The Western Reserve Historical Society’s Mission is “To inspire people to discover the American experience by exploring the tangible history of Northeast Ohio.” To achieve this mission, the Historical Society (WRHS) focuses on four core principles: integrity, stewardship, connectivity, and innovation. Danielle Peck has been a registrar at WRHS for 17 years. Beginning with a position as an administrator for the National Cowgirl Museum, culminating with her position at WRHS, Peck has been tasked with overseeing countless artifacts, exhibit creations, and innovations in the methods of her work. The registrar of a museum is tasked with being “the last person to touch [an acquisition] before the lid goes on.” This relationship with content makes …show more content…
It is critical for a public history institution to develop connections with the community it serves. These connections point out from the institution into the public. An individual seeking a public history job also needs to strive for connectivity, but these connections are on the inside of institutions. Networking is critical in any job market, but perhaps even more than usual in the public history field where accomplishments can be difficult to measure when taken out of their context. A contact with the Fort Worth Museum of Science and Industry, known through her program at Texas Tech, was a great ally for Peck in landing her first post-degree career. This connection brought her to the National Cowgirl Museum as it was beginning a move from Herford, Texas to Fort Worth, Texas. Peck’s new position became a catch all for administration, moving, and design work. The moving process tested and enhanced her ability to innovate and to steward a growing institution through a significant period of …show more content…
However, it is not always clear that a popular, somewhat misplaced exhibit is carrying out the museum’s mission to inspire the discovery of the American Experience through the physical representations of the history of northeast Ohio. The Western Reserve Historical Society has a history with pursuing crowds through the use of impressive artifacts. For a substantial portion of its history, the museum was home to a mummy exhibit , unconnected with Cleveland or northeast Ohio, but interesting and popular. Overseeing the condition of a mummy is an interesting job, but perhaps this is a divergence between the registrar job and adherence to the mission of an institution. While the registrar oversees everything that enters the collection, she is not responsible for the relevance or message connected with the items. Peck was able to have hands on experience with incredible historical artifacts with a 2007 travelling exhibit that stopped at WRHS; she fluffed Princess Diana’s gowns and counted the diamonds on her tiara for condition reports. This 2007 exhibition, from February 23 to June 10, was another clear opportunity for WRHS to draw crowds with a big name and a stunning display of fashion and glamour. This period was followed by financial downturn for the country and for northeast Ohio which coincided with a difficult period for
The museum prior to 1990 was teetering on the brink of disaster. Attendance had declined and in January of 1989 the museum for the first time ever had to start charging admission. The 7 member board of trustees was unwilling to ask for donations for the museum, as they felt it was tantamount to begging. Isabella’s once very large and generous inheritance had dwindled significantly and there was no means as to how to generate income to keep the museum alive, a museum that was probably set to be auctioned off within a
In Stephen Weil’s essay, he argues “the museum’s role has transformed from one of mastery to one of service” (Weil, 196). According to him, museums have changed their mission from one that cultures the public to one that serves
“Skeletons in the Closet”, written by Clara Spotted Elk, is a well-built argument, but it can be enhanced to become immensely effective. Firstly, Elk’s position is effective in obtaining her purpose and connecting her audience to it, because she includes a broad scope and background of the problem in the first few paragraphs. She describes the amount of Indian skeletons preserved and contained by American museums, through the use of data and statistics. For instance, Elk states: “we found that 18,500 Indian remains…are unceremoniously stored in the Smithsonian’s nooks and crannies” (13-15). By using this data, the background of the argument is illustrated to assist the audience in understanding her argument. Now, by knowing this statistic, readers can connect with Elk and her assertion, since we realize that there are plenty of skeletons that
Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830 – 1894) was a poet born in London, England who wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems. Christina Rossetti's poem creation began in her childhood. With the unique female-only sensitive and delicate as well as to the devotion towards the religious belief. Therefore, she was able to create graceful, sentimental and rich and mysterious religious poetry. Christina is a devout Catholic Britain believers.
