A Museum Professional's Work is Never Done...

Almost two weeks ago, we straightened the last panel, mounted the last artifact, wiped away the last smudges from that plexiglass vitrine. What we could finish, we finished, and we opened an amazing exhibit.

But the work is never really done.

Even during installation, there were certain elements that we knew we couldn't fix, at least not then. Now that everything is calm again (not really, but you get my point), we finally have the chance to go back and correct some of these issues. Most are simple fixes, others we will have to just let go, keeping in mind what to do differently in any future exhibits we work with.

We are also conducting summative evaluations and learning from visitors to the exhibit about what they think. Although evaluations are still ongoing, feedback thus far has been very positive. People are enjoying the exhibit (the soldiers and sailors guestbook and mount are a public favorite) and its programming immensely. Last week's genealogy program had over 20 attendees. On Monday night, we had Dr. Michael Wiant, the director of the Dickson Mounds and interim director of the Illinois State Museum, one of our partners, give a talk about the intersection of archaeology, indigenous people, and public history. All three often have similar goals, and Wiant stressed the importance of collaboration for future success.

This slide, taken from Wiant's presentation, shows ways that Indigenous Groups, Public History, and Anthropology connect and can collaborate.

Our next event, happening Wednesday, April 12 at 5:30 pm, is a gallery tour of our exhibit led by HA's Aaron Martin and Hailey Paige. They will be talking about objects and stories in the exhibit in more detail, and might even give some behind the scenes drama about creating exhibit (ask about what happens when an object ends up being too big for a case!).

And, of course, we have picked back up the daily responsibilities of graduate students. This includes several papers and projects, but also practical skills, like how to use an airbrush and making casts of real people for use in museum displays.