Afternoon at the Museum

I started volunteering at the Museum of Anthropology this past Friday – I am helping them inventory their Asian scroll collection, and potentially looking at long term storage solutions with my Preservation of Information specialization once we’re done.

I didn’t know quite what to expect when I showed up at off-site storage, but they gave me a pair of gloves, took me down to the collection, and told me to explore.  “Pick up things with two hands, close all the cabinets properly, you know, common sense stuff.”  I’ve never been able to handle artifacts like that, and it was an awesome experience.  I can easily see how people get addicted to the field – being able to handle things creates a stronger bond with the items, makes them more real.

It’s looking like Friday afternoons will be a highlight of most weeks, and it has made me feel stronger about applying to the Museum Studies program for graduate certification.  Hopefully that will work out – it’s an environment I’ve always loved, and it can’t hurt to have more career options in an economy that looks more and more like things are just going to get harder the next several years.

~ by Jess on September 29, 2008.