A Dog’s Tale - Finding the Fun in History
by USS Constitution Museum Team
About developing family friendly content, Eric White formerly of Old Sturbridge Village said, “You can't go wrong with baseball, animals, and chocolate chip cookies.”
Guerrier the Terrier - a fun exhibit element that is extremely popular with kids
Although no sports were played on board CONSTITUTION and hard ship's biscuit replaced soft cookies found on shore, when we started researching life on board during the War of 1812 we discovered to our delight that one of the Ship's officers brought his terrier.
In the past, we probably would have left this nugget to languish in an exhibit research file. But because we were developing this exhibit for families, this dog found its way into the exhibit — as a photo cut out. It was so popular that a photo of the dog greets visitors when they enter the museum, and paw prints lead them to the exhibit (stopping at the donation box along the way!). Visitors, especially kids, enjoy discovering the dog. This fun, friendly welcome sets the tone for the exhibit to come.
