I knew I didn’t want a traditional museum internship.
Heritage and place connect people to themselves and each other, and heritage sites
draw in scores of guests that do not regularly visit art museums (Wilkening and
Chung, 2009). What if by giving the general public some basic art knowledge at
an accessible point of entry, like the Heritage Village at Chestnut Square in
McKinney, Texas, that audience- already eager to learn about human culture-
could feel more at ease engaging with art in other environments? My internship allows
me to do just that. The site incorporates architecture, human stories, and
artifacts from McKinney starting during the 1850’s and on up to the late 1920’s. There are living
history reenactments, craft workshops, site tours, including ghost tours, murder
mystery dinners, “a virtual programming series of educational tea parties, called
Quaran-Teas,” a weekend farmers market to connect visitors with where their
food comes from, and more to educate and engage locals and tourists.
There's something new to do every day: different guests with each tour, different artifacts to unpack, and new ideas from an eclectic and energetic host of volunteeres and staff. This is perfect
for the aspiring heritage site director: heritage professionals often need a
broad set of skill sets. Site directors do everything from serving as a
connection to the board, coordinating volunteers, overseeing collections
management, working with architects and engineers to maintain historical buildings,
and occasionally plunging the toilet. My goals for the internship were to build
experience in collections management, grant writing, engaging with the public
and with other professionals, improve my performative storytelling for
conducting tours and programming, and learning about working with boards and
non-profits. Chestnut Square has met and exceeded all of those aspirations. Writing
and implementing interdisciplinary curriculum that looks at the lives of Texans
of all stripes in the Victorian era through the lens of heritage craft for
educational programming is my primary focus (here, if you’re interested: https://www.chestnutsquare.org/heritage-workshops/
).
One of the best parts: I get to play dress
up in about 7 layers of Victorian era attire every day that I’m teaching, which
has generated historical empathy in ways I never would have expected. That’s
been a boon to collecting museum teaching observations as part of building a
reflective pedagogy. It doesn’t hurt that I don’t have to wear shoes most of
the time, either- sometimes, historical authenticity can be pretty dang
comfortable. Not having to wear shoes outweighs having to wear a corset, by a
long shot. Besides, nobody can tell if your dress comes down to the floor! The
hoop skirt or corded petticoat I wear keeps me from stepping on the hem. I also
work with the textile and artifact curation teams to accession, catalog, research,
and preserve artifacts, including clothing and photographs from the time frame
above donated by the public.
Sometimes the experience gets a
little overwhelming. The internship entails similar responsibilities to a
full-fledged, Master’s degree holding museum educator. I coordinate volunteers
for the programming I teach, complete grant applications to get artists and
storytellers connected with the site and our mission (Celebrate Community. Preserve History. Inspire the Future.), write itemized expense lists for every block
of instruction, and more while learning other site procedures and juggling two
other classes. The site director and everybody else has been nothing but
pleasant and welcoming which makes it easier to push through. So far, one of the
most important things I have learned is to set boundaries and say no to keep
from getting burned out. It’s absolutely worth it. The flexibility of the site
has allowed me to introduce the arts to people who may not think about the
beauty around them or their own ways to creatively express what they have to
say. It’s rigorous and rewarding all at once. I can’t wait to share about our
Halloween programming in a few weeks: I’m doing a storytelling vignette, a
broom making demo, and a workshop called “the sixth sense” as part of a sensory-themed
heritage crafts series.
Covid-Era Schoolmarm
