National Day of Happiness

by: Regan Brooks- Registrar

Yesterday was the first day of Spring, also known as The National Day of Happiness (Coincidence? I think not!) And even though the forecasters are saying Winter hasn’t quite left the stage yet, the gorgeous day today makes me hope they’re wrong. Something about the coming of spring just puts a smile on your face. Speaking of smiles, (were we? Roll with it, folks) Curatorial has recently been reviewing some of our glass plate negative collection in hopes of getting some grant money for conservation. These are all from local photographer, Harley Ferguson and show a glimpse of the folks living in the area at the turn of the last century. Not too many smiles, huh?

Of course, we can forgive the young soldier for not smiling.  Not too much of a reason to do so when you’re about to get shipped off to the killing fields of Europe. Honestly, he looks a bit worried. But, shouldn’t you at least smile on your wedding day?

“But Regan, life was hard back then. You should know that!” “People had it rough, they didn’t smile as much.” “Pictures were a big deal; it was a serious affair. You couldn’t just whip out your camera and take a picture!” Right? Wrong. Now, I grant you, these particular photos were from a professional photographer, so yes it was a bit more of a ‘serious’ affair (how many times did your mom have tell you to stop playing and smile nicely for that family portrait?) But Brownie disposable cameras were widely available at your local drugstore for $1 in 1900. Picture taking was becoming pretty commonplace.

“Okay, we get that. But still, life was hard back then.” And it’s easy now? Different times, different stresses. And different behavior expectations. People smiled just as much back then as they do now, just not in pictures. To be sure, photography was a lot more prevalent, but society still wasn’t far from the days of having to sit for hours while an artist painted your likeness, a process both time-consuming and incredibly expensive. For such a product, you did not want to come across looking like a fool, so you sat still and looked somber. And that translated over into photography. Society in general still had the idea that regardless of how happy-go-lucky you were, for a picture, you sit still and don’t act the fool.

Of course, some folks’ personalities were apparently so jovial, they didn’t care.

                                                               






Do I detect a slight smile there, Dad? I'm thinking so!

How Museum’s Prepare for their Learners

by: Jeff Pruett- Director

A museum serves to educate its public in a variety of ways.  We are first and foremost a learning environment for our many patrons through our varied programming options and exhibits.  We also interpret, explain, and focus on meaning of various subjects.  Finally, we look at identity, motivation and interest of our learners.  These three themes each emphasize different aspects of the learning setting: the design of the environment, the interface between people and the environment, and people themselves.  These different themes when looked at together help us see that the whole is more than the sum of the study.  When staff creates this framework or foundation, it makes for a better learning experience for our visitors.

1. Learning and Learning Environments The first theme expresses the relationships between learning and the design of learning environments (such as galleries).  Museum staff addresses the many ways that images, text, models, etc. serve as mediators for learning, and they search how the findings from these studies inspire the progress and design of exhibits.  Learning and learning environments definitely go hand in hand.  Museum professionals look at theory and design experiments to determine the best experience for our visitors.     

2. Interpretation, Meaning and Explanation The second theme focuses on meaning, interpretation, and explanation as products and processes of social interaction.  Here, the interaction between curators, the institution, the designer, docents, is vital.  Again, text, images, etc. are focused on, but specifically how they affect the issues of meaning, explanations, and interpretation.  We address how patrons and varied groups make sense of their experiences in museums, focusing on the nature of intentions and social interactions among viewers, as well as between viewers and the museum. This theme guides our study of how meanings are influenced by interactions.

3. Identify, Motivation and Interests The final theme looks closely at the previous experience related to the individual’s identity as a learner.  This theme influences additional museum involvement and serves as a means in which a visit can continue to play out in a visitor’s future.  This theme also considers how museum experiences change the ways that people see themselves as learners of varied subject matter such as art or history.      

The Gaston County Museum would like to welcome our new Curatorial Intern, Fiona Shirkie!

Dunfermline Abbey and Palace by Paul McIIroy

My name is Fiona Shirkie and I am the new curatorial intern at the Gaston County Museum. I thought I would take some time to introduce myself. After a successful 10 year career in Customer Service I decided to return to my first love – history. I went back to school and have recently graduated with a Masters in Museum and Gallery Studies from the University of St Andrews, Scotland. I have been fortunate enough to work with the British Golf Museum, The BlackWatch Museum and Stirling Castle in the UK.

I am Scottish and come from a town called Dunfermline. Dunfermline was the ancient capital of Scotland and many Scottish Royals, including Robert the Bruce, are buried in the town. It is 3,784 miles from Dallas. To say that the weather is different would be an understatement. The usual forecast is sunshine and showers, even in the summer! The coast is only 3 miles away. At first glance the two towns appear to have little in common – but the tie that binds us is Textiles.

