Heurich Happenings

"Living in DC means ample opportunities to visit all sorts of museums. Working in the museum field gives me even more reasons to explore the city’s historic offerings. Part of my job over the past few months has been to tour various house museums with the goal of learning about education, visitor engagement, and interpretation at the Heurich House’s contemporaries."

I joined the Heurich House Museum (HHM) team in January as a public programs consultant evaluating all programming from the past 10 years, determining what to keep and what had run its course. By the end of Spring 2023, I would deliver a program plan with clear outlined goals and launch two pilot programs. For me, joining HHM was an opportunity to engage within the DC community and really make an impact. I was excited for this challenge!

Last week, I had the opportunity to go to an opening preview of the Capital Jewish Museum. Because Stephany Fry, our Director of Public Programs, used to work there, she was able to bring me and Alex (Director of Small Business Development & External Relations) to see the new museum. 

Liberty Apple Cider is back and the new vintage of Liberty is DRY-HOPPED with Citra, Mosaic, and Nelson* hops for the 1st time in over a century, bringing the recreation that much closer to full historical hoppy accuracy. Celebrate with Heurich House and ANXO at the official release party in the museum’s biergarten on Saturday, June 24th from 5-8pm.

This summer, join the Heurich House Museum and our community partners for a monthly story and craft time in the Castle Garden.

This year’s theme is “Immigrant Stories.” Together we’ll explore the history of people who have migrated to our country, while discussing what immigration looks like today in our own city. The hour will start with a read aloud of a book exploring our theme and will conclude with a craft activity!

"For professional development each month, I tour a historic house in the DMV and reflect on the institution’s strengths, weaknesses, and other takeaways that I can integrate into my own work at the Heurich House."

I started the research journey with some foundational goals: our work would be focused on people and their unique life journeys, it would be documented and cited to ensure accuracy, and the process would be ongoing - often including more questions than answers.

"It was so exciting to be in a room where the typical barriers between presenters and audience were broken down, history and performance art blended together, and we all learned more about the historical precedence for, and current application of, Black queer groundbreaking in DC."

The Heurich House Museum will present its first new exhibit since 2018, which its education team developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Working Title reframes the Heurich family home as a central juncture for the people who lived and worked there (1894-1956) - men and women, immigrant and natural-born, Black and white, rich and lower-income, examines how they interacted with each other every day, and questions why their histories have not always been given equal weight. 

On Thursday, April 27th from 5:00 - 7:30 pm, connect with students and professors from George Washington University Corcoran School of the Arts & Design together with the Heurich House Museum’s education and preservation teams with a hands-on pop-up program meant to challenge how we interpret and interact with design.