The house museum is significant to American culture for the main reason that they represent the original function and teach how the occupants of the house lived and it exhibits the objects they used in their everyday lives. Even open- air museum persevere not only the buildings structures, but in most cases they try to preserve the original environment it was placed in. The best-known open-air museum to most of us is Old World Wisconsin. The Pabst Mansion was a great way to show how even in restoration process they tried to keep as much of the original building intact. Compared to most museums when you view through the glass window, I was able to connect more with the inhabitant of the Pabst family. Being able to see the real photographs of family members on the walls and the original furniture. Even looking closer to the artifacts, like the hair combs and light fixtures, gave you a new appreciation for the space. The details that really stood out to be were the family’s strong presence of their heritage throughout the house. The father’s study was probably the most interesting aspect of the house. The stain glass windows in the study had German phrases embedded in them. This was even located in the kitchen windows as well. The intricate wood working on the ceiling of the study had painted ‘words of wisdom.’ It helped you imagine the family values that were probably instilled in the children while growing up. None of this would have been experienced first had if you were unable to enter the room and move around. I’m not saying those museums are not important as well, but they are better suited for a different age group. For little kids who want to touch and feel everything, these house museums are probably not the best place to go, but for young adults it’s a great tool to help experience a particular space as if it were in a different time period and help them grasp their surroundings more efficiently. It may be more expensive to save and maintain but it is definitely more effective learning tool and seems more accurate just because you can see the details up close. It doesn't look as staged. Given the house didn't have the generalized interior compared to most houses of that time period due to the family's wealth. It still showed typical patterns of their everyday life, like how the kitchen was in the back of the house to avoid the food smells from spreading, the hooks on the out side of the bedroom for the laundry, and even the emphasis on family livings spaces.

I remember when I went to Monticello the most lasting impressions of the foundations is the fact that the house showed mechanisms that he created himself. He created a system over the door frame that told not only the time of day but also the day of the week. It was just another example of moving through the space that shows in more detail of certain parts of the foundation that makes the connection to the past more intimate.