Textiles were big business in Scotland for hundreds of years. By 1838 more than 100,000 people were employed in the industry.[i] Dunfermline was famously the home of silk and linen, particularly damask linen after an early case of industrial espionage (James Blake stole the method of damask production from a Huguenot factory). The area had 34 mills and the larger ones had depots across Europe and the Commonwealth. The impact that these mills had on the area and its people was huge.

Issues such as child labor and workers disputes arose. Post WW1 competition from other countries, supply and tariff issues led to a decline in the industry. Sadly the last remaining mill closed in 1989.

The team here at the museum has been very welcoming. I am looking forward to learning more about the similarities and differences between our two countries and towns and to working with and learning about some of the fabulous objects in the museum’s collection. I hope that you are able to come along to the museum to see some of these objects for yourself. Each of them has its own unique story.

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[i] http://www.origins.net/help/resarticle-so-weaving.aspx

To Streak or Not to Streak

by: Stephanie Elliott- Curator

I get asked a lot about how we come up with the exhibits we do here at the museum. First you have to start with a topic. Easy enough, right? Well, then you have to decide how you are going to make that topic exciting and engaging for everyone from the 6 year old that is at the museum with his family to the person that was dragged along for the ride and doesn’t really want to be there.  It is our job as museum professionals to educate the public, but also to entertain them.  

So what kind of museum visitor are you?

Do you move quickly through exhibitions, scanning for points of particular interest, but rarely lingering for long? Then you are a streaker.  

Do you move more slowly, paying more attention or less at various places? Then you are a stroller.

Are you conscientious and diligent, moving very slowly through a gallery, trying everything and reading all of the text? Then you are a studier.

Now, I will admit that I have been one or all of these types of visitors in the past. “But you are a museum curator,” you say. I know, I know.  But sometimes an exhibit topic is just not that interesting to me or I’m just not in the mood to read every word on a text panel.  It’s okay to be a streaker sometimes.

So the trick to creating a great exhibit is to have something for everyone.  For example, in planning our current exhibit The Evolution of Recorded Sound, we wanted to include smaller interesting facts that a “streaker” could take away and have a broad sense of what the exhibit was about, but also include the nitty-gritty history for the avid phonograph or record player buff.  We also included several hands-on stations for kids to help occupy them while their parents are reading about the 1900s phonograph or reminiscing about their youth listening to a record player.  

Obviously there is a lot more that goes into the exhibit planning process – a lot of brainstorming sessions, research, budgets, fundraising, and designing – but it is always an exciting process and we hope that each exhibit we do appeals to our broad audience of interested (and sometimes not so interested) visitors. Plus, we are always looking for new ideas for exhibits, so if you have any please share with us in the comment section!  

The Early Bird: Getting Students Excited About History Early

by: Susan Voskuil

Recently, I was talking to a history teacher from an area High School who explained to me that students’ knowledge about history is a spiral. If something (or someone) doesn't excite them about the topic at an elementary level they won't understand its importance at a High School level- and beyond. Luckily, far from finding this a daunting task, staff at the museum considers it a privilege.

One of the greatest challenges I have faced in museum education is conveying my own enthusiasm about a subject into a meaningful program for students and visitors. In my personal experience, I’ve often found that my energy level at a historic site or program is usually unparalleled by those I am with- it’s why I’m in this profession! When a sister or other family member agrees to go on a historic excursion with me, typically the trip ends with me exclaiming something like, “You're the one who couldn't pick out the Watergate building in the DC skyline and I'M the crazy one?!” Sometimes it takes a couple edits to tune this zeal into something really tangible. From the way objects are displayed in exhibits to the inflection used in presentations, everything in the museum is designed with the visitors experience in mind.

 

In conversations with family or friends about a topic you’re passionate about a certain degree of clarity can be sacrificed with enthusiasm. This is not the case during a museum program or demonstration. Typically, we’re given one shot at making an impression and getting our information absorbed. This is where the importance of follow-up evaluations and visits come in. With schools, we encourage teachers to return with their students the following year, or have someone from the museum come to the school, in order to complement the material students already learned. Usually we find in subsequent visits that part of the material has been retained, but typically not all. How do you express to a child when their answer about the Civil War includes George Washington fighting the Germans and Mexicans (see “Kids Say the Darndest Things” blogpost), that you’re simultaneously excited they retained knowledge about all those topics but also a little horrified?

 

Everyday we learn something new about how a subject is best learned and how we can best teach it. For the museum, our wildest dream includes seeing every area student (and parent!) come to the site for a program- and then come back to continue the experience. We, as a staff, are up to the challenge and look forward to the opportunity to shape our programs into the best museum experience possible!  

