Week 3:
Research and Paper Chains

June 15, 2021

New Skills

Most of this week was spent working for the education department on a Summer History Adventure video meant for kids. This was definitely something new for me. For one, I do not have a ton of experience working with or teaching younger kids, so I was not so sure how to go about making this educational video be accessible and interesting to younger kids. As well, much of what I was doing in the latter half of the week was making the video itself. This involved research, writing a script, filming with another AAMI intern, and editing the video to make a final product. I have essentially no experience in video editing so I really went into this blind. It took a bit of trial and error but I feel like I now have a pretty good idea of what I need to do. I will be spending part of next week finalizing this video. It was nice though to work with another intern and be able to collaborate and work together. The next Summer History Adventure videos we will be doing individually, so it was nice to have a partner for this one. 

Lots of Research

For the most part, the work I did this week was pretty similar to what I had been doing up until this point. Mostly just lots of research. Within the curatorial department, I am mostly just working on the research for the display case and an upcoming exhibit. That being said, most of my time at home is spent doing this research. I feel like I have gotten in a better grove of things and feel like I am headed in a good direction with what I am finding. Considering that many of the future careers I have in mind are very research-oriented, this is great practice. If anything, I have found that my biggest problem is getting distracted with what I am specifically supposed to be researching. I often find myself going down wormholes into different topics. Going forward, I am going to try to structure my research to better map out what I need to figure out.

Juneteenth

This week was the start of the museum’s week-long Juneteenth celebration. Juneteenth, on June nineteenth, is a holiday honoring the announcement that slavery had ended in Galveston, Texas in 1865. I had honestly not even heard the word Juneteenth until I was a senior in high school. Juneteenth is a holiday not taught in schools or recognized nearly as much as it should be. But this day recognizes an important part of African American history that should not be forgotten. Of course, that is the point of this museum. To tell the stories of those who have been ignored and teach about all of American History. 

Settling in

This week I have been feeling a bit more settled into what I am doing. Due to car problems, I spent the entirety of this week working from home. It was alright, but I felt a bit disconnected from the museum. Needless to say, I am excited to be back next week and to have a final product of the History Adventure video to show. I have been starting to get a better idea of what a career like this would consist of.