U.S. history museums struggle to update exhibits
LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. — Robert Flacke Sr. can remember the days when Fort William Henry's multimedia exhibit consisted of two Kodak carousel-style color slide projectors that kept breaking down.
The history-heavy tourist attraction on the southern end of Lake George upgraded years ago to a video display, an improvement that looks positively futuristic amid all the aging, dusty exhibits sprinkled throughout the privately owned reconstructed French and Indian War fort and museum. Many of the displays look like they haven't changed since the place was built more than a half-century ago.
In an effort to boost numbers of visitors, museum and historical sites around the country are searching for new ways to update old exhibits amid a time of economic uncertainty and declining support for museums in general and history museums in particular.
"History is tough to sell," said Flacke, president of the Fort William Henry Corp....