Michigan History Center

I visited the Michigan History Center recently and had a great experience. Unlike the Field Museum, the front end staff were mush more pleasant and welcoming. I got a tour from their Collections Manager, he was very nice and informative. And he gave me a through look into the logistics of their exhibits and storage rooms. The staff here were much more personable and pleasant, and it definitely improved my experience. The exhibits here were absolutely the most impressive exhibits I've experienced. They use the entire room to create an atmosphere that complements whatever they want the guest to feel. For example, they had a coal mine exhibit, and they created a replica of a coal mine that you can walk in and explore. It included a mine shaft, dim lighting to create a feeling like you are miles underground, and a rocky interior. They also have a room exhibiting Native American artifacts, and they created a forest, which tall pine trees, right in that room. They were also exhibiting a older house, and recreate the entire house inside the museum. Guests can walk through and look in the rooms, which are all decorated as they would have been in the original house.Their usage of the entire space for their exhibits transports guests to that world. And having this feature really allows them to fully experience and appreciate what they are learning about. This unique design left me with some great memories, and had me wanting to return to experience it all over again too.

The Field Museum

I recently visited the Field Museum in Chicago and I had a very positive experience. If anyone has ever visited, the first thing you notice is the massive T-Rex skeleton in the main lobby. One thing I really notice during my experience was the creativity and intricacy of the exhibits. Their labels were descriptive and I felt like I knew exactly what everything was. As a guest, I was thoroughly intrigued by everything they had to offer. The content presented kept my attention the entire time, as I would assume it would for most of their guests. My favorite exhibit was definitely the Ancient Egypt exhibit. I spent most of my time there. It was so cool to see real mummies, previously, I had never seen one. The exhibit flowed very nicely, and was easy to navigate. The labels provided information about the mummies on display, like where they were from and what gender they were. At the field museum, I found that it was easy to get lost in the exhibits, and forget about everything else. It seemed like they spent a lot of time creating an atmosphere that allowed guests to fully appreciate the artifacts themselves. What they had to offer definitely had a positive impact on me, and was an experience I won't forget. Though, I did notice their from desk employees were not up to the level their exhibits put the museum at. The woman I got my tickets from was not social at all, didn't greet me or any of my friends. She was not clear about which line we needed to stand in to get the general admission tickets. When we just chose a line, she became very irritated with us. The presence of the front end staff needed improvement.  My encounter with them would have discouraged me from even going to the museum had I not known what I was going to see beforehand. Once we got inside, there were no further issues and most of the staff seemed friendly and polite.

DIA

Museum Blog

            I visited the Detroit Institute of Arts on April 19, and although it is not my first visit to this museum, it is big enough to spend longer amounts of time in areas you have previously avoided when visiting. During my visit I spend the majority of my time in the Egyptian exhibit. The impact of this exhibit is overwhelming, seeing hundreds of artifacts from a civilization that prospered almost 2000 years ago can be hard to grasp, and it is incredible knowing each artifact has its own personal story attached to it. It can be somewhat disheartening to see artifacts from foreign lands on the complete opposite side of the world; and when one encounters these artifacts it is hard to ignore the fact that they might be better off in their country of origin. The accessibility of the DIA is a bit of a letdown. The entrances are poorly labeled and it can be hard for first timers to find the appropriate entrance, as there are many side entrances that for some reason do not allow visitors to enter through. Once inside things are also poorly labeled, and the museum becomes a maze if you do not have a map. I even find myself lost with the help of a map and it is my fourth visit to the museum, so I can only imagine the difficulties one might have if it is their first visit to the museum.

Detroit Institute of Art

Recently while back home I went and visited the Detroit Institute of Art. As always, it was a very fun time, but this time I was able to look at it from ma different perspective. The accessibility of this museum was one of the first things that I noticed. Ramps were all around the outside, letting visitors in wheelchairs use whichever entrance they choose to instead of only being able to use one handicap entrance. The elevators that were available were very large and able to accommodate large groups and those with a physical disability. The lighting was very bright and had very clear print on labels for those with impaired vision. One thing that I thought was awesome and hadn’t seen before was their folding chairs. While some benches were scattered throughout, very frequently there were folding chairs hung on walls that the visitor could take and use if they needed a break from walking. Their impact on the local community was another topic that kept popping into my head. With the surrounding counties receiving free admission, it makes the DIA a community center. Anytime that they are open, they are accessible to those in the local communities, and have café’s inside that I noticed people hanging out and working at. By having relaxation and recreational areas available there, they are giving back to the community in a simple but important way. This also helps with their public image, as a place that supports attendance and accessibility to those who wish to visit. I have always enjoyed visiting the DIA, but now can have respect for it on a level that I would not have if it wasn’t for learning the steps that they take to maintain their accessibility to all visitors.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

From January 19^th- 21^st I visited Washington D.C. for the women’s march. While I was there, I visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum which was something I’ve always wanted to do. The reasoning behind this, is that I was told that it’s one of the few museums that can impact you both physically and emotionally, which will be the very reasoning for this blog. I will discuss my personal reaction to the emotional impact this museum produces, and how the material effects the local community,as well as the world as a whole.

