Visitors to the Hagley Museum and Library might notice a new face strolling the banks of the Brandywine River.
David Allen Cole began his tenure as the organization’s new Executive Director Monday. He takes over for the now-retired Geoff Halfpenny.
Developing new ways to interact with visitors and make history come alive are high priorities for Cole.
With a plethora of information readily available to anyone with an internet connection, Cole says museum directors have had to morph the way they approach building exhibits.
He says at first, museums were hesitant to embrace new technology and web-based materials, thinking people would be content with that and not physically visit the organization.
“But that actually whets the appetite," said Cole. "It encourages people to come to the site, on the banks of the [Brandywine River] and see the real thing and so we need to see these tools as compliments to what we do as aids and not necessarily just competitors for people’s attention.”
Hagley focuses on the history of American business, technology and innovation and Cole says using its collections in new ways can make visits more memorable for museumgoers and possibly inspire them.
“We would love to put together some programming that might train the next generation of innovators and even business builders and entrepreneurs. So look for more specificity on that in the months and years to come,” said Cole.
Cole notes that the organization’s resources related to early industrial technology and the DuPont family would play a large role in that.
The museum’s latest exhibit features the history and science behind Nylon created by the DuPont Company.
This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.