Visit of Dr Brent D. Glass to the Park of Military History Pivka

In the second half of March 2026, Slovenia was visited under the Fulbright Scholarship programme by Dr Brent D. Glass, Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., and one of the leading experts in the fields of the preservation, interpretation and promotion of history. Under his leadership from 2002 to 2011, the museum became one of the most visitor-friendly museums in the United States, attracting more than four million visitors annually. During this period, Dr Glass also oversaw the comprehensive renovation and modernisation of the museum, as well as the development of twenty new exhibitions. Since 2011, he has worked as an independent consultant and has collaborated with more than ninety cultural and educational organisations in the areas of strategic planning, management and leadership development. He is a frequent speaker on cultural diplomacy and museum management and has held  lectures in numerous countries, including France, Germany, Italy, China, Russia, Egypt, Portugal, Lithuania, Serbia and Slovenia. Between 15 and 27 March 2026, he was hosted by the Science and Research Centre Koper, where he delivered a series of lectures on American history, museology and public memory.

Dr Glass is no stranger to Pivka – he first visited the Park of Military History in 2018, when he toured the museum complex. During his visit to Slovenia this year, the Park’s management had the opportunity to meet with him again. On 18 March, two representatives of the Park attended his lecture at the conference hall of the National Museum of Slovenia in Ljubljana, devoted to the role of museums, exhibitions and historical sites as spaces for discussion and reflection. On Sunday, 22 March, the Director of the Park, Mr Janko Boštjančič, and Boštjan Kurent also met Dr Glass in Koper for an informal gathering.

On Tuesday, 24 March, Dr Glass visited the Park of Military History in Pivka once again. During his visit, he took a closer look at the development of the museum complex since his last visit in 2018—both the expansion of the collections and the progress made in the arrangement of the premises and the overall presentation of the institution. At the conclusion of the visit, Dr Glass thanked his hosts for their warm welcome, congratulated them on the progress achieved, and wished the management that “the Park’s excellent team will continue to engage, educate and entertain visitors with outstanding exhibitions and stories”.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Dr Glass for his visit and his encouraging words, and we hope to welcome him again in Pivka in the near future.