The Mercer Museum was originally founded by Henry Mercer in 1904. Mercer was an anthropologist who was interested in preserving the history and art of American tools and crafts prior to the Industrial Revolution. Many of the artifacts in the museum focus on what everyday life was like for Americans working and living in the 18th and 19th centuries. Mercer himself organized the permanent exhibit, and the unique layout has remained relatively untouched since Mercer’s death.
The Museum also has its own research library, which is where I will be spending most of my time this summer. I will be researching an exhibit for the Museum’s temporary exhibit space. The exhibit is scheduled to premiere in the summer of 2018 and it is about racing. Specifically, it will look at the history of foot, bike, auto, and horse racing. It will look at the different ways people race and the different reasons why people are inspired to race. The Museum is also very focused on local history, so this new exhibit will be sure to highlight racing in Bucks County.
Basic research had already been done on the subjects of bike racing and auto racing, so in my first few days at the museum I was responsible for getting caught up on the pre-existing information. The pre-existing information was pretty broad and not very specific.The oral histories that I collect will be used to gather further information and they will possibly be used as multimedia elements in the future exhibit.
A key part of the exhibit is also focused on local history and how racing has been a part of the Bucks County community, so all of my oral history interviews will be centered around people who are a part of the local community. We are looking to interview people from the community who either raced in the past, or who had connections to someone who raced. By interviewing local people we will be able to get information that is much more specific and personal.