Museum Studies Graduate Projects
My first experience in the museum field was a practicum at the IUMAA, formally know as Mathers Museum of World Cultures on the campus of Indiana University. I worked in the conservation department under then Conservator Judy Sylvester. She taught me various aspects of conservation techniques and stabilization for various materials. I was sold. The museum world was for me.
In 2006, after graduating with a BA in History, I was off to the Four Corners of the United States to intern in the collections department of the Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores, CO. I was tasked with rehousing and creating new records for the lithic and pot sherd collection. In the winter of 2006, I accepted an internship at the American Museum of Natural History to work with pre-Columbian Peruvian textiles. All of which lead to my graduate career in May 2006, in the Museum Studies Graduate Program at Indiana University Indiana, formally known as Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis. I studied informal museum education theories, program design, evaluation methods, as well as collection and museum management. The program was great at giving the students real working experiences by partnering student groups with area Institutions. My first was at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields and then at Conner Prairie. Below are examples of those projects. Most all of which were cultivated out of the natural world, a way for me to tie in my undergrad education in Environmental Studies and my love for nature.
My final internship was at the Smithsonian Horticulture Division in Washington D.C. Stemming from my passion for localism and landscape, I wanted to explore in more detail how a museum could use its own outdoor space as an arm of its internal goals and mission. At the Smithsonian I participated in several outdoor site visits from Mount Vernon to the Sculpture Garden and assisted with their annual Garden Fest. I received a separate grant from the Garden Club of America to create presentations for national chapters using the GCA garden slides given to the Smithsonian’s collection.
Today, museums and cultural institutions are continuously evolving and it is so important to listen to the audience, adapt to their needs, to maintain relevancy and inclusivity. This is not easy. It often looks similar to different generations disagreeing, but all agreeing that change is always around the corner and asking ourselves if we are ready for it.
Civil Sisters, Museum Theater Course – 2007
(Click Civil Sisters in title to see full script)
Civil Sisters was a group project for a Museum Theater course. The group partnered with Conner Prairie Interactive History Park to help develop a theater program for the 1863 Civil War Journey section of the park. Conner Prairie wanted to use theater to experiment with as a form of live interpretation for its visitors.
My group took the challenge and approached it by developing a first person script using original research to develop the characters. I visited the Indiana Reading room at MCPL and found newspaper articles written by a Southern Indiana boy. He wrote about his experience riding out to fight against General Hunt Morgan and his Raiders July 8, 1863, the only battle in Indiana during the Civil War. His account was the foundation for the script.
The theater format was tested at Conner Prairie the next semester. Today, the program looks different, but still uses the same story line we created!
http://www.connerprairie.org/Places-To-Explore/1863-Civil-War-Journey
Accidental Parkcast, Museum & Technology Course – 2007
The Museum & Technology course was an exercise of testing technology in a museum setting. Still tricky today! My group was assigned to work with the Indianapolis Art Museum to develop an interpretive program using technology for the Virginia B. Fairbanks Art Park. At the time, this space was just being considered as an extension of the museum.
My group visited the space multiple times to learn more about the history and natural landscape of the space. We realized that the space would be used by many different audiences and we would need to create an experience that would span many age levels and group dynamics.
Because the space was still in its almost raw state, very little had been done to it since it was quarried decades ago. We settled on a podcast featuring the different flora and fauna found in the area. The podcast was a great method of delivery for any person walking into the space. We also developed a comic book, shown here, for people who did not have access to this form of technology. The paper version could also be used for those with limited hearing or for large groups to experience the story together. It could even printed in braille for those visually limited.
Even thought the podcast was not used in the space, it was a great experience of in depth research and creating something technologically driven for a natural space. To see more about the process of developing this project, click here.
For a few of my graduate projects, I was interested in using landscape of a place of interpretation, demonstrating that these spaces also have stories to tell visitors. This project was an opportunity for me to explore the possibility of focusing on working at an institution with a large plant or plant specimens in their collections. Here is an example.