A heritage centre, center, or museum, is a public facility – typically a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

visitor centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center or tourist information centre is a physical location that provides information to tourists. Types A visitor center may be a Civic c ...

, or

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

– that is primarily dedicated to the presentation of

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

and

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

information about a place and its people, and often also including, to some degree, the area's

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. Heritage centres typically differ from most traditional museums in featuring a high proportion of "hands-on" exhibits and live or lifelike

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

s and practical artifacts. Some are

open-air museums An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings". ...

– heritage parks – devoted to depiction of daily life or occupational activity at a particular time and place, and may feature re-creations of typical buildings of an era. Such sites are often used for

experimental archaeology Experimental archaeology (also called experiment archaeology) is a field of study which attempts to generate and test archaeological Hypothesis, hypotheses, usually by replicating or approximating the feasibility of ancient cultures performing v ...

, and as shooting locations for

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

and historical-fiction films and television. A few are rebuilt

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

s, using the excavated foundations of original buildings, some restore historic structures that were not yet lost, while others are mock-ups built near actual sites of historic value (which may still be subject to ongoing excavation, study, and preservation). Many also have

living museum A living museum, also known as a living history museum, is a type of museum which recreates historical settings to simulate a past time period, providing visitors with an experiential interpretation of history. It is a type of museum that recr ...

features, such as costumed staff, demonstrations of and short courses in historical craft-working, dramatic presentations (live-action mock combat, etc.), and other

living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...

activities. Others may be more narrowly focused on a particular occupation or industry, such as rail transport or the early factories or mines around which a community developed. The distinction between a heritage centre or park, and a history-based

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

can become blurred, as at Nikko Edomura, focused on

Feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC whe ...

, and

Wild West City Wild West City is a Wild West theme park based on 1880s Dodge City, Kansas, located in Stanhope, New Jersey Stanhope is a borough located in the southernmost portion of Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United Stat ...

, a self-described "heritage theme park" about the American

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

Examples, by theme

General and multi-era

Gower Heritage Centre The Gower Peninsula (), or simply Gower (), is a peninsula in the south-west of Wales. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, and is now within the City and County of Swansea. It projects towards the Bristol Channel ...

Irish National Heritage Park The Irish National Heritage Park is an open-air museum near Wexford, Ireland, which tells the story of human settlement in Ireland from the Mesolithic period up to the Norman invasion of Ireland, Norman Invasion in 1169. It was opened to the ...

Ryedale Folk Museum Ryedale Folk Museum is an open-air museum in the village of Hutton-le-Hole in the North York Moors National Park. This museum tells the stories of local people from pre-history to the present day. About twenty of the museum's buildings have bee ...

St Fagans National Museum of History St Fagans National Museum of History ( ; ), commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located, is an open-air museum in St Fagans, Cardiff, Wales, chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture, and architecture of the Wels ...

Telugu Saamskruthika Niketanam Telugu Saamskruthika Niketanam, also called World Telugu Museum, is located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. Objectives The museum's main objective is to show Telugu history and culture from the Satavahana dynasty until modern times. ...

(World Telugu Museum)

Former life-ways in particular eras

Butser Ancient Farm Butser Ancient Farm is an archaeological open-air museum and experimental archaeology site located near Petersfield in Hampshire, southern England. Butser features experimental reconstructions of prehistoric, Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon build ...

Castell Henllys Castell Henllys ( Welsh, "castle of the old court") is an archaeological site near Nevern in north Pembrokeshire, Wales. The Iron Age hillfort has been the subject of an ongoing excavation since the start of the 21st century, accompanied by an ...

Columbia State Historic Park Columbia State Historic Park, also known as Columbia Historic District, is a state park unit and National Historic Landmark District preserving historic downtown Columbia, California, United States. It includes almost 30 buildings built duri ...

Craggaunowen Craggaunowen is an archaeological open-air museum in eastern County Clare, Ireland. It is named for the 16th-century castle which is one of its main components. Craggaunowen is located 10 km east of Quin village. The name Craggaunowen der ...

* Flag Fen Bronze and Iron Age Centre * Iron-Age-Danube project *

Peat Moors Centre The Peat Moors Centre lay on the road between Shapwick and Westhay in Somerset, England. The centre was run by the Somerset Historic Environment Service, but Somerset County Council closed it in October 2009 in the course of budget cuts. ...

* Preservation Park *

South Park City South Park City is an open-air museum located at the west end of Front Street in the town of Fairplay in Park County, Colorado. The museum is a historic reconstruction of a mining town from the days of the Colorado Gold Rush and the later Col ...

* West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village

History of transport, industry, and occupations

* Bideford Railway Heritage Centre *

Castlefield Castlefield is an inner-city conservation area in Manchester, North West England. The conservation area which bears its name is bounded by the River Irwell, A34 road, Quay Street, Deansgate and A56 road, Chester Road. It was the site of the Rom ...

* Crewe Heritage Centre *

Elsecar Heritage Centre Elsecar Heritage Centre is a visitor attraction centre in Elsecar, Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, Barnsley, England. Operated by Barnsley Museums, it has independent shops, studios, galleries and cafes in former Victorian engineering workshops ...

* Gabriel Babb Heritage Centre *

Heritage Motor Centre The British Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England holds the world's largest collection of historic British cars, with over 300 cars on display from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust and the Jaguar Heritage Trust. History The c ...

Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre The Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre is an aviation museum in East Kirkby, Lincolnshire, England. It was opened to the public in 1988 by Lincolnshire farmers Fred and Harold Panton, as a memorial to their older brother, Christopher Whitton ...

Lowell National Historical Park Lowell National Historical Park is a National Historical Park of the United States located in Lowell, Massachusetts. Established in 1978 a few years after Lowell Heritage State Park, it is operated by the National Park Service and comprises a ...

* Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre * Rhondda Heritage Park * Royal Canadian Mounted Police Heritage Centre

References

{{Reflist Types of museums Cultural heritage *Heritage centre

Examples, by theme

General and multi-era

Former life-ways in particular eras

History of transport, industry, and occupations

See also

References