It is fitting that the first museum that I am blogging about is the Woolaroc museum, as it was the place which sparked my interest in museums. I used to visit Woolaroc for school field trips growing up, but I still continue to visit every year or so. What interested me when I was a kid were the strange, fascinating items that were part of the collection. There were exotic animals stuffed and posed around the exhibits, as well as a display of shrunken heads and a peruvian mummy (no longer on display.) These items and how they are displayed are what creates the character and charm of the museum and what makes me want to keep coming back year after year.
Frank Phillips was an oilman who started Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, OK. Woolaroc (which stands for woods-lake-rock) was his getaway. Woolaroc is still a working ranch today, where visitors can see many different types of wildlife. The museum on the grounds of Woolaroc houses the Phillips family collection of Native American and cowboy artifacts and memorabilia. Walking into the museum is almost like walking into Phillips's house. You can feel his presence everywhere in the museum. Part of what contributes to this are the way that the items are labelled and how they are displayed.
In college, I did a research paper on the differences between museums that were run by Native American tribes and those that were museums about Native Americans but were not run by the tribes. The most striking thing that came out of that research for me and what is most interesting is the difference in museum voices. As you travel through a museum you can usually get a feeling of who the narrator of the museum is. The idea is mainly formulated through the language of the labels on the objects and how the objects are displayed. Most of the larger museums will have a detached narrator. One who gives the facts in a clinical, non-emotional way. You may find the objects interesting, but you might not have an emotional connection to them. They are trying to present the objects in a neutral unbiased way.
Other museums, often those run by the people who have the most connection to the objects on display, will often have a different type of narrator. This narrator will usually give you a more personal view of the objects, After visiting the museum, you will have more of an emotional connection to the experience. Going to these types of museums is not just about winding through rooms full of interesting objects, it is getting a glimpse into a certain group's culture or history. This is how Woolaroc is. You definitely see the objects in terms of Frank Phillips's persona .
One way you get a sense of Frank Phillips as a narrator is through how the objects are described. The labels on the exhibits are mostly handwritten in a cowboyish script. Often the label isn't just the name of the object and its date, but its also a snippet of a conversation. The way that the exhibits are laid out also contributes to feeling of being in Frank Phillips's home rather than a museum. The museum flows like other museums in that each room has a certain theme, but interspersed are furniture items and other decor that give the museum a homey feeling.
Although the museum snob in me scoffs at the old exhibits and the items that need to be updated, the tourist in me loves this museum just the way it is. It is not only an important part of my childhood memories, it is a fun place to visit. The collections are diverse and original. Where else can you see shrunken heads in one room, creepy dolls in yet another and just a short distance away from a display of barbed wire. Everyone that I talk to who has visited the museum is connected to it. It has a charm that a lot of museums do not have. The voice of Frank Phillips definitely continues on in these exhibits.
If you would like more information about Woolaroc, visit http://www.woolaroc.org. And, if you are ever in the area, please visit. It is definitely worth your time, and it is great to support small local museums like these.
Also, go to my tumblr to see more pictures and museumings from my visit. http://museumings.tumblr.com
I am always looking for places to visit and am especially interested in small museums with unique collections. Got any suggestions for me? Please let me know!
Thanks for reading!
Kate
