Meet Christopher Sniezek
A blog post by Chris Sniezek, Manager (Esther’s Place).
I grew up, not that far from Baltimore, in Frederick, MD, before attending Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania for my Bachelor’s Degree in History. I primarily focused on Civil War medical history and its relation to public history. After graduating in 2017, I then moved to Mississippi while I earned a Master’s Degree from Mississippi State University, also in History. I graduated in May 2019 after focusing my research on Civil War memory from 1960-2016. I spent a several months living in Indianapolis, IN, before I returned to Maryland in August. I worked part-time at Port Discovery Children’s Museum and Rose Hill Manor Children’s Museum until I started here at JMM in January 2020. While I am relatively new to the retail side of museum activities, I have spent almost 13 years (since I was 12), volunteering, interning, working as a docent, working as support staff, and on local museum councils at several museums around Maryland.
Since I have taken over managing the shop at JMM, I’ve learned a lot about Jewish history and culture, but I’m still learning more every day. I’m also excited to implement some new ideas into the organization of the shop and helping elevate your shop and museum experience. When you visit, you’ll notice a temporary display in the shop called “Scrap Deal of the Day.” The display draws on the same message and spirit as the museum’s Scrapyard exhibit. We hope that an item on display might catch your eye or spark a project idea as a way of re-using and recycling. The items rotate daily so if you don’t find a use for that day’s item, maybe you will for another item.
So, instead of throwing the item out and contributing to landfill overcrowding, our “Scrap Deal of the Day” is an attempt to find a new home for some of the beautiful items which might have a thin scratch, a dent, or a piece came unglued, rendering it unsalable. These items range from cutting boards to bowls, from children’s toys to purses, books to wall plaques and Mezuzahs. The program will run through April or until the items run out, and they are going fast!
Members received in the mail a special Valentine’s Day card as a thank you for being a part of our family. Bringing in the card entails the recipient to a special mystery box from the shop. These are items to thank you for your generous support of the Museum and our projects, both past and future. But this is not just a time for current members – anyone who signs up for a membership during the month of February will also receive one of these special gifts – but new and old alike, you must come claim your gift before March 1st!
