Meet a collections photographer: Micah Ling

Many interesting jobs exist in a museum environment, and all of them contribute to our public education efforts in some way. As a photographer of the extensive collections that MSU holds, here is what Micah Ling has to say.

My work contributes to public education in several ways. First, in photographing the collections, I am helping to create a larger database of the MSU Museum’s collections that will allow for people worldwide to access object records and use them for research purposes. Secondly, I assist in the maintaining and cataloging of the thousands of objects in our collections. This makes it possible for students, faculty, community members, and researchers to physically come to our space and learn about material culture by seeing the objects themselves. Without this preservation, valuable historical knowledge would be lost. And finally, I often help to organize exhibitions. This involves selecting or pulling specific objects, writing labels, and even installing the exhibit. These exhibits put our collections on display for the public to learn from and enjoy.

Micah

Meet a collections intern: Riley Ravary

Like the education team, the collections department provides preprofessional internships to MSU students in order to encourage and facilitate their career goals in museum collections. Here is a chance to hear the experiences Riley Ravary has had as an intern.

1.     What are your internship duties with the collections department at MSUM?

a.     My internship duties varied a lot based on what was most important at the time, but one of my main duties was updating the collections database. This included photographing artifacts that we have in the collections, but might not be available at the museum for visitors to see. With these pictures, community members will be able to view a larger portion of the MSU Collections through our online database! Some other duties I had in addition to updating our database included maintaining collections care, preparing and setting up exhibits, writing object labels, and helping with any special events for the museum.

2.     What do you like about the MSUM Internship with the collections department?

a.    I liked being able to learn about all of the objects we have in our collections. Finding out where they came from, how old they are, or just random facts about them. I found that really interesting.

3.     How is the internship in collections enhancing your future career goals?

a.    Although I started my internship with a Zoology background, working in the cultural and historical collections has deviated my academic interests. Being able to look at all of the awesome artifacts we have in our collections strengthened my interest in my second major, Anthropology. Now I’m considering going into a graduate program that utilizes museums in their research of African culture.

4.     Advice for other students contemplating an internship at MSUM?

a.     Talk to the staff. They’re all really nice and can help you get an idea of what you would be doing if you interned with them.

5.     Something fun/quirky about you that no one knows.

a.     Once I passed out next to a gorilla.

Meet another education intern: Jessica Dowdal

The education team provides preprofessional internships to MSU students in order to encourage and facilitate their career goals in museum education. Meet Jessica Dowdal, another one of our interns, and see what her experience working with MSUM has been like.

1.     What are your duties for your internship with education at MSUM?

a.     So far my main task as an intern has been to help the education team develop a new docent program for the museum. We have been busy coming up with this program to bring in new volunteers to provide tours of the museum for visitor groups.  I have had the opportunity to be involved with many aspects of the development of this program. This has included conducting research about other docent programs, doing a literature review, meeting with educators from other museums, contributing to social media and public outreach efforts, developing a handbook for prospective docents, and much more.  Occasionally I have the chance to greet visiting school groups and provide them with a welcome and orientation to the museum. I  have also helped to start this blog and hope to become involved with the development of a new student group with the goal of increasing student participation at MSUM.

2.     What do you like about the MSUM Internship?

a.    This internship has been a great chance to understand what it is like to contribute to a project in a museum and to experience the ways that people work collectively to make things come together both within the museum and in the community. Many internship activities are independent but are all part of something that many people are ultimately involved with. One of the best things about an internship with MSUM is that no two intern experiences will be quite the same. Working in a museum is exciting because something is always changing and there are so many different projects to be involved with.

3.     How is the internship in education enhancing your future career goals?

a.    Working with the education team has been great because of the variety of experiences I have been actively involved with.  I have been increasingly interested in careers involved with public outreach and education, and everything I have done so far with the team has provided me with practical experience in these areas. The skills I have been able to practice are certainly useful for a career in museum education, but are also important skills to know for work in any educational setting or public institution. I have also had the chance to engage with and learn from many different people and a wide variety of resources.

