Houses and the objects within them stand as tangible symbols of human memory. Some memories are created unconsciously in day-to-day living; others are consciously attached to objects that are cherished as symbols of other places, relatives and friends. Memories may seem to be lost until they are rediscovered in moment of involuntary recall, triggered by an object, a smell or taste. The purpose of this research project is to investigate the memory experiences of visitors to a house museum; what they do with those experiences and how important they are to them. Forty adult visitors to Calthorpes' House in the ACT were interviewed using the focused interview technique with a framework of questions that allowed for a conversational style and additional questions. The interviews were recorded and later transcribed. The results showed that all visitors reported experiencing memories during their visit to Calthorpes' House. Many people found those experiences enjoyable and wanted to share them with others. These findings are important because they can inform the set-up, interpretation and publicity of house museums in ways which will attract new visitors and help to engage with visitors' interests when they visit house museums.

Historic house museums have been the subject of very little structured research. As ideal learning environments for young children they have the potential to facilitate very special educational interactions, yet children's experiences in house museums remain relatively unexplored, with very little professional analysis of the nature, the value or the impact of school visits. As museums, historic houses are educational institutions, yet with limited professional expertise and restricted resources as commonplace, many house museums provide very little in the way of structured educational experiences for schools. This study aims to increase our understanding of educational encounters in house museums. Using Falk and Dierking's Interactive Experience Model this thesis explores the personal, physical and social contexts of young children's visits to house museums. It follows the progress of children aged 5-8 years, as they participate in class visits to two very different kinds of house museum. A structured, age-appropriate education program implemented at Calthorpes' House is compared to the approach taken at Blundells' Cottage, where a lack of resources and professional expertise has resulted in unstructured school visits, typical of amateur house museums throughout Australia. The study directly compares these structured and non-structured museum visits to determine the immediate and long term value of constructed learning experiences in historic houses. The thesis concludes that the structure of a school visit has a significant influence on the museum experience. Research revealed that structured education programs prepare children better for their visit, allow for more successful interactive experiences on site, encourage enjoyable social interactions and result in more detailed museum memories. Finally this thesis outlines implications for house museums as a result of this research and makes recommendations to assist under-resourced house museums provide more structured, more informed educational interactions for schools.