After 9 years of dedicated service, our wonderful Administrative Assistant Elaine Jackson is retiring in March. Thank you Elaine for all your hard work! Here, in her words, are a few of her favorite moments with the museum.

It’s really hard to believe that only nine years ago I came to work as the Admin Asst for the museum – February 16, 2005. Over the years, I’ve learned so much, both about the families that settled Dallas and Gaston County and the history of this great 1852 building. I’ve had some wonderful times here and made some outstanding memories that will always stay with me. Some include the front porch reconstruction a few years ago, the landscaping of the back gardens, the Depot renovation making it a usable space, the beautiful snow that’s falling right now outside my third floor office window, the gorgeous brides and lovely weddings that graced the back lawn over the past nine years; these are just for starters, but I don’t want folks to nod off! 

There were some really great exhibit opening parties, one even had Tom Watson’s cream-colored vintage Rolls Royce sitting on the museum’s back lawn. I’ll never forget the Orthopedic Hospital exhibit and reunion that brought back so many touching memories for the  folks who worked and lived there.  The visitors I’ve met from England, Australia, all over the US - even Dallas, Texas - who loved the fact this building was preserved and presented in such a historic manner. Keeping the museum’s progress going for many years to come so more can see all the museum is and is capable of becoming.  What really made the job so good was it didn’t seem like a job much of the time – I got to work with folks who made work a pleasure – and the most dedicated volunteers who gave the museum their time and talents – I will remember you and the fun we had.  Take care of each other – Elaine

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

 by Kelly Mason, Outreach Coordinator

Does anyone remember the TV show with Bill Cosby, “Kids Say the Darndest Things”? I absolutely loved that show! You truly never knew what the children were going to say and nothing was off limits! Working as a museum professional, I have found that, in a lot of ways, my job can turn into that show. Working in museums is so exciting, especially when you get to work in the education department. There are so many priceless moments that we educators get to experience with young inquisitive minds!

Broaching challenging topics can be both exhilarating and baffling for these students. For example, trying to explain to a 4^th grader what life was like without electricity or the concept of slavery can lead to some very interesting conversations.

As an educator, I have found that people do not give children enough credit; they are smarter than we think. The mind of a child is a wondrous place. Sometimes the things they say are so shocking- for better or worse. I have been reflecting on some of these moments over the past 5 years and here is my conclusion: kids say the darndest things!! One thing I am certain of, I have the best job in the world. I have the opportunity to try and help shape young minds and them up to a new world:  the history in which they come from. History is a foreign and scary place at times, but it is a beautiful thing to watch students try to embrace it!

May you enjoy my “Kids Say the Darndest Things” collection from the past 5 years!

(Deep sigh from a child) “Life is life.” (What a wise kid!)

Discussing life in North Carolina back in the 1800’s: “How could they even live without electricity? It makes no sense!”

“Butter comes from milk that you get from a cow? EWWW!” (Eww? I am almost positive all these kids eat butter in some form!)

“What do you mean cotton comes from a plant you grow in the ground? I thought it came from sheep!” (Speechless)

(After asking a class to explain what the American Civil War was, this was the first response I received) “The American Civil War was when George Washington fought against the Mexicans and the Germans.” (Where do I begin…)

During a 4^th grade program after discussing slavery: “Why would they make babies slaves? They did nothing wrong!” (I blew their minds even further when I told them that slaves were not slaves because they did something wrong, but because people forced them to be!)

“Who won the Civil War anyways, Miss Kelly?” (After I explained that the Union won, he seemed sad. Understandably so, his side lost right? I turned to the child and said, “You know something, if the Union did not win, then I would never have moved down here, [I am from Connecticut] and if I never moved down here, then I would have never met you!” He turned to me and said, “Phew, I am also glad the Confederates lost so we could be friends!” Priceless!!!)

With a very pensive expression: “Do you think something like the Civil War could ever happen again in America?” (Yikes! Let’s hope not!!)

When asking a child, who happened to be attending our Civil War Soldier Camp, which side he was going to fight on, he looked at me with confusion and asked, “Do you NOT know that the Union fought for justice and rights for everyone? Of course I am going to fight for the Federal Army!” (Silly me! We continued to have a deep 20 minute conversation about the war and a show he was watching on the history channel. Melts my heart just thinking about it!)

Last but not least, after attending an 8^th grade history class to do an outreach about the Civil War, I was asked by a student: “Did you live back during the Civil War?” (His teacher spoke up, “You did NOT just ask her that?!” While another student chuckled and said, “Um, she looks really good for her age if she did. Dude, she would be dead!” I smiled and said, ‘No sir, I did not.”) He responded, “Then how do you know ALL this stuff about the Civil War?” My response: “I read books.” J

Do you have a favorite kids story? We’d love to hear it here at the museum! Please leave a comment with any fun stories you may have!