If we do not know our past, we have no future. The importance of a museum and a home district for local identity

Has the concept of home district and a local museum any importance for the community? Do local museums play a role in the construction of local identity? A research project on these issues carried out by the authors has found that in small agricultural places in Finland the most important form of museum activity is to collect local arts and crafts. This helps to maintain affection for the home district and to support local identity. A local museum helps the members of the community to understand the present through the past.