Today our class visited the new building for the International Spy Museum, which hasn't officially opened yet. The museum is set to open in early May, and they are working hard to wrap up the construction for their exhibitions. It was neat to take a behind-the-scenes look at another museum as it opens up. I … Continue reading Day 9: The Spy Museum
Day 8: Living Collections
Vlad the Sloth! Today we visited the National Zoo, where we talked about living collections. Before starting the museum studies program, I never really considered zoos to be "museums," but in a way they are. They're like natural history museums, except with living collections. Creative new signage in the panda house One of the most … Continue reading Day 8: Living Collections
Day 7: Mount Vernon
The Greenhouse at Mount Vernon Today we visited Mount Vernon, where we spoke with a panel of museum professionals about how the historic site talks about the difficult topic of slavery. We walked through their newest temporary exhibit, "Lives Bound Together." This exhibit focuses on the lives of the enslaved people who lived at Mount … Continue reading Day 7: Mount Vernon
Day 6: Difficult Stories
"Americans" exhibit at NMAI If you want to talk about difficult stories being told in museums, then the museums we visited today fit the bill: National Museum of the American Indian and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. National Museum of the American Indian has the difficult task of telling the story of a culture … Continue reading Day 6: Difficult Stories
Day 5: Newseum and National Galleries
Berlin Wall sections at the Newseum On day five of our trip we were able to visit the Newseum, which I was glad for because I had never been and they will be closing their building at the end of this year. In a strange twist of fate, Johns Hopkins purchased the building. At the … Continue reading Day 5: Newseum and National Galleries
Day 4: Activism in Art Museums
Lesson in City Life #328: Rain messes everything up- Leave the house 20 minutes early. Oh, and cars don't obey traffic laws when it rains so don't get killed. Courtyard at the Art Museum of the Americas Today we visited to Art Museum of the Americas, which is run by the Organization of American States. … Continue reading Day 4: Activism in Art Museums
Day 3: Tell Me A Story
The rotunda inside the Capitol Building My favorite part of day three was going on the Freedom Fighters tour at the Capitol Building. We had THE MOST AMAZING tour guide, who was the perfect combination of funny and factual. She was a great example of how to engage your visitors in a way that makes … Continue reading Day 3: Tell Me A Story
Day 2: Object Based Learning
Julia Child's kitchen at the National Museum of American History Today, the focus of our seminar was storytelling through objects. In the morning we had some fabulous conversations with Mychalene Giampaoli of NMAAHC and Jon West-Bay of the UMUC Art Program to discuss the basics of using objects to craft a narrative. As part of … Continue reading Day 2: Object Based Learning
Day 1
National Museum of African American History & Culture Today was the first day of the seminar, and despite some directional mishaps, it went pretty smoothly! The the theme of our two weeks in D.C. is storytelling. How do museums tell stories? What stories do objects hold? What tools are available to us to create a … Continue reading Day 1
Sexism in Museums
This post refers not to the behaviors and attitudes of those working within an institution, but to artifacts within museums that are sexist in nature. Today I was cataloging a recent donation, and as sometimes is the case, I came across a magazine that didn't fit in with the rest of what I was cataloging. … Continue reading Sexism in Museums
A Gal in the Galleries 