Picture of Natural History Museum. It is a large vaulted room, with old brick architecture, there are large arches leading in and out of the room. There is a large blue whale skeleton attached to the ceiling. There is a crowd of many different people (perhaps 150 people) many looking up at the whale, some looking around, some getting visitor information at a kiosk, some talking with family, some taking pictures.
Natural History Museum, “Hope,” the Blue Whale

My Vision for Public History

A Challenge to All Museum Professionals

Lauren
7 min readAug 21, 2024

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I am a public historian tired of public history. Since 2020, I have seen so much discrimination, bias, and unprofessionalism leak from the public history field, and I’m done with it.

I am sick of the status quo and I want to raise the bar.

This is a semi-professional rant from a frustrated historian. Enjoy.

I want to live in a world where museums are for everyone.

I was initially drawn to the museum field by the opportunity it gave me to work with history and engage the community. I am an educator, and my passion is connecting people to their past through creative and meaningful ways. But in 2024, I am noticing this valuable connection with community is being lost and forgotten altogether.

A 2008 study revealed the current museum goer is a non-Hispanic white adult between 45–54. But a 2010 study completed by the Center of Future Museums predicted how museums will look in 2050 based on demographic trends recorded by the US Census Bureau. The report concluded:

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Lauren

Public historian • Writer • Passion for telling contested histories • she/her