Lab Museum Design & Interpretation

“United we stand, divided we fall.”

As the semester began, the plan seemed to be divide and conquer, however, the conquest proved more difficult than we could imagine. The division of the groups allowed more specific studies of the resources from different viewpoints. However, the lack of communication between the groups nullified this advantage. First, without knowledge of the resources that had already been analyzed and what still needed to be done, the work just did not get done. Second, although the lack of primary resources did significantly affect the project, it revealed the inability of the class to investigate secondary resources as an avenue into the primary sources and a general inability to construct a historiography of this subject matter. Short of having the resources laid out, no one knew what to do. The lack of primary resources directly impacted the group responsible for the historical timeline of Germanna, therefore making their job much more difficult than either the archaeological review or the interpretation of myth. The secondary resources often did not cite primary sources which is indicative of the lack of good historical research available on this topic. Most of the studies uncovered in the search for the interpretation of the myth versus the reality came from more extensive studies of the period and the geography rather than specific studies of this site and its geographical context.

Although the archaeological study of the site of the “Enchanted Castle” proved extensive, it lacked interpretation beyond the physical characteristics of the building. We knew what the building looked like, we knew the people who lived there, we knew what he had done, but what did it all mean? Once the seeds of doubt had been planted, they manifested easily as we tried to understand how to create an online exhibit a site that has been neglected by historians. The research completed by Douglas Sanford and Kerri Barile should have been reviewed earlier in the semester to establish a context for further research rather than as an last-minute add-on to our own fuddled research attempts. Overall, if the archaeological and historic resources for the project had been uncovered sooner, the project would have proved more acceptable.

As an historian, this website seems to be a success. It establishes a general timeline for this site, an acknowledgement of relevant historical studies, a display of the archaeological resources excavated from the site, and, most importantly, it establishes a dialogue for further research. The temporary nature of an online exhibit makes it ideal for the purpose of this project: to establish a forum for discussion of the importance of Germanna and its history. Without the physical space or the ownership of relevant artifacts to create a physical space, this exhibit provided a compromise to a physical exhibit. In this sense, the website accomplished its mission in its basic format.

The section on the myth and reality of Germanna is an example of the entire site could have been. It represents an interactive, thematically-structured approach to the history of Germanna explaining the different aspects of the frontier myth and their relevance to Germanna. The advantage of myth is that it is all about interpretation, applying a historic context to the evolution of popular history. Although I understand this advantage, it bothers me that this section seems to dominate the site in terms of the interpretation of Germanna. The section on the evolution of Germanna provides a historical breakdown of the history of the site, but it lacks the context that it advertises with the title, “The Evolution of Germanna.” For example, they failed to create a context for their research into the Manahoac Indians who inhabited this region before and during the settlement period. What did they contribute to the evolution of Germanna? They provide a timeline, they provide quotes from other historians, they provided the basic facts of life at Germanna, but they fail to produce a context upon which we can begin to understand the evolution of Germanna. Second, the archaeology section had too much information and so many images to utilize, but their section lacks text. Again, information without interpretation! Overall, I approve of the information presented, but I feel that more interpretation is needed in the sections on the evolution and archaeology of Germanna.

Typically, I tend to prefer to be the workhorse in the group dynamic, I do not like to take the lead. However, in this case, I felt like Atlas with the weight of the world upon my shoulders. This is partly my own fault for not recognizing the contributions of my group members and my own failure to trust my group members to complete their tasks to the best of their ability until it was too late. As a perfectionist, I did not trust that their work would uphold the standards that I felt were expected in this project. Second, the initial doubts of the class toward this project seemed to reflect a lack of understanding of the magnitude of the initial research involved in this project. I understand that each of my group members did not mean to be ignorant of their tasks, because their intentions seemed good. However, schedules can be detrimental to group discussion, leaving everyone to their own tasks and their own intiative. My efforts to encourage them to go beyond their initial efforts were often ignored, and no one seemed to want to take the lead in the project as the research on the myth of Germanna grew in its complexity. The problem with an ongoing project is the lack of deadlines, without deadlines, the individual becomes responsible for creating their own schedule. However, when others are depending on you to get your job done so they can began to do theirs, it gets complicated. My effort to be flexible in the short term was detrimental to the project in the long run. My responsibility as a technical support grew into group leader, researcher and designer.

This is not the path I would have chosen to take in this project, but it seemed like the only way to complete this project within the alloted period of time. Overall, I feel like if people had understood in the beginning what they were getting into, they mihgt have been better prepared for the intiative they would be forced to take in this endeavor. In real life, there is no way for anyone to tell you how far you can push yourself to succeed, no one to measure you capability. It is your responsibility to act within the best of your ability. If you are not challenged, seek out the challenge, push farther. The world of museums is competitive, and if you cannot make your abilites known and recognizable, you will not succceed.

As a historian, I have been forced to write, to interpret, but this act of creation pushed my imagination beyond its normal boundaries. I had to discover new way to interpret history for the public. Although I came into this class with basic knowledge of exhibit development in terms of a physical space, I had never created an online space. This previous knowledge served as my reserve strength, and allowed me to accept the challenge with more zeal than my classmates who lacked the experience of developing a physical exhibit. Second, my ability to manipulate the relevant technology to make this information more user-friendly allowed me more freedom to create. An online exhibit allowed me to begin to understand how the public interacts with a virtual space as opposed to a physical space. It allows them more time to explore and experience and involve themselves in the history on display. With this knowledge, I will endeavor this summer to reinvent the face of the website for the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. From my new position as seasonal curatorial assistant, I will be responsible for creating temporary online exhibits to be hosted on the site in combination with the physical rotating exhibits to be displayed in the visitor centers over the course of the next two years. This integration of the physical and online exhibition will enable the park to use their online space to advertise their physical space.

Thank you to all!

Thank you Jim!

We're done!