Abroad Overload!

but it's better to be thoroughly sure." Czech Proverb HA! Bet you thought I would be taking off for reading week! Well, you-thought-wrong. However, I will be writing about a rather relaxed topic that is A) about beer and B) relevant to class. Yes, I can do that, but in true Jessica blog writing style, it's going to take me a second to get to the beer part. In my current manic state as I try to compile as much information about my heritage designation property for my theory class as I can, I couldn't help but let my mind wander just a bit to how my own hometown deals with old buildings. Depending how you look at it, development can be good as it improves infrastructure, creates jobs, and can be something a city or town can be proud of. But on the other hand, you risk getting rid of beautiful victorian mansions and sturdy warehouses that could be turned into something useful and replace them with glass structures that break up a brick and stone skyline. R...

Come one, come all! Come take part in the ride of the century! It has water, it has fire, and it has that beloved new invention from Mr. Edison himself, electricity!!!!  But make sure to keep a look out, disasters are bound to happen! On the fairway, visit our newest attraction, The Johnstown Flood! Be immersed in our cyclorama as it depicts the tragic death of 2000 plus people! Just down the block listen to our lecturer describe the untimely demise of up to 8000 people from the Galveston hurricane of 1900! Folks, the list goes on. Where there's tragedy, there's money, and where there's money, there's us; waiting to take all that cash from you! ------------------------------------------------ It's funny how things connect sometime. I wasn't sure what I was going to grace your screens with this week, so instead of immediately dealing with that, I was playing around with GIS and story mapping. I was initially messing around with photos from a family trip, ...

... but they will never forget how you made them feel .” Carl W. Buehner I'll be honest, I can't really think of much to base this blog post on, however, my October 18 was pretty fantastic, and I just really have to share that! I was planning on going to Eldon House in the morning to do some work and then going in again in the evening to help out with their program. Instead, I got the morning off! So being a good history student, I decided to head to campus and attend the lecture by Dr. Craig Simpson on the Gettysburg address. Now, the civil war is a topic incredibly ( as seen in a previous post ) close to my heart. I've been to several Northern battlefields as well as some Southern sites, I had the pleasure of giving an interpretive talk on the Gettysburg battlefield about artillery for an undergrad civil war class, and even the town of Shippensburg where I completed my undergrad was occupied by Confederate troops prior to the Battle of Gettysburg. The Civil War ...

then bring the museum to the people." Me, it was me, I said that. Museums like the Smithsonian have it easy. Well, for the most part. The museums are known worldwide and with a massive range of subjects and topics, it's pretty hard to not find something of interest even to the most stubborn of visitors. The entire concept of a target audience is something all museums should keep in mind. Speaking from experience, I might delve deep into a specific moment in U.S. history, but my dad might hang back. Same with vice-versa - my dad will spend all day in a museum about planes and their components while I stare glassy-eyed at the 60th engine of the day. Sometimes that's just the way people are. Not every person that walks into a museum is going to feel the same way as another, but at least they are setting foot in the door. Where we really have a problem are the people who just do not go to museums. In our theory class, we read an article by Marilyn Hood titled, "St...

A lot of people ask me if I feel I should be more famous." Paul F. Tompkins I live by the common idea that one should go big or go home, and I have to say, nothing applies more than the adventures in podcasting my cohorts and I have had! So far, the outcomes are amazing for most of us having varying levels of experience. I'm sure almost everyone has written about their experiences on their own blogs, but I at least wanted to highlight mine. (Left) endless possibilities lie behind that door (Center) my closet turned recording booth (Right) my workstation Beginning the process of podcasting was interesting. I knew I didn't want to do something that was just "routine history" ; something that is mainstream or I have put a lot of previous research into. I wanted to start from scratch because I wanted to learn along with my audience. I was torn between two topics: milkweed and cross-stitching (a hobby of mine). As I debated, I found that either would back m...

...and video gaming is a huge part of our culture." Andy Serkis Oh gosh now's my time! I LOVE historical gaming. Not that I really participate or anything, it's just a wild thought that you can sneak historical learning into a game just like how you sneak vegetables into a little kids penne pasta. Blog Meister Jessica presenting a poster on gaming and interactive exhibits as undergrad research *Fun fact, I didn't know that was the dean of the college of Arts and Sciences* The first time I can recall any sort of relationship being made between history and gaming was when I was a senior sitting in my high-school military history class. My teacher was awesome, in fact, it's probably his fault I majored in history at all. Anyway, we were talking about a certain British officer and to make a connection to my class (who were mostly guys, cause, military) he mentioned how in Assassins creed III, a mission was to assassinate said officer. Wait, characters in g...

to tell their story for t hem.” Czesław Miłosz, 'The Issa Valley' One of the few things that I truly enjoy is looking out on social media for new ways museums are partnering with speciality companies to create amazing interactive exhibits. In our Digital Public History class, we got into a brief discussion of what makes a good tour. It is certainly a difficult question to answer. What some view as the best tour ever may be only based on interest; the topic is something they enjoy hearing about from someone who is more knowledgeable in it. Other individuals on the tour may struggle to connect to the topic being discussed and become lost in the words of an “expert in the field”. The big question is how do we bridge that gap when giving a tour? Is it showing you are passionate and human? If I give a tour in the most enthusiastic voice I can muster, will a 56-year-old woman care about the specifics of rural wagon production? If I throw in a witty anecdote about the f...