I started my Exhibits Team Internship with Greeley History Museum by getting training on how to properly handle artifacts, learning to be SMATA, (acronym for considerations when moving artifacts: Self, Mind, Area preparation, Transportation plan, Assess the object). Throughout my internship I saw the theories learned during my training being practiced daily, particularly while assisting with the Union Colony letter Kristine Nigl_3move. I was part of the team that transported these historic letters from the Greeley History Museum to the Meeker Home for Founders Day. We began our training by touring the Meeker Home to discuss where the letters would be placed, and created a plan for the moving process. After the tour the exhibits team had a brainstorming session about how the Meeker Home could later be designed with exhibits that supported a partially self-guided yet interactive tour.

The main focus of my internship was to create panels for the Spanish Colony House in Centennial Village Living History Park. I found it to be an excellent opportunity to explore the history of the colony and then design panels that would communicate to the community who the people of the colony were and what they accomplished in five 32X40 panels. As part of the research I participated in a walking tour of the colony with our Exhibits Curator Nancy Lynch, Exhibits Curators Assistant Nichole Famiglietti, and the Exhibits Assistant Holly Berg, with me that made the entire exhibits team. We were able to tour one of the adobe homes and talked with Palmer Lopez, a gentleman who grew up in the Spanish Colony and lives there today. We discussed what we were working on and showed him some of the preliminary designs and photos that we would be using. What really struck me is that while he was going through the photos he would point out, oh this is my cousin, thats my aunt, hey thats me. It made me think of my own family and the neighborhood my father came from, and which I also grew up in. When going over old photos it would be a group of families in the neighborhood and if you wen
t down the street and went through their photos you would likely see many of the same people. I chose to try and emphasize that the community was a bit like an extended family with the visual aspect of my design.

While I continued to work on the panels for the majority of the summer, I was also involved in many other projects. I assisted with History Fest at Centennial Village, teaching school children about how some of the first telephones worked, and how firemen trained. I also talked with the printer in the print shop and learned a lot more about the origins and meanings behind font size, font setting, and picas. Later in the summer we returned to the village several times for exhibit related work. I assisted by photographing areas the museum would like to focus on for exhibit upgrades, or that needed maintenance. During one of these outings I found myself wrangling a small pony that was apparently an escape artist. I never thought that would be a skill I would need to utilize during my internship.

I was invited to sit in on an experience team meeting, bringing together several departments of the museum to focus on how visitors experience the museum. I found it helpful to learn how the different departments planned future projects and what goes on behind the scenes so that visitors have an enjoyable and informative visit.
Working with the exhibits team on the Spanish Colony panels helped me learn a lot about how to organize and condense content so that visitors will not be overwhelmed, but will still take away important historical information and stay engaged. To engage younger visitors we placed some accurate toy dinosaurs in some of the exhibit cases, a project that our Visitor Services Coordinator Cody Neidert came up with. This was accompanied by a Find the Dinosaurs list and a prize. It also gave me an opportunity to see how the exhibit cases are assembled and the various tools and hardware used for museum exhibit cases.

As an exhibits team we did some brainstorming for the Greeley Tribune and Printing exhibit found on the lower level of the Greeley History Museum. We discussed placement of stereotype mats that were used to print the centennial edition of the Greeley Tribune. As part of the preparation for this exhibit I leaOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERArned a technique Nicole had researched and developed for steaming the exhibit mats as they were curved for the printing process, but we wanted them flat for the exhibit panel mounts.

I was able to assist with the installation of the Mannequin in the Spanish Colony exhibit. Holly had designed a male mannequin of a sugar beet field worker, she affectionately named Manny. Once he was complete we had to install him in the display case in the Spanish Colony House; this involved a bit of sewing, and rigging of fishing line to give him a realistic stance. It felt great to have a piece of the new exhibit finished.

During my final weeks as an intern the updated version of the panels were again sent out for a final review for the entire museum to provide feedback. I also began measuring for a scale model of the atrium and began working to build the model. Taking stock of my experience I learned a lot about Nigl_panel1_Cultivatewhat goes on behind the scenes to design and implement museum history exhibits. During the Experience Team meeting I learned about how some of the funding works, how exhibits are maintained, and the thought that goes into making the experience engaging and interactive for the visitors. In working on the Spanish Colony panels I was involved in the research, design, and creation of part of an exhibit. I had many opportunities along the way to be involved in brainstorming sessions, and was encouraged to provide input and to think big. It was a privilege to work with such dedicated people who were excited about what they do and who generated real enthusiasm in me to be a part of their team.

*Web editors note: We really appreciated having Kristine Nigl as a part of our team! You can visit the Spanish Colony panels by visiting our Centennial Village.

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