Attachment G_Interpretive Plan.pdf

Kentucky Historical Society Interpretive Plan ATTACHMENT G

This document sets a framework of criteria that acts as the foundation for creation of the exhibit.

It defines intended audiences, the institutional and communication goals, and broad main and support ideas. As the planning progresses, the team will continually refer to the criteria and refine as appropriate.

Audience According to the 2024 AAM Survey:

• 75% of the primary audience is 60 or older with no minor children.

• 38% of museum visitors are parents, guardians, or casual/sporadic visitors.

• About 18% of museum visitors are under 40 with no minor children.

• 58% of the audience are women, and 38% are men.

• Roughly 10% of visitors are agender, non-binary, or prefer not to identify their gender.

• 43% of the audience are parents with adult children, and 40% are less likely to identify as parents or guardians of minor children.

• Over 50% of visitors have a graduate degree; 28% have a bachelor’s degree; 16% have some college; less than 5% have a high school diploma or no degree as their highest education.

The secondary audience is chaperone-led school groups, between 5th –6th grade, with a focus on curriculum.

Tourists visiting Frankfort, KY - from Kentucky or out of state. A large draw for tourists is the Bourbon Trail.

People who have an hour or two of leisure time.

History enthusiasts and return visitors.

Overall, this exhibit should appeal to a broad audience, of all ages, local and non-local.

Interpretive Plan

What does the audience already know? Or think they know?

• There are many well-known Kentuckians that have been popularized and romanticized by popular media, such as Daniel Boone. There could be some name recognition, though not likely an in-depth knowledge of those figures.

Interpretive Plan ATTACHMENT G

• The 5th and 6th grade curriculum social science learning objectives are to understand the role of Kentucky settlers in the American Revolution, and to determine the influences of Classical Greece and Rome on the structures of Kentucky State Government.

• The 5th curriculum geology learning objective is to compare the lives of Kentucky settlers to those living in other areas during the early years of the United States.

• The 5th curriculum economics learning objective is to analyze how incentives and opportunity costs impact decision making, using examples from Kentucky history.

• The 5th curriculum civics learning objective is to explain the roles and responsibilities of a Kentucky citizen.

• Visitors over the age of 30 are likely be aware that the American Revolution happened.

• Political climate, dark and bloody ground myth from school – chance to review previous interpretations and unpack familiar stories.

• Native Americans never “lived” in Kentucky.

• Kentucky did not play a role in the larger Revolution, since it wasn’t one of the original colonies, and that no battles happened here.

• Interpretation of the Constitution is still hotly debated.

According to a teacher assessment survey (17 responses), in a multiple-choice format:

• 94% of teachers know the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763.

• 58% of teachers know that The Battle of Blue Licks is associated with The American Revolution.

• 47% of teachers are able to identify the earliest European settlements in Kentucky.

• 94% of teachers know when Kentucky became a state.

• 35% of teachers know that the first successful European settlements came with Daniel Boone being hired by Richard Henderson’s Transylvania Company to establish a fort.

• 35% of teachers know that enslaved people first entered Kentucky with Daniel Boone’s party in 1775.

What do they expect to learn/take away from this experience?

Visitors expect to see cool artifacts that are not usually on display, and to become more familiar with Kentucky’s role in the American Revolution. They may expect to confirm their own understanding of the period, and to feel a sense of American patriotism while going through the exhibit.

Interpretive Plan ATTACHMENT G

Institutional Goals Why are we creating this exhibit and what should it do for the Kentucky Historical Society?

This exhibit should be a mutually beneficial exercise for both KHS staff and visitors. In addition to building capacity, KHS will define and implement new processes for exhibits development. It will also establish a two-exhibit layout in Keeneland, creating more manageable projects for staff and creating more frequent rotations.

America250 has high visibility across several platforms. As the America250 rep, an exhibit would allow KHS to broaden its audience reach through cross-marketing efforts. This, in addition to the rebrand, should increase awareness of KHS as an organization.

To engage audiences and encourage visitors to come back for future exhibits.

Collect visitor data that will drive future exhibits/programming; a visitor-centered approach to creating content will help deep connections with our patrons and hopefully grow an active community of dedicated supporters.

Research around this topic will also impact updates to the permanent gallery, allowing KHS to make meaningful and informed updates to AKJ.

The exhibit should also deepen understanding of Kentucky history and our own role (KHS) in perpetuating myth and memory.

Create relationships with potential organizational partners in Frankfort and around Kentucky.

What should it do for the community?

KHS has a large footprint in Frankfort, KY and has the potential to help drive tourism. As part of the Tourism and Heritage Council, support of our institution could directly help support local businesses and drive visitation.

Re-engage local community and learning by presenting history through the lens of human perspective, present stories that visitors can relate to and identify with.

Allow Kentuckians to take pride in their shared history, while also understanding that our understanding of history can change over time.

It should create a safe place for dialogue and build trust with the visitors.

Support and engage with communities that have been historically underrepresented at KHS by including them in the exhibit development process at the beginning.

Consider KHS as part of their community, and as a resource for learning, entertainment, and research.

Interpretive Plan ATTACHMENT G

If visitors take away just one thing from this experience, what should it be? If you were going to tell the story behind this message/big idea in a sentence or two, how would you tell it?

This exhibit invites visitors to explore how memory and storytelling influence our understanding of history by investigating events and people during the Revolutionary period in Kentucky.

If someone asks ‘so what?’ about this message/big idea, how would you answer that question?

You should understand your role in history, and the impact you can have.

Interpretive Goals

• Re-examine long-standing narratives and concepts involving Kentucky’s settlement and founding.

• Interpret narrative art from the KHS collection through the lens of period perspectives and motivation, and how have their perspectives affected our understanding of historical events.

• Interpret Revolutionary-era and Revolutionary-related artifacts from the KHS collection as much from the motivation of the collectors/donors as for the authenticity for the objects themselves—let provenance take center-stage with some objects.

• Expand the use of early documents and maps as interpretive objects.

• Raise the level of historical (Kentucky) literacy with public.