4.     Advice for other students contemplating an internship at MSUM?

a.     Just go for it! Working with the education team has been a fun and rewarding experience. The hands-on experience I have gained has definitely been worth the effort and commitment. Everyone on the education team is very helpful and wants student involvement at the museum, so make sure to inquire about other opportunities to become involved because there are so many! The museum is a great place to be involved for people from many different fields of interest. Even if you aren’t sure about pursuing a future career at a museum, interning at MSUM is a great opportunity.

5.     Something fun/quirky about you that no one knows.

a.     My secret goal is to publish a novel someday. I have been obsessed with reading and writing since I was very young and now have more books and writing samples floating around than I know what to do with. I am graduating this December and although I definitely plan to pursue a career that is related to anthropology and eventually go to grad school, I am looking forward to having the free time to more actively pursue my creative side for a while. 

Keep checking back to hear more from our education team and volunteers! 

Meet our education intern: Jeannie Koeber

The education team provides preprofessional internships to MSU students in order to encourage and facilitate their career goals in museum education. Meet one of our current education interns, Jeannie Koeber and check out what she is working on this semester.  

1.     What are your duties for your internship with education at MSUM?

a.     As an intern with the MSUM education team I get to do a variety of things every time I come into work.  I’m preparing a teacher kit to be available for teachers to make lessons plans with trips to the museum for enhancing the students’ goals for that grade level.  I’m working with the team to create and develop ongoing Virtual Outreach Programs (VOP) to do virtual tours of the museum on an exhibit.  I’m working with a docent program specifically designed for adults with dementia.  And then I’m also involved in doing tours for random groups (ex. Boy/Cub Scouts) who wish to visit the museum, tour its entirety and then focus on one area in particular.

2.     What do you like about the MSUM Internship?

a.     I like all of the different facets the education team has to offer.  The Teacher Kits, the VOPs, the Docent Tours, the Informal Learning Network, the African and American Museum Professionals Mentoring and Exchange Program,  and so many more which I am interested in, but can’t do due to time constraints.  Some of these are the Heritage Tourism Resources, the Stained-Glass Window Census, working on traveling exhibits and working on the China-USA-South Africa museum coordination/exchange.  It’s amazing!

3.     How is the internship in education enhancing your future career goals?

a.     My internship is really getting me excited about getting into a museum education department which also teams with the development department to enhance the museum’s scope of involvement with the surrounding community and beyond.  It doesn’t hurt that I’m getting to know a lot of people, and have started networking without even completely realizing it.

4.     Advice for other students contemplating an internship at MSUM?

a.     The hard work is worth the knowledge and hands-on training you receive.  There is so much to do in a museum for all career paths that it is difficult to stay centered in just one at times.  When I was applying for internships I was excited about learning hands-on.  I applied for three and would have been happy anywhere.  Yes, I had my choices in order of preference and the MSUM was not number one.  However, during the interview, I was impressed by how much the education department wanted to reach out to the local community and beyond with the VOPs and Teacher Kits that I was drawn to it.  Now, adding the additional educational experience of working with the ElderHeART Program, I can see the MSUM reaching out to even more people in the community.

5.     Something fun/quirky about you that no one knows.

a.     Some Africans say if you can’t trace your lineage back ten generations you don’t know who you are.  Since I can only trace back to my paternal grandmother and my maternal grandfather, I’m evolving and figuring out who I am without aid from my far reaching back ancestors.  I’m hoping that in the generations to come, I will be an inspiration to them.

To learn more about what Jeannie is doing on a weekly basis, please view her internship journal online.

Thanks for visiting!

Welcome to the Michigan State University Museum Education blog!

Our education team at the MSU Museum has been expanding our programs and public outreach efforts in order to engage a wider audience of students and members of the MSU community. We are excited about our upcoming programs and events and we will post information about them here. We will also utilize this blog to introduce staff members, interns, and volunteers to provide an idea of the rewarding work we are doing in hopes that we can increase interest and participation in the MSU Museum. Feel free to comment on our posts, submit your own or ask us questions. Thank you for visiting our page and please check back frequently for updates and new information!

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