ABSTRACT
Living history is described as a movement, a technique, a philosophy and an educational tool. It got its start almost a hundred years ago in Europe as historians and antiquarians looked for ways to bring the past to life. Living history runs the gamut from third person tours about the past to individuals wearing thoroughly researched reproductions of period clothing, speaking as a specific or composite character from the past with the proper accent, and appearing in a carefully reconstructed or restored and furnished period structure. Jay Anderson analysis of early “living” historians focused on individuals and their collections, observing that archeologists, folklorists and open-air museum entrepreneurs began experimenting with the techniques after World War II in the United States and Europe. The activity, ambiance, and “relaxed way to learn about times past” encouraged visitation to history centers during the 1970s, the decade of the US Bicentennial.
