Patience and Grace

For anyone who doesn't already know, I work in Visitor Services, which effectively means that I wear many different hats. I help out in the Development Office once a week, occasionally work in the operator's booth and man the museum's various coatrooms, in addition to selling tickets and answering general museum questions. Today I happened to be doing two of these jobs simultaneously. As I kept watch over a few coats, bags and umbrellas in the coatroom I stuffed envelops and applied mailing labels to two different mailings for the Development Office.

Mid-stuff a momentarily horrifying thought crossed my mind: this is not why I went to graduate school.

In a very real sense, I did not go to graduate school to stuff envelops, hang up coats or sell tickets. Inquiring visitors have asked me what my "real job" is after learning about my background. I have felt embarrassed, even ashamed, of my job at various points.

But when I really think about the job that I do, I start to feel a little better. The work I do is humbling - in a good way. And I can see the connections between what I do now and what I want to do. Yes, I would prefer to be working with the collections in a hands-on kind of way but showing people how to find them in a gallery is in many ways just as important. The mission of any museum is, after all, to educate as well as to preserve.

Even if I didn't specifically get a degree in envelop-stuffing or label-applying, I did go to school to work in a museum. Right now, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity and I will await a collections position with both patience and grace.

Speed Read

Last weekend I visited Zoo America in Hershey, PA with my boyfriend, Matt. While the "wildlife park" is relatively small (about 11 acres), we had a great time. The signage was informative and the many directional signs made our map practically unnecessary. I revisited my childhood by feeding the ducks and had the opportunity to see some animals of which I had never heard. Here is a small sampling of what we saw:






As we ambled through the various exhibits I was struck by two things. First, Zoo America reminded me of the close link, often overlooked, between museums and zoos/aquariums. Museums and zoos have similar missions: they seek to educate the public and to preserve their "collections." People often forget this fact, but it has potentially powerful implications. Whenever various experts talk about the state of museums in the United States today, they rarely include zoos in their analysis. Imagine if they did. We should also consider whether or not zoos and museums should work together more closely when attempting to secure funding and when lobbying the government for support.

Second, our visit to Zoo America reminded me once again of the importance of proofreading. I could bring up this point in relation to almost every museum, zoo or historic site I visit. I implore those in charge of creating signage to check and double-check what you have written! Don't let this happen to you:



Also, if you like animals, check out The Animal Review. The blog is amusing, informative and a complete delight. Enjoy!

The View from this Tower

I want to encourage everyone to do a something if at all possible: take a behind-the-scenes tour of your favorite museum.

I had the opportunity to take such a tour today at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. As anyone who has been to the museum knows, the building is not only incredible, it is also historic. Parts of the building that were open to the public many years ago have now been converted to other uses and are hidden from the layman's eyes. These parts of the building are beautiful and it was fascinating to see them and to hear them talked about by someone who clearly loves the building and knows more about it than I could ever hope to.

The best part of the tour, however, was being on the roof.



To be honest, I had been to the PMA's subbasements before. I knew that they had as much beauty as the rest of the building. But to see the view from the roof was to understand the building in an entirely new way. The view from the top of the building impressed on me not only the sheer size of the building, but also its height.



In short, find a way to take a behind-the-scenes tour of your favorite museum. Having seen the storage areas and hidden nooks and crannies of several museums and historic sites I can assure you that the most interesting stuff is the stuff most people never get the chance to see. I would also like to encourage museum staff to try to find a way to allow more people to see their museum from this unique vantage point. Don't limit this experience to staff and those with sufficient disposable income to purchase high level memberships. After all, you never know who you may inspire.

*My apologies for the less-than-stellar quality of the photos; rather than using a real camera I used the only thing at hand, which happened to be my cell phone.

Your Time Has Come

Lately I have been wondering if I will ever make it out of the world of visitor services and into collections management, the area of museum work for which I trained and in which I find the most enjoyment. Trying to find one of these positions is time consuming, frustrating and seemingly endlessly disappointing.

