Interpreting Food at Museums and Historic Sites

Michelle Moon oversees adult learning and interpretation at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, MA, a museum of global art, culture, and history, where she has forged connections between art, culture, ideas and audiences since 2009. She frequently speaks to professional audiences and has presented at the New England Museum Association, the American Association for State and Local History, the Association of Living History Farms and Agricultural Museums, and the National Council for Public History, as well as lecturing to college and graduate audiences on topics in museum interpretation, adult learning and food history.

• Preface: A Mug-UpAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Why It’s Time to Rethink Food in History InterpretationChapter One: Starting from Scratch: The Origins of Food InterpretationChapter Two: Who's at the Table? Interpreting Food and IdentityChapter Three: It's Good for You! Interpreting Food and HealthChapter Five: Food - New and Improved! Interpreting Food Technology and FashionChapter Six: Edible Activism: Interpreting the Politics of the PlateChapter Seven: Final Thoughts: Toward ResilienceSuggested ResourcesBibliographyIndexAbout the Author

Food is the tie that binds together people across history and cultures. It tells the story of both cultures and individuals. Museum visitors understand this and consistently gravitate towards exhibits and interpretive activities highlighting food and in evaluations consistently mention it as one of the most memorable of museum experiences. Michelle Moon's Interpreting Food at Museums and Historic Sites combines a lively history of food and society with practical suggestions on how to create programs that inform and engage museum-goers of all ages. Moon's book deserves a place in both the personal and professional libraries of all history museum professionals.