Ohio Local History Alliance Annual Meeting & Conference

Today I went to the Ohio Local History Alliance (OLHA) conference in Worthington. It was such an amazing experience! The first session, This Magic Moment: Preserving Historic Photographic Materials, was presented by someone from Wright State on preservation of photographs. I never knew about the different kinds of pictures. It was so fascinating. I think if I am ever able to, I would like to take a class on preservation.
After that, I went to my first of three sessions about how to get students interacting in history. The first session, How to Start and Maintain a Young Historian's Program, was about getting younger students involved in the local historical society. This session was run by someone from the Clark County Historical Society. The biggest thing I learned from this session is it is not quantity but quality. The program director discussed how they might have seven students at each meeting but the students we actively involved. The students loved being involved. The other important thing I learned is that if you have students participate in a meeting like they did, then have lots of snacks.
Next, I went to a session called History is Not Boring! Reaching Out to Schools with Living History. I'm going to show some bias now, but this was by far my favorite session. It was run by a gentleman from the We've Know Rivers museum. His session was about getting students interested in history through living history. Throughout the presentation, he talked about what he did to prepare for his talks and then he gave us two examples. The first example was about a solider from the Civil War and the other was a slave. Listening to his presentation reminded me of what I love about history. I was so enthralled by his story that I wanted him to continue. After the conference, I thanked him for what he did and told him how inspired I felt after his presentation. I know he was excited to hear me tell him that.
Finally, my last session was run by someone from the Dennison Railroad Depot Museum. The session was titled How to Make History Cool: Engaging a Young Audience. When I read the title, I thought it sounded really cool. When I got there and they started explaining the about their history rally, I was apprehensive. Boy, was I wrong! The rally was at a local mall and contained multiple museums that had activities for the students. It was so popular that even the parents wanted to get involved. Because this was the first year they did this, they did not get as much support as the initially wanted. However, they should have an easier time getting involvement next year. An unexpected outcome of this was an economic boost. The mall had the largest crowd ever during the event. I was really excited listening to what they did during the rally that I could not wait to share it. I would love to do something like that around here. And before I forget, the woman from the museum said anybody was free to steal the idea but to let her know and her museum would come to your event also. If you are interested in contacting her, email me or leave a comment here.
This was a very good experience and I am so thankful I was able to attend the conference. I had been on the fence about join OLHA but after my experience, I signed up right before I left. Going to conferences is a good way to network and learn more about what is going on in the history community. I would recommend everyone who is a public historian to attend as many conferences as they can. I know I plan to now. Until next time.