My name is Rebecca Jarrett, and I'm a fourth-year student. This is my second semester in the Museum Studies program. It's nerve-wracking to start the thesis process, but I am excited to see where it leads me. I love public history and am primarily interested in curation, education, and visitor studies. Conservation is also intriguing, but my hands are definitely not steady enough for that! I want to spread historical knowledge to as many people as possible because it teaches us so much about our world and is applicable to every area of life. In my free time, I like to write and watch video essays on YouTube.
I got my first experience in museum work this summer when I started volunteering at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. I worked in the Astronomy Education department, which runs an on-site observatory, as well as indoor hands-on activities. I worked with solar telescopes outside, and then inside with Discovery Stations about meteorites, spectroscopy (the study of the light spectrum from celestial bodies), and a black hole model. The position is year-long, so I will be returning there to volunteer during holidays. Below is a picture of the Phoebe Waterman Haas Public Observatory, which is the main base for observatory volunteers if the sky is clear.
Hi Rebecca! It's so funny that we were so close and didn't cross paths at all. Your duties sound really cool! Conservation is also a really great part of the museum field and there's so many things you can focus on in that little niche of the field. I'm excited to hear more about your interests during class this semester!
ReplyDeleteHello Rebecca
ReplyDeleteits so cool you go this opportunity!
I would love to see more pictures in class!
Hi Rebecca, that’s so awesome that your position lasts the entire year, and that you get to go back during the holidays! The Discovery Station sounds really cool, and working with the telescopes must have been amazing. I'd love to hear about the hands-on/visitor activities that went on at the museum!
ReplyDeleteI cannot believe that we didn't see one another on the National Mall this summer! I was there, too! Did you get to see the #Apollo50 project? I think that is one of the most, if not THE MOST, exceptional visitor engagement experiences I have seen. Let's discuss. And, by the way, way to go with snagging this volunteer opportunity — sounds like a great fit for you!
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