I have just gotten back home from my last long weekend interning with the Historical Society/ O. Winston Link Museum a few hours ago. This past weekend was more so of a week at the museum because of the available time I had due to it being finals weeks, and oh boy was it packed full. This past weekend I was able to turn my exhibit re-designing plan into reality. It took approximately a full day and a half to complete- but I am very happy with the results. When redesigning the exhibit, I had to make some changes to my actual plan. I added a few objects, had to rearrange objects around and add more visuals to tie the entire exhibit together. The crafting was probably the hardest part. Ashley had entrusted me with power tools (aka a drill) to use in order to make holes for L-shaped hooks for which we could hang objects on the wall from. The drilling part was the easiest, because power tools- but the hardest part was hand turning the L-Shaped hooks into the wall. It was by far the most tedious part of the entire project. But through the redesigning process- I was able to utilize my craftiness and critical thinking skills to make “displays” for bone instruments and needles to be hung on the wall. The secret?- Matte Board and fishing line. All in all- I am very happy with how the exhibit turned out and the experience I gained in constructing it.
Other than the exhibit- I continued to work on accessioning items in the collections into PastPerfect. Among these items this past weekend were a couple of quilts, a trinket box, and various pins and awards that were donated. I was also able to hang some of O. Winston Link’s photographs in the gallery- believe it or not- math is highly involved in this process. Today we actually visited the Roanoke City Cemetery for research purposes- what a fun internship excursion! Interning at the Historical Society of Western Virginia was an experience like no other. It was a well-rounded experience at that because I was able to work with all types of objects, learning cataloging and accessioning, and was able to design an exhibit. Ashley was a wonderful mentor and I can not thank her enough for her flexibility with me, especially since I went home and during the ever-looming COVID-19 Pandemic.
