LESSONS LEARNED
from the Pandemic by PETER GITTLEMAN Team Leader for Visitor Experience
A child makes a magical find during a fairy house scavenger hunt on the grounds of the Eustis Estate in Milton, Massachusetts.
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s we begin to see light at the end of the long tunnel in which we have been trapped since March of last year, Historic New England welcomes you back this summer to many more historic sites and increased opportunities for personal interaction. The past year was filled with uncertainty and constant change, and throughout we tried to remain nimble and adapt to an ever-changing set of rules and precautions designed to keep staff, members, and visitors safe. During the long months of the COVID-19 pandemic we experimented with new ways of serving the public that allowed us to safely keep some of our sites open, encourage use of our landscapes,
and connect with visitors in cyberspace. As we get back to normal, many of our new outreach efforts were so successful that we are carrying them forward this year and beyond.
Virtual lectures, workshops, and performances
In spring 2020, when it became impossible to hold any type of public program in person, Historic New England began offering programs online for a modest fee. We quickly discovered that geography no longer played a role in people’s decisions to attend a lecture, workshop, or concert. Where once program space was filled with people from within a twenty-mile radius, our virtual programs attracted people from
across the country, and even some from beyond the United States. No longer was room capacity an issue since the virtual auditorium has a vast number of seats. To expand our audience further, we used a flexible fee model that encouraged participants to pay what they could afford. This model covered program costs and attracted a more diverse audience than we ever would have seen at museum events.
Virtual school programs
By March, our museums were closed and the schools we partnered with for years were teaching students remotely. To help, Historic New England’s education staff created virtual versions of many of our school programs that we HistoricNewEngland.org
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