s episode, I’ll be sharing a very creative example of how one museum decided to interpret one of their most special artifacts, to great success.

Hi, my name is Lindsey Smith with Exhibitsmith. I’m rethinking the way we save our stuff. I help people interpret, preserve, and better understand the objects that make up our world. If you have a lot of stuff, it might feel overwhelming. But believe it or not, I truly believe that artifact and heirloom preservation can be both easy and fun. In fact, I’ve developed a series of introductory-level workshops on this topic and others just to prove my point. Learn more about them at exhibitsmith.com.

Okay, back to the conversation of authenticity and using that to leverage the importance of an object. Let’s think on this a little, especially regarding the museum world. Why do people usually visit history museums? History museums can vary greatly, but they usually have one thing in common. Whether it’s a state museum or a local history museum. A museum that focuses on a particular subject, like a military museum, or a fashion museum, or even a museum that’s housed in an historic structure, such as a one room schoolhouse or a residence. These very different types of institutions all do one very united thing. They interpret the past. And the vast majority of these museums use authentic artifacts to tell their story.  

Exhibit developers have the power (ooh power) to pick and choose which artifacts from their collection will tell the story that they’re after. They will carefully choose not only an object, but by putting an artifact in the spotlight, they’re carefully curating the entire exhibit experience. They are the ones who will determine the story that they think is most important for the exhibition, and we trust them to do so with accuracy and integrity. There are many different ways we can look at a single artifact – I focus on that in my workshops, and will be discussing that here on a future episode, too.

But until that episode drops, I want you to understand that with the right thinking and interpretation, even the most ordinary-looking artifact or item can truly come alive in the eyes of museum guests. And today, I want to tell you a story of just that.

But before I begin, here’s a little information about this artifact. If you saw it folded up on a table, you would probably just walk right on by thinking it was something that needed to be tossed or donated, or just gotten rid of. Properly mounted and interpreted, however, the item’s true worth is revealed.

This museum, however, went an extra step. They went above and beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Using the authentic artifact, it’s extraordinary story, and a little bit of theater magic, they created an awe-inspiring, educational spectacle.

On to today’s story:

I'd like to tell you a story about a tent, a special tent, George Washington's tent. In fact, it's on display at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. Last spring, I had the opportunity to chaperone my son's fourth grade field trip to the museum. To say the kids were excited to go on a field trip is an understatement. I think my ears were ringing for weeks after those bus rides. Anyhow, when we got to the museum, the first thing we did was see their multimedia production of General George Washington's tent before the lights dimmed.

In the theater, a museum educator explained the artifacts importance and that it was old, authentic, and should not be photographed. The room full of loud bouncy fourth graders started asking a myriad questions. Where did you get it? Can I touch it? What would happen if I touched it?

Is it real? There were also some high school students in the crowd. I really wanted to jump up and started explaining things, but as a parent chaperone, I just sat and smiled. The rambunctious kids were really getting into it. During the wonderful introductory film, most of the kids were able to stay quiet, but it is fourth grade, so there was a constant bit of background chatter, which kept the energy up in the room. And then at long last, the screen rose and the crowd started going wild.

The tent, the tent, but there was another screen behind it, and the movie continued. This was a brilliant move. The crowd reacted in anticipation grew. The high schoolers behind us were just as engaged as the fourth graders. Then at long last, the second screen gave way, and there it was Washington's tent, beautifully lit and safe behind glass, a screen along the back wall, projected sky and trees as they changed through the seasons and the lighting made the tent seem magical, and the crowd went absolutely wild.

The 10 year olds and high schoolers were going nuts for George Washington's tent, like I'm talking Beatles on Ed Sullivan Nuts like the tent. It's the tent. It was too loud to even hear the movie narration anymore. It was just complete screaming chaos. And personally, my material culture heart exploded. I was both laughing and getting teary-eyed from their reaction, and I'm so glad I was there to experience it. But then, but then stage right, was that a, was that a lantern moving around inside the tent and it looked like someone was walking around in there?

Was it? Was it George Washington? Oh my gosh. The kids started shrieking again at the top of their lungs. Thanks to this very clever and apparently extremely effective use of lighting.

Oh my goodness, what an experience. I, I could tell you so much more about how wonderful the field trip today was. But that moment is what will stick in my head, in my heart for years to come. It was amazing. If you're in Philadelphia, go see the tent and definitely take any 10 year olds you have along for the ride.

I am very curious to learn about the moments that you have had in your life where you encountered an object and then learned the story behind it and were just completely blown away, or it really made you think of the item or its context in a completely new way. Perhaps you were just floored that you were kind of standing in front of this real piece of history and it was just all of a sudden too much to grasp.

These are the moments that keep me doing this. This is the reason why I focus so much of my time on helping people preserve and interpret their stuff. You don’t need to own a national treasure to discover and curate extraordinary unique stories that really shine and connect with people. Sometimes it just takes asking the right questions and taking good notes, such as interviewing a family member about a prized posession.

So even if you're not a museum person, especially if you're not a museum person, I invite you to think about the items that are in your life, perhaps by walking around your house, looking at each room and thinking, what is the important item or items that I have on display here? And am I just taking them for granted as they get covered in dust? Is there a way I can highlight them? Are they getting lost in the shuffle, i.e. do I literally have to move piles of papers and stuff out of the way to even see and appreciate them?

And then, ask yourself how can I create these moments in my own home, in my own life with the things that are important to me - fully understanding that you're not going to have something like Washington's tent or a Gutenberg Bible, or the Hope Diamond, right? But that doesn't matter. You don't need those national, international treasures. What's important to you are the items that bring you those feelings, and I'm very curious to learn what items you have and how you are cherishing them, displaying them, storing them, and keeping those stories alive.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s episode. I invite you to subscribe to my podcast and once again, you can see everything Exhibitsmith is up to Exhibitsmith.com, including grabbing yourself some free, downloadable resources. Thanks for listening - I’m already looking forward to the next episode.