Kaitlyn Mitchell, 2017 Summer Museum Assistant
Throughout the month of July, Kaitlyn gave museum tours and performed a number of office duties including: cataloging multiple donated artifacts, taking pictures of such artifacts and uploading the images onto computer, organizing the Springfield Leader weekly newspaper, making arrowheads and doing craft preparation for Heritage Day. She also did regular cleaning of the museum.
Kaitlyn has noticed that the RM 100 travelling trunks are among the first things visitors look at upon entering the museum. The interactive exhibits, like the wool carder and furs, are also quite popular, and believes another interactive exhibit would encourage more people to attend and enjoy their visit.
Kaitlyn has also suggested that more advertising is needed to inform the public about where the museum is located and when it is open. She lists the public library as a place for museum brochures and, since it is a high traffic area, the Sunova sign for advertisements.
For the month of August, Kaitlyn continued to give museum tours, organize and catalogue artifacts, make arrowheads, and prepare craft materials and posters for Heritage Day.
She has noted that a lot of visitors have commented on how well the museum was constructed and organized, mentioning that their visit was enjoyable.
She also attended the Fire & Water Festival, with a table in Artisan Square. They sold two books, one membership and thirteen bags of wild rice. Overall, the wild rice fundraiser did quite well this month, with a total of twenty-seven bags sold both at the museum and the Fire & Water Festival.
Kaitlyn suggested that a larger sign is needed near the highway to attract more visitors, informing them when the museum is open.
Heritage Day 2017
Kaitlyn believed the Heritage Day was “quite a success.” She noted that the performers were excellent and that the kids’ obstacle course and craft making went really well. A lot of positive comments were received about the event throughout the day. Kaitlyn stated that those in attendance were “very pleased and left with smiles on their faces.”
Travelling Suitcase Exhibit
Kaitlyn created a travelling suitcase exhibit on growing up in the 1950s. She thoroughly researched and planned the case before putting the artifacts, photographs and written information together in the display.
Overall, Kaitlyn believes the museum did well this summer, especially with the Open House, Canada Day and Heritage Day events. She enjoyed all aspects of the job and found it an educational experience. Kaitlyn is incredibly grateful for Terry and Marlene, appreciating the time and hard work given to help her with all aspects of the job. She enjoyed her time at the museum and hopes to apply for the position again next year.