This manual is hopefully the starting point of managing an open air museum. Thanks to the OpenArch project we have been able to collect and analyse the practices and routines of open-air museums from all over Europe. This manual will show and teach you valuable skills and techniques.

IN this manual we show the development and evolution of open-air museums from their infancy to the present day and how to use the different ways of imparting knowledge. To better understand where we are headed, we need to know where we have been. We hope that this will give you a deeper understanding of why we do the things in the way we do.

During the OpenArch project we gathered testimonials, case studies and best practices from those that manage an open-air museum to give you a better overview of different solutions and techniques. Hopefully you can use this manual as a building block and in time improve upon the knowledge contained herein.

October 2015
Björn Jakobsen & Steve Barrow