My Experience At A Museum

Douglas Crimp begins his essay by delivering a story about a librarian, Julia Van Haaftan and how she was interested in the photography organization at the Art and Architecture Division of the New York Public Library. In addition, Crimp delivers his most enlightening and meaningful point by explaining how Julia Van Haaftan is also now a “director of the Photographic Collections Documentation Project”. She discovered several lost books and photographs, which she researched, re-categorizing, and placed them under the photography or art category in the photographic collection. I found this section of the essay entertaining because it demonstrates that the history books can get lost

Museums serve as a way to connect with the public on a large scale, and the knowledge held within exhibits can be a fruitful experience for those who choose to visit these institutions. Experiencing all that a museum has to offer, no matter how well intentioned, can at times be confusing and overwhelming to the individuals visiting the site. The Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian dedicates itself to Native Americans in North and South America, and worked tirelessly with varying tribes to create a new standard. Some visitors and scholars found their work to be successful in design and approach while others found it to be lacking in execution. This institution does not approach Native American history in a familiar fashion; however it does cover an expansive period of time, and produces a great amount of detail while generating powerful emotions.

Never before have I seen a museum as grand as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. From its architecture to its massive art collection, The Met has a little bit of everything and one is sure to find something that captures his or her interest. Considering that The Met is the United States' largest art museum, it is easy to get lost within its many corridors and wings. My visit to The Met took place during the last week of July. Despite the almost unbearable heat and humidity that hung in the air, visiting museums under these climate conditions is a welcome respite from a suffocating, yet bright summer afternoon.

Throughout my undergraduate career at the University of South Carolina, I continually found myself drawn to internship opportunities

During my visit to the Brooklyn Museum, I found it both intriguing and informative. The layout of the exhibition was divided into about three to four sections. Each section of the museum represented a movement of the 60’s. The themes represented were segregation of blacks and whites, how they tried to gain equality and the changes they anticipated would happen in the future. The artwork throughout the exhibit was displayed in a varying gradient of black and white to colors.

Cooper states that “museums came to understand that their unique educational ability was that of object-based learning...the possession of objects made museums different” (65). I tend to agree with that statement with some caveats. Firstly, object-based learning can happen without collections. Secondly, is the additional unique opportunity potential for lifelong learning. The museum is a place that can assist, contrast, or provide learning at every stage of a person’s life. For instance, the Mission museums in California are a resource for public elementary school curriculum (Dartt-Newton 97). As people of all ages from the public look to museums as an educational authority, the material presented needs to be as scrutinized as any other

This internship focused on education within the five part museum system. My role included giving tours of the Art on Campus Collection and helping with programming. Giving tours of the Art on Campus Collection allowed me to connect with students from different majors and teach them the practice and benefits of Visual Literacy. Facilitating these tours allowed me to develop skills to better accommodate the varying learning needs of students. This internship also consisted of helping plan and implement programs and events. I assisted in planning events and programs for the museums to connect students with art and helped in planning aspects of classes including one on

Throughout the experience, I learned the importance and care of working with an artifact along with operations within a museum. As I toured Heartland Museum, I witnessed all of the items that are stored behind the scenes because museums only keep a small percentage of the belongings on display. I also learned about the process of creating a display, which includes piecing together many details like attraction, relevance, and of course history. Museums must worry about the community’s interest in the displays. Lastly, I learned about the importance of an artifact by working with some of the items. It is important to handle artifacts with care because of the fragility of the item. After the information I learned at the museum, it was my turn to experience the public

While some may view museums as homes of the dusty, decrypt, and decaying, I think back fondly to the memories I've made in them. When I was four and living in a small apartment in Shaker Heights, Ohio, my father would take me to the Cleveland Museum of Rock and Roll on the weekends when he wasn’t busy working on his MBA at Case Western Reserve University. Every time we visited, I would tell my father that I would grow up to be just like Elvis, to which he would laugh and scoff affectionately. When we moved to Glen Allen, Virginia when I was six, we would occasionally drive up to Washington, D.C. to the Smithsonian Museums. On some Saturdays, we would walk for hours through the halls of art I didn't understand (and still don’t really understand) at the Museum of American Art. On other Saturdays, we would go to the Library of Congress, where I would press my forehead against the glass of the observation deck—much to the dismay of security guards. But perhaps the most significant "museum" I've been in is just a short three-minute drive or seven-minute walk from my suburban home: the Twin Hickory Public Library.

