What I Learned This Summer

This summer was a great experience. I learned so many new things about museum education, many of them unexpected, which made it fun and exciting as well. I was able to gain new skills in the use of technology for educational purposes, including basic website design, the development and implementation of educational activities for use online, and how to navigate PastPerfect software. I was also able to have the opportunity to work on some of the summer family programming for the El Paso Museum of History. I realized how important it is to strike a balance between activities that are fun and activities that are educational; both are important factors and neither can be left out. At the El Paso Historical Society I had another interesting opportunity to learn about archive management, which included how to care for, store, and categorize archival material, but more importantly taught me lessons about how to discover the stories different materials can tell and the significance of including many points of view. Both institutions provided me with rewarding, enriching experiences that I know I will carry into the future, and I feel very fortunate that I was able to experience them in El Paso, Texas.