I was therefore thrilled to be handed a copy of Nina Simon's short article called "Doing Time on the Front Line" published in the July-August 2010 issue of Museum. (You can find a copy of the article here) It is so reassuring to hear someone say what I already think to be true - that working in the museum's front lines beneficial is not only beneficial, it can also lead to other opportunities in the future.

Selfishly, I hope that my time on the front lines at the Philadelphia Museum of Art will prove to be beneficial in terms of future employment opportunities. But I also hope that this article can inspire in others what it has inspired in me: hope.

Ramblin' Man

After two crazy days of tramping all over Philadelphia with my parents, I have some comments to make.

First up: the Eastern State Penitentiary



Let me preface this by saying that I was completely skeptical about this place before visiting. The prison's website is something just less than good and I was afraid it would rely too heavily on its reputation as a haunted historic building. I decided to visit the penitentiary more as a means of entertaining my parents than anything else.

I now wish to retract my previous assumptions. The audio guide (included in your ticket price) gives a good history of the building. There are about nine introductory audio stops, and then you can wander around the rest of the grounds as you choose. Most of the "optional" audio tour stops have labels giving at least minimal background information, meaning that one could choose to continue without the audio guide. The audio guides are thus flexible and affordable. Plus, Eastern State is unique. Although Philly has plenty of historic buildings and museums, to my knowledge there is nothing quite like Eastern State anywhere else in the city.



The penitentiary is also close to some other great cultural institutions, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and any of the other BF Parkway Museums. The Fairmount neighborhood also has some great dining options. I recommend Figs, located at the corner of 25th and Meredith Streets.

Next up: the U.S. Mint



The Mint is one of those government buildings that just makes me sigh. The exhibits are shabby. The glue holding some of the exhibits together is beginning to fail and its obvious that the exhibits have not had an overhaul in years. That said, the tour is free, somewhat informative, and I did learn how coins are made. Plus, everyone likes to see the coin-making process live from the gallery windows above the factory. My final assessment: don't snub the Mint, just don't expect bells, whistles, or anything fancy.

Last but not least: the Wanamaker Organ at Macy's



I have to give my mother the credit for tracking down this little gem. The organ is included on one of the walking tour cards I mentioned a few weeks ago. In 1874, the Wanamaker Department Store moved to what is now the Macy's building at S. 13th and Market Streets. John Wanamaker installed the world's largest pipe organ in the store's seven-floor Grand Court. The organ is still played two times each day.



First of all, the building is worth visiting even if you could care less about the organ. Its an absolutely beautiful building that is still used for its original purpose. Second, the organ itself its gorgeous and its size is simply overwhelming. It is difficult to comprehend just how impressive the instrument is without actually going to see it. Third, you get to hear a really great organist play the organ for free in an amazing setting. The experience is entirely worthwhile, and even more so since it won't cost you a cent. Unless, of course, you can't help yourself from shopping while you're there.

Time Will Crawl

A time capsule recently discovered in nearby Atlantic City, NJ got me thinking about the burial and discovery of these little gems. What makes time capsules so amazing, you ask?

1. Typically, "normal" people bury time capsules and dream about their future discovery. These capsules are not left behind by movie stars or CEO's. Instead, John and Jane Smith in Nowhereville prepare and hide items they believe might be interesting or useful in the future.

2. To imagine who buried the time capsule is amazing. What were the people like? What did they do? Who did they envision finding and opening their time capsule?

3. A time capsule is a study in what makes the history of objects (rather than art) so fascinating and important. Time capsules not only come from very ordinary people; they show us what ordinary people found worth sharing. We can investigate why each object was chosen and what it means.

Thanks, as always, to Matt for passing this article along. Here are a few more to whet your appetite:

North Platte, NB Time Capsule
YouTube Time Capsule
Pierre, SD Time Capsule

Final Answer

My memory is terrible.

I want to recommend a fantastic podcast from the BBC called "A History of the World in 100 Objects." Anyone who agrees that historic objects are central to an understanding of ourselves and our past can't help but enjoy the podcast.

Look for the podcast through iTunes or on the BBC's website.