Quiet on Set…Now Recording in the West Wing of the JMM!

Blog post by education intern Sara Philippe. To read more posts from JMM interns, past and present, click here.

When I began interning at the JMM this summer, I never expected to find myself in the recording studio during my time here, but this past week co-intern Erin and I became the voices of the JMM’s new, soon-to-be downloadable Henrietta Szold audio guide. Erin and I spent time, under Museum Educator Alex’s leadership, recording a script that outlines Henrietta Szold’s Baltimore for people interested in exploring this fascinating historical figure and the city when it was her home in the late 19th century. The audio guide describes Szold and other characters in a manner that emphasizes their humanity, bringing them to life as real-life people, while maintaining a focus on the larger events and movements that influenced her.

Our signed tour scripts
Our signed tour scripts

Szold is known as the founder of the global women’s organization Hadassah, and for her role in laying the groundwork for the founding of the state of Israel, and the tour acknowledges this, while making the choice not to stray from her formative years in Baltimore. As you listen, you will discover how Szold’s experiences observing Eastern European Jewish immigrants arrive on Baltimore’s shores and providing services to these people, was a major influence on the Zionist ideology she would grow to devote herself to. But you will also get snippets of insight into her relationship with her sisters and her unfailing dedication to her father Rabbi Benjamin Szold. It is through these detailed, honest portrayals that each stop of the tour becomes alive and personal, maintaining the important historical significance of the diverse locations on the tour’s thirteen stops.

The once Eutaw Place Temple, a stop on the tour
The once Eutaw Place Temple, a stop on the tour

By releasing this audio tour, the JMM is expanding to new media, areas, and audiences, participating in an effort to make the vital work it does in preserving and teaching history and culture accessible in new and exciting ways. The museum prides itself on its particular focus on Jewish history in the state of Maryland, and by creating a tour such as this one, it does an excellent job of extending its efforts at preservation beyond the walls of the museum. As most of the buildings included as stops on the tour no longer serve the purposes they did in Szold’s lifetime, the tour does the important work of reviving old meanings and forgotten histories. The audio guide is a perfect opportunity not only to learn about Szold’s early life in Baltimore, but also to explore the city itself in a new way, gaining knowledge about other important figures and events in Baltimore Jewish history. Ranging from the harbor where Szold’s family and many other immigrants first arrived in Baltimore, to locations that once housed synagogues and department stores, to the JMM itself, the audio tour will take you on a unique tour of Baltimore that will leave you hungry to know more.

Download the izi.TRAVEL app and be sure to check out the JMM’s new audio tour! You won’t want to miss hearing rising vocal stars Sara and Erin’s debut!

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Education Interns

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