Blog Post #1: The beginning of the end

Hi! My name is Brie and I'm a fourth-year Museum Studies major with a minor on Sociology and
Anthropology and an immersion in Linguistic Anthropology. This class and the rest of the year are going to challenge me in ways I have never been challenged and I am very nervous but hopeful at the same time. I've had three amazing years to learn more about myself and what I want from my career. Although I currently feel more confused about my future than ever, I'm very proud of the experiences I have had and I'm excited to add my thesis process to this list of experiences.

I started off my work experience at RIT in the circulation department at the library. From there I moved on to the RIT Archives and the Bevier Gallery. I have also interned at the Strong National Museum of Play cataloging role-playing games and other toys and games. I loved this internship and it showed me that I want to be the person that works with collections and tells interesting stories about them through exhibit planning. This summer I interned at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum which was an adventure and a half and I loved every moment of it. I had the opportunity to work with multiple departments throughout the summer and see how each department functioned while also participating in a museum-wide move project. If I had to choose the thing I loved the most it would be rehousing objects. Rehousing helped me get a little bit more creative with my solutions and I'm very proud of some of the housings I made for the objects I worked on, especially the spacesuit I spent a few days on. I also got to see some plane moves and learned how to drive a forklift! I can't post any of the photos I took of any of the stuff I worked on but I do have some pics of the Apollo 50 Celebration, and some other summer moments! Feel free to ask about any of the stuff I worked on!

The Saturn V Rocket projected on the Washington Monument. This light show ran for 3 nights and on this night, which was the night of the anniversary, the show was synced up with the original first steps so that Neil Armstrong's boot print emerged at the same moment he first stepped onto the surface of the moon. I cried. 

The Discovery Shuttle at the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center in Virginia. 

I had to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when I was shadowing the Large Artifact team in the museum's construction zone. 

The other collections department interns (left to right; Madison, Kiera, and Jordan) and I. These warehouses are apart of the Paul E. Garber Facility in Maryland where about half of the museum's collection is located. 

Hello, I'm Melissa.

Before I begin posting regularly, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Melissa Fanton, and I am a fourth-year museum studies student at RIT. Since becoming an intern at The Strong National Museum of Play, my interest in Collections Management has blossomed and I hope to pursue a thesis topic related to collections. The collections at The Strong are too interesting not to study in more depth, and their library and archives can provide many high quality sources. Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for more in the coming months.

A photograph of me during my internship at The Strong. The image depicts me playing Super Mario Bros. on the day of the World Video Game Hall of Fame induction ceremony. This photograph was taken by RIT alumni Lauren Petracca, staff photographer for the Democrat & Chronicle. From the Democrat & Chronicle, June 4, 2015. Article can be found online here.