Week 8:
African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa

July 16, 2013

Monday-Tuesday: Staff meeting on Monday. It’s my last week, and since finishing the entirety of the documents of the Virgil Powell Collection, I now start working on linking them in Past Perfect. I spend the entire day doing this, since linking also means editing the photos and adding titles/descriptions/any other confirmable information.

Wednesday-Friday: Africa!, a Summer Camp took place July 8-12 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. I joined in Wednesday-Friday. We were there to celebrate the stories, art, music, and heritage of West Africa as we played games, made pottery, dyed traditional clothing, ate African goods, told folk tales, and created music. I missed out on the pottery and ivory carving (ivory bars of soap!) the rest was great. We started the day making the various environments of Africa, then teaching the kids about them and extending the lesson into the day.

After, depending on the day, we would learn in the exhibit, or handle some of the relevant artifacts.

Realistically, because the kids were about 3-5th grade, we’d take a break for games outside next. The kids were big fans of Killer Frog and Wax Museum. After winding down with a bathroom and snack break, we’d work on a project to take home (masks, musical instruments, t-shirts, etc.) while listening to African folktales. Sometimes the kids were a little bit of a handful, but they were all sweet and relatively very well behaved. It was a much different experience than the rest of my internship, but I’m glad I had to to shake up the routine.

Speaking of routine…it’s all over! I can’t believe my internship done.  I had a great time. I really look forward to volunteering with the museum in the upcoming academic year, time willing.  I’ve learned so much, and I’m seriously considering an archival position as a viable dream position sometime in the future. My time at the AAMI was a totally enlightening experience.  Thank you!