“Civilian Conservation Corps Museum.” www.sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/museccc/index.html. Michigan Historical Center, Michigan Department of State. 26 April 2000
The Midwestern contemporary art case study revolves around the current MCA board chair Peggy Fischer, and former board chair Peter Smith. Smith had been elected to the board after individuals recognized him and his wife for the immense art collecting accomplishments put forth on the couples behalf. Initially Smith was indebted to pay $10,000 to even be elected onto the board chair. Smith indeed paid an initial pledge of $10,000 and financially made amends to put forth $5 million additional dollars towards museum improvements. It is no deniable fact that Fischer had recognized Smiths admirable job running the museum. Smith worked his way up from being a member of the board to board chair. Smith and his wife were highly recognized by the community and aimed to stay out of the spotlight whenever possible.
As indicated above, the exhibit is theme-based, centered around a historical period of time. Because of this, there is a large proportion of text, revealing background history, in relation to the actual artifacts. In my second, more thorough run-through, I certainly found myself reading more than looking at "things". In fact, it seems as though the exhibit only tells the true chronological history to those patient enough to read all of the text. A less thorough visit to the exhibit will undoubtedly result in a skewed view of the past. I will address this issue later in the Critical Assessment section.
recreational factors in which draws people from around the world to the area of Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The museum houses interpretive exhibits depicting 10,000 years of Native American occupation. Over 6,000 artifacts of bone, stone, clay, and shell are found within this museum, as well as the largest collection of Fort Walton Period ceramics in the Southeastern United States. Although every artifact present in The Indian Temple Mound Museum offers clear evidence of cultural sophistication and artistic skill, the more interesting artifacts I encountered were the Ware Human Effigy Urn, the Buck Burial Mound Urn...
Charles F. Bryan, Jr., “State Historical Agencies, Museums, and Societies: A Constant State of Change,” in James B. Gardner & Peter S. LaPaglia, Public History: Essays from the Field (Malabar, Florida, 2006), 295-306
The Collection exhibits that marks the arrival of a new millennium at the Whitney Museum of American Art, primarily includes pieces of installation art and contemporary photographs. The Whitney Museum of American Art, also recognized as the fortress of American Art, offers the public the opportunity to witness the history of art in America for the last one hundred years. The museum’s collection is a reflection of their commitment to exhibit the Whitney's dedication to art in modern-day America.
In the past, public historians went to college and became an academic historian. Then, at some point in their life, they received on the job training to become a public historian. Some became archivists, interpreters, or even experts in preservation of historical sites . Today, in order to become a publ...
Museum jobs, especially the curator position, are expected to become harder to get because of how competitive the field is. The BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) anticipates the rate of employment will rise around 20% between 2008-2018 for museum curators, and the rate of pay should improve as well. According to a Jobs Rated report written in 2011, anyone who has skill and education in the humanities field are in luck. Out of the 200 jobs rated on the report, the museum curator position ranked 53rd while other related jobs such as historian, philosopher, and librarian were listed even higher. The jobs are all being evaluated and ranked by how physically demanding they are, the environment of the work, and the hiring outlook.
MacDonald, George F. “The Journal of Museum Education, Vol. 16, No. 1” Current Issues in Museum Learning (1991): 9-12. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
have never been to a city that did not offer the usual museum fare, usually in the form of the “Anytown Art Museum”, or the “Anytown Museum of Natural History”. While these types of museums house some incredible artifacts, and I do visit them often, I also like to seek out museums of a more unusual sort.
One of my first museums I visited in Washington, D.C. was The National Museum of Natural History. I arrived with no expectations besides the thought of how am I going to spend 3 hours here? While walking through the doors I was astonished to see the enormous elephant standing there as if it was guarding the museum entrance. I continued through the exhibits looking at the amazing skeletons of the extinct creatures that once roamed this earth, possibly in the spot I was standing in. As I went further into the museum, I arrived at the Butterfly Pavilion. It was a room that you can go into to observe real, live, enormous butterflies. The exhibits there made my mind run wild like never before. In my mind the purpose of The National Museum of Natural His...