When people think about a museum most of them think about walking around starring at paintings they don’t understand and reading the little cards with their description. After a while they get tired of walking around long hallways and finally decide to leave. On the other hand, the Gallery One at the Cleveland Museum of Arts is more than just a museum, it’s a fun and innovative environment that how Alexander explained, “… the intention of Gallery One was to transform visitors into participants, rather than passive observers.” (2014). When people get their hands on the action they are most likely to have fun, learn, and build experience.

This weekend I went to the Figge Art Museum to celebrate and learn about Dia de los Muertos with my friend Grace. While there, I learned that Day of the Dead is celebrated from October 31st through November 2nd and it originated in Mexico. I saw that you can celebrate Day of the Dead by putting things people liked when they were living, such as a drink, food, flowers, sports jerseys, even a box of cereal, in a shrine for them. Some people paint their faces to look like skulls with pretty or meaningful designs on them in color or in black and white and people decorate sugar skulls that you can eat with frosting. Crafts are also a big part of Day of the Dead. While Grace and I were at the Figge we saw several paper mache statues of skulls doing

On the weekend that I visited to the Star of the Republic Museum, Washington-on-the-Brazos was celebrating the 180th Birthday of Texas Independence. Their theme is “Stand Where Texas Became Texas”, which is a great slogan for such a historic place in our amazing history. In the 7th Grade all students in Texas are required to take Texas History, I believe it is highly important for the younger generation to learn the unique and rich history of our beloved state. This museum is just another great place where they and so many other generations can learn and explore just that.

The internship was a channel to direct my passion for helping others; my supervisor assigned me numerous projects that involved communicating with community leaders. One project was a collaboration with the U.S. Probation Office to reduce recidivism, and it allowed me first hand encounter on how to create policies and procedures to promote community and individual growth. This insight has inspired me to attend law schools to influence legal policies. After the internship, I continued my involvement in the community outreach through the Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters and The Females' Center of Excellence & Leadership, Inc. by mentoring at-risk youths and providing learning opportunities to the youths.

What would it take to work in a museum? What jobs do museums have to offer? What is it like day to day to explore the history of the world? These and many other questions filled my ecstatic searches. Despite my enthusiasm, I emerged from my research disheartened. The average salary remains disappointingly low, about $20,000 less than the average national income. The job and all it has to offer would be worth taking, but the income is significantly lower than I would ideally make. I have been grappling with this drawback for the past three years. After about two years of mulling over the prospect, I finally decided to volunteer at my local natural history museum. With every visit, my devotion has grown. I can feel myself growing closer to my aspirations as I grow closer to museum workers. Between each visit I see the changes in exhibits and hear about all of the exciting discoveries made in the field. I talk to enthusiastic museum goers about their amateur fossil finding exhibitions and speak to the devoted curators about what they are developing for the museum. History comes alive in places like this, and the more I see of museums, the more I want to bring history to life for other people. I still find myself concerned about what my financial future will look like, but I will enter the field aware of its drawbacks, and in love with its

On both July 3 and July 6, 2015, I visited the Children's Museum of Lake Charles. With it being a holiday weekend, the museum was very busy. The children that I observed ranged in age from two to about fourteen with the majority being between the ages of four and eight. There was a wide range of diversity observed during my visit, as there were Asians, Caucasians, African Americans, and Coushatta Indians. There were many visitors from Texas, especially Houston. The art room was very popular because the children were painting flags for Independence Day. Some of the children were focused on their art and wanted to make sure their project was completed to the best of their ability. Others were trying to finish in a hurry to move on to other