O Say Can You See?

The unexpected impact of opening weekend

I used my staff pass to line jump the queue for the Star-Spangled Banner gallery, expecting to grab a quick look and duck out so I could get back to all the work I have to do this weekend as part of the opening. When I rounded the corner to the flag chamber, I was so startled that I stopped in my tracks. I made my way to the bench at the rear of the gallery and sank down, sitting for minutes longer than I had planned. The display is breathtaking, almost magical, and utterly captivating. The artist’s renderings of what the flag would look like in its new home failed to prepare me for the wonder of seeing it laid out on a giant table tilted gently towards the viewer, subtly illuminated so that the fabric seems to glow. It is a truly wonderful experience, and I can’t urge enough that anyone who can come to see this marvel do so as soon as possible. 

I don’t want to get too sentimental here, but this whole weekend has been full of such moments. Having the museum open again is like coming home. Everything just feels more right with children and families thronging the halls as American history returns to the National Mall. I truly believe that this museum is one of the most treasured in our country, and it is curiously gratifying to see the pleasure on the faces of our visitors as they experience the treasures that have been shut away for two years during our renovation. The new atrium is a stunning centerpiece to a revitalized museum, and the risen energy level of the building itself has seemed to infect every visitor over the past days. I knew people would be happy to see the museum, but I guess I didn’t truly understand the level of excitement that would be on display this weekend. I walk through the halls taking photos and talking to visitors and there’s constantly a small smile on my face. This place just feels better when it’s full of people.

Our reopening has been, in my view, an unmitigated success. I say this not in the interests of propaganda, but rather as a heartfelt commendation of my coworkers, the long-term employees of the museum who have devoted years to this project. I’m just an intern, and this weekend is the end of my time here, but I have come to feel a part of this large undertaking and I admire and respect so much the men and women who have poured their hearts into creating the fantastic display that will welcome the public from now on. It is a more fitting home for the history of our nation, and I believe it will continue to inspire and fulfill a love of history in everyone who walks through its doors.

Harry Kashdan is an intern in the New Media department at the National Museum of American History. He will miss working at the museum!

The beauty of everyday history

The Archives Center supports the mission of the National Museum of American History by preserving and providing access to documentary evidence of America’s past. With more than 1,000 collections, the Center contains paper-based textual records, photographs, motion picture films, videotapes, and sound recordings.

Here’s what Archives Center intern Kiley Orchard had to say about a project that, for her, is truly bringing history to life.

Reason #82 I love my job: Today I continued my work processing a collection of Revlon advertisements (print and television) from 1936-1986. It’s really cool to see how ideas about beauty changed throughout the decades. Even though I would hardly call myself a fashionista (although my co-workers and I do love to discuss “Project Runway”), I actually recognize quite a few of the models since I watch “America’s Next Top Model.” It reminds me of how the museum’s collections really relate not only to the social history of the past but today’s popular culture. My friends at home were pretty jealous when I told them what I was doing!

I was standing in line at CVS the other day and saw a brand of Revlon fragrance. I would never have noticed had I not just processed Revlon’s promotional material from years before. It’s funny how often I see things now that relate to the work being done in the Archives Center.

Passing the 90-day mark

We talk a lot about the structural improvements to the museum, and we’ve mentioned a bit of how operations will be improved, but everyone knows that the real heart and soul are the exhibits. I’m sitting at my desk in the New Media office looking at a construction work plan for the next few weeks, and these entries caught my eye:

“Lighting and electrical service being restored – by 9/2”
“NMAH exhibition contractor starts 9/3”
“Schedule walk-thru with NMAH exhibit designer”

This is the really exciting stuff – exhibits being reopened, redesigned, and revealed to the public after two long years without access to one of the greatest collections of artifacts in the world. Seeing these entries really brought home how close we are to opening again. We've only got 78 days to go.  What are you most excited to see when our doors open on November 21?

Harry Kashdan is an intern with the New Media Program.  He’s most excited to see the trains without plastic sheeting over them.

Home is where the heart is

Each year, dozens of interns find a home at the museum.  As an intern in the New Media Program this summer, I have assisted with the development and launch of this blog. In the coming weeks, a new series, “Intern Perspectives,” will feature blog posts written by my fellow interns about the ways we are learning from museum staff and contributing to their work.

Interns Lara Billet, Katie Munn, and
Katie March review possible props
and scripts for the Letters Home
program

“Letters Home” is one of the exciting new visitor programs that will be introduced when the museum reopens in November. This interactive tour will take visitors through The Price of Freedom: Americans at War exhibition while presenting correspondence to and from soldiers involved in various conflicts. Here’s what Office of Public Programs intern Katie March had to say about what she’s learned this summer while helping to create the program:

I think the reason why so many students say they don’t enjoy history is because they haven’t experienced the subject like I have. I’m not the biggest military history buff but reading these letters has given me a new interest in the lives of the soldiers, nurses and other individuals who have served our country.

Four interns, including me, have spent a great deal of time reading hundreds of letters spanning centuries. Every letter impacts me differently. I’ve read letters that literally made me laugh so hard I cried, letters so sad I sat at my computer with tears streaming down my face, letters that made me proud to be an American, and letters that made me reconsider some of our country’s military actions. These letters show raw emotion, depicting what the writers were thinking during pivotal and perilous times in our nation’s history. They remind me why I love studying history: because of the personal stories of people just like you and me.

If you want to read some of the letters, check out War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars (Scribner, 2001), a collection of 200 previously unpublished letters edited by Andrew Carroll. Better yet, come see the program “Letters Home”—it debuts this November and runs on weekends through the winter. Additional weekday presentations will start up in late March 2009.

Here is another interesting thing I learned: Did you know that the “scarlet scourge” was a major setback to the production of V-Mail (or “Victory Mail,” a WWII mail service that microfilmed messages for expedited and less bulky dispatch)? Because so many women kissed the letters they were sending, the build-up of lipstick on the photographic machines caused them to gum up and create gray blotches on the final prints.

Calvin Cohen is an intern with the New Media Program.