And so the end has come to my Internship at the collections department of the sloan museum. My final days at the Buick Gallery were taken up with cataloging a massive file of old photographs of the Bisho Airport outside of Flint. I was also able to sit in on a couple of meetings discussing some future plans in the new “Flint History” section of the museum, from exhibit layouts to class activities for visiting school.
Overall, I feel like I learned a lot over my 150 hours in that place. I learned the importance of proper storage for artifacts, and how to properly catalog them for future use. I also learned the importance of doing this in the first place as while many of these artifacts may not seem relevant or important at first glance, they provide valuable insights to a specific time in history. They also may surprise you, for instance an innocuous metal cylinder may turn-out to be an Imperial Japanese artillery shell from WWII.
I valued my time at the museum and have come to have a greater understanding and respect for the role they play in communities and preserving their history and stories.
Caleb the Intern 