First Blog Post

Hi all, 

I’m Landyn, a fourth-year in the Museum Studies program. 

The first museum experience that I can recall was in 2007, when my mom,
upon learning that I had selected Betsy Ross as the subject of my second-grade
book report, squirreled me away on her yearly trip to Philadelphia. To this day,
I’ll swear that visiting the Betsy Ross House --and later, the Tutankhamun and the
Golden Age of the Pharaohs exhibit at the Franklin Institute* -- caused
something to awaken in me. Through museums, my insatiable quest for
knowledge found its home, and I like to think that I did too. 

For me, museums have always been a safe space-- a space in which I can
learn without restriction, and breathlessly share knowledge. In museums,
I’m allowed the chance to flex my brain-- to shamelessly become, as I so fondly
put it, “a plethora of useless knowledge.” It’s a constant source of intellectual
stimulation, and no two museum experiences are ever the same.
Honestly, it’s intoxicating. 

I’m fascinated by the museum experience, by that “Oh!” moment when everything
comes crashing down, and the visitor’s worldview realigns to accommodate
something new. It’s my belief that everyone --regardless of race, gender,
socioeconomic status, etc.-- deserves to experience the “Oh!” moment in the
museum space at least once in their lifetimes. 

My quest to expand my knowledge base has diversified these past few years.
Nowadays, it’s not good enough for me to think only of my own comfort
in the museum space-- I need to know that everyone is afforded the same rights
concerning knowledge and accessibility. I need to strive to constantly amend my
worldview, continually develop my sense of empathy, and always keep learning. 

______________________________________________________________________

*Seven year-old Landyn was a weird little kid knee-deep in her Egyptology phase. Why talk
about Disney princesses when I could tell you all about my favorite Egyptian goddess? 

A photo from my most recent Philadelphia trip. I'm always a sucker for museum ethics!

This is it!

Hello, my name is Grace Gallagher. I’m a fourth year Museum Studies major, however, I plan on going into secondary education with a focus in history after I graduate. My interests really focus in on education and history, but when it comes to museums I do enjoy learning about visitor engagement. I spent my summer as a Camp Leader in a Summer Recreation Camp aimed at pre-kindergarten students. I also currently work at before and after school programs for K-5th graders. In my free-time I like to read books in all different genres, binge Netflix, spend way too much time with my friends, and collect as many postcards as possible. 

When it comes to my experience in museums, I’ve only ever experienced them as a visitor. Recently I went to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, experiencing the various exhibitions they had. When it comes to my visitor type in museums it is not what you expect from a museum studies major. I am one of those people that just like to walk through and learn by just looking and enjoying the space and people around me, I am definitely not one to read the labels. Eventually I hope to get an internship in a public history based setting! 

Source: TimeOut

The First Step

Hello Everyone,

My name is Monica Conary.  I am a fourth year Museum Studies and Anthropology major.  I’m most interested in exhibition design and visitor engagement!  I love working on projects that integrate audience interactives. I’m also interested in how museums incorporate activism into their exhibits, and how their ideas can push a movement forward or create their own movement within the museum.  My favorite museum is the Tropenmuseum, an ethnographic museum in the Netherlands. In my free time, I love to knit, walk my dog, and read as many books as I can get my hands on.

I have completed an internship with the New York Folk Society, listening and transcribing interviews, and also cataloging photographs. I also had the opportunity this summer to intern at the Kawanhee History Museum at Camp Kawanhee for Boys.  Some of the projects I completed while I was there included organizing the extensive photograph collection and working on several of the exhibits within the museum. I also created several exhibit posters and worked on the history kiosks that were located around the camp. I was able to interact with the campers and create activities that related to the camps history.  Besides working in the museum, I also had the opportunity to work in the camp store after dinner and I had an awesome time interacting with the campers! I stayed onsite so I was completely immersed in camp life and the community. It was a great summer experience.

The Kawanhee History Museum