When you first step into the museum you are greeted and directed to a room with a set of two elevators which at first look oddly made, and then given an identification card which tells a story of an individual who lived during the Holocaust. You eventually make your way into the elevator, which is then filled with an uncomfortable amount of people. Once the door closes you realize you’re in a gas chamber, and a movie plays informing you on what is about to happen. The museum has a total of three levels, each telling a different portion of the Holocaust starting from the beginning to the end. As you walk along the path each page in your identification booklet correlates with the levels you walk, and at the end of the exhibit will tell you the fate of what happened to your assigned individual. As you exit the elevator, horrifying images and loud auditory speeches of Hitler hit you, death totals, inhumane acts, they really impact you as soon as you step out of the elevator. Everyone in the room was in tears and it was truly something I’ve never seen nor felt in a museum. As you continued through you learn the history of Judaism and how throughout centuries they have been persecuted and hated, which makes you feel remorse all the while Hitler screams into your ears. The second level consists of old family photos and stories of people who lived in the ghettos, and how some resisted the Nazi’s. This gave you hope, especially after what you just seen in the first level, and the blatant horror in which it held. The third level consists of artifacts such as a box car that was actually used, and as you walked through it was pitch black with hardly any light being able to shine through giving you a feel of what people experienced. Bags of hair in stacks, which the Nazi’s used to stuffed mattresses and make clothing out of from their prisoners, shoes in piles, gold teeth, at the end you see the lives that were taken. At the very end of the permanent exhibit, you see how much our government actually knew about what was going on, and the documentation and photos showing how much we avoided the concentration camps. You feel bitter, and disgusted, the permanent exhibit is a roller coaster of emotion, which I can’t even describe in my writing you just have to experience it yourself.

The United States Holocaust museum not only supports the community, but also supports the world as a whole. Their mission is to continue to spread awareness for the holocaust, and to continue to provide education to a world that ever so needs it. The museum hosts many events to the public including meeting holocaust authors, public programming, to education on the Syrian refugee crisis. People come to volunteer from all over, to either help, or to tell their story. Every once in a while a few holocaust survivors will dedicate their time to sit at a booth and to answer any questions you have to ask in order to provide visitors a real life example of what happened. And after my experience and talking to a few locals, for the community, the love and support that the museum portrays makes they feel proud to live in Washington D.C.

This was a wonderful experience and I highly suggest visiting this museum whether you have visited it before or not. Every chance you get to visit, will bring a new experience and will provide you with information you didn't quite get the last time you were there. Beyond the museum offering you with a genuine experience, the mission and cause of the museum is something to get behind and support. History repeats itself, museums like the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum keeps the mistakes alive, and allow future generations to see physical examples so they can learn from them. 

   

USS Silversides Submarine Museum

USS Silversides Museum

On April 30th, I visited the USS Silversides museum located in Muskegon, Michigan. On the museum grounds it houses a main facility which holds their exhibit, collections, and archiving room and next to it, docked in the Muskegon River is the submarine USS Silversides and the Coast Guard Cutter USCGC McLane. While I was there I was able to speak to the Director of the museum, and afterwards I completed my own tour through the submarine and the cutter, as well as freely walked around their exhibit. In this blog I will write about the accessibility of the museum, and the available programs the museum has to offer. I had a wonderful time at the museum and I hope you enjoy my work.  

The main facility of the museum is ADA approved and is built to standard, so says the director. The grounds to the museum were flat and the entrance had push open doors with no lip on the door frame to prevent someone from coming in. The museum provides large signage and easy to read lettering. It provides an elevator to the second floor, and the ground is all one level so it’s easy to maneuver through. Artifacts housed in the museum are either in glass display cases or are hands on and space between artifacts and barriers are conscious of disabilities. Artifacts that are hands on are placed in easy to reach areas and are placed appropriately off the ground, or are placed directly on the ground such as sonar and communications tech. Accessibility into the vessels is a little trickier though, the cutter has a ramp to access the deck of the vessel but you cannot go below deck without using the flight of stairs. The submarine has only been modified by having holes cut out to have better access to the ladders to get below deck, but does not allow another way in. To give access to the public who cannot necessarily navigate the vessels the museum provides electronic tours that show visitors everything the vessels have to offer by showing a recorded walk through of each vessel and a voice over relaying information.Their restroom facilities were quite nice and provided easy access as well.

The museum not only provides great material, it also provides great educational opportunities. One of their largest most popular program is their over the night stay on both the submarine and the cutter, where they allow large or small groups to participate, often hosting for the boy scouts. They also provide a STEM program and one of their activities is to build a robotic sub that can work and operate on water. They also host lectures covering World War II material and vessel information in their theater on the first floor.

                This museum was pretty cool if I have to say so myself. Being able to learn so much about these two particular vessels and then to actually be able to walk through them and to explore them was quite the unique experience. I highly suggest visiting this museum not only for the material and the great experience but because the staff members were accommodating and pleasant. They do accept interns and what a wonderful opportunity this would be.