Harrison Smith Museum of Military History Summer Internship Blog Post 8

Week 8 of my internship with the Museum of Military History was an extremely busy week. The museum received a 28 foot long, 10 foot wide Merchant Marine lifeboat that saw action throughout the Second World War. The boat was donated by a prominent merchant marine community group which is headquartered in North Florida. Due to the sheer size of this lifeboat, the various exhibitions covering the different conflicts found within the museum were shifted around drastically to ensure there would be enough space to fit the lifeboat within the Merchant Marine exhibition. My work with the museum this week focused primarily on shifting around the “airwalls” (moveable walls) that create the various exhibition halls and then recreating and curating the exhibitions within their newly created exhibition rooms. For reference, think of the museums as one giant open area, with no permanent walls. Moveable “airwalls” are used to construct makeshift rooms; each room is then focused on a particular American military conflict beginning with the Revolutionary War.

The lifeboat was brought into the museum through a rear garage style door. (The building was originally built as a jean & denim store, so there are large garage style doors where shipments were transported from semi trucks.) This section of the museum is also where the First World War exhibition is. I assisted Chris, Mathus, and other museum staff and volunteers in rearranging the World War I exhibition that would allow clearance for the lifeboat to safely enter the building, while also still being academically effective in teaching the museum visitors about the conflict. We also strategically placed the First World War exhibition in a layout that will allow us to build the walkable trench system without having to entirely move the exhibition again. Chris created a workspace for Roger (a docent and carpenter that I mentioned in a previous blog post) and myself to begin work on the trench system. I am meeting with Roger this upcoming Wednesday to go over the materials list one last time, and then Chris will retrieve the materials and work will begin. (I’ll provide pictures of the differences between both exhibitions to Dr. Gannon via email.)

Due to the airwalls shifting to make room for the boat, the World War II exhibition saw significant changes as well. Mathus gave me complete control of curating two sections; a wall area focused on hangables (pictures, artwork, propaganda, medals, etc.) that had historical significance to the American Coast Guard, Navy, and Army Air Corps and a display cabinet dedicated to the Japanese war efforts of World War II. A museum volunteer under my command aided me in hanging various pieces regarding the three military branches previously mentioned. I am going to be conducting research on a handful on the objects that we hung to create labels for that give historical context and next week the same volunteer and I will be relocating a section of the Nazi and German section of the exhbition to a new area within the World War II display hall. My last project I completed was recreating a display area focused on the Japanese of World War II. Mathus gave me complete creative control when creating this display. I was able to incorporate various pieces from the museum’s collection to showcase a narrative that showcased the military items used by the Japanese military as well as show the humanity that Japanese soldiers had. I hope to pair this with American propaganda on the Japanese to showcase how propaganda is not always presented in the most accurate way.

The goal for next week is to get a majority of the exhibition halls in order and to begin real work on the trench system Roger and I have planned for the First World War exhibition. I will report back next Friday, July 15 with my updates.