Please feel free to add your comments and share your stories about Piatt Castles. Whether you visited when you were a child, gave tours when you were in high school, were married on the grounds, or had any other experience here we'd love to hear how Piatt Castles has played a role in your life. All of your stories together make up our story.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Renewal & Reflection

Detail from Oliver Frey's 1881 fresco in the ceiling
of Mac-A-Cheek.  Many of the flowers portrayed here
were also planted in the garden in front of the home.
Spring is a time of renewal, and birthdays are times for reflection.  This spring I am completing the first year of my Master's Degree, and at the Castles we are celebrating our 100th birthday.  The last days of spring semester are an amazing time on campus.  The overwhelming stress of a heavy work load starts to lift, and it is replaced by anxiety about exams and excitement about the summer.  As we watch our colleagues prepare for graduation we're reminded how fleeting our time in academia is.  Very soon we will transition back into the 'real world,' and however smooth or trying that transition may be it will give us the opportunity to reflect on what we have learned and what we hope to accomplish going forward.
At Piatt Castles we are approaching our anniversary not just as a time for celebration but also as a period for reflection and planning.  We are using the entire year to review and redevelop the content of our exhibits and to reflect on what we hope to accomplish as a cultural institution.
In 1912 the simple goal of displaying a cabinet of curiosities was simple to accomplish with straightforward methods for evaluating sucess.  Today the goals and success metrics are much more complex, and we are using our 100th year of tours to take a step back and analyze the experience we provide to our visitors in order determine our goals for visitor interaction and find new and informative ways to measure how well we are meeting our goals.  You can help us by telling us what you took away from your visit to Piatt Castles.  What was your most memorable experience?  If you had to describe the museum to a friend, how would you do it?
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2 comments:

  1. TonyMay 10, 2012 at 4:50 PM

    Whenever I try to describe the mueum to my friends, I invariably have to show them pictures, from this site or elsewhere. It's hard to verbalize the contrast of the cornfields and the stately buildings, and the contrast between the two castles.
    The most vivid memories for me center on the grounds and the setting of the museum. It's a beautiful, pastoral scene, and you can imagine what the original Piatts saw in this land. I just enjoy walking around the ancient trees and weathered boulders. It's fantastic!

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  2. AnonymousMay 11, 2012 at 6:15 AM

    I agree with Tony. As a child, I so loved rolling down the hills and exploring the crevices and crannies in the rocks. It still gives me pleasure to watch visiting children play on the land. I then imagine some parent yelling at them about getting grass stained or hurt. A little grass stain or scrape is worth it for the pleasure of total involvement in the landscape.

    As a young adult studying material culture as part of my museum training, I came to appreciate both buildings and their contents. They are representative of so much from their era. My father felt they were unique but I discovered that they were fairly typical. I now think they as both typical and unique.

    Maybe what I like best about the Castles and their setting is that the place keeps surprising me and leading me into new experiences and directions of thought.

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