What’s a year in a history museum?

From Visitor Services Coordinator Talia Makowsky. To read more posts from Talia, click here.


I can hardly believe that my one-year anniversary of working at JMM is coming up, on February 19th. This date almost coincides with my birthday as well (the 16th, if anyone wants to send me birthday wishes, hint, hint) so I’ve been reflecting a lot on how the year has gone by. I’ve had a lot of new experiences, both professionally and personally, and I’m grateful to be alive and healthy for another year of marking my path around the sun. In celebration of my first year at JMM, I wanted to share some of the highlights of working here and what I’ve learned as I’ve jumped head-first into the museum world.

One new skill I’m most proud of is my confidence in giving tours. Whether I’m filling in for the public synagogue tour last minute, or I’m welcoming a new group to visit our special exhibit, I’ve had a blast sharing stories with our guests. It’s incredible to realize how much knowledge I’ve gained about the history of Baltimore and the Jewish communities here, about how fashion reflects our identity, and about the US scrap yard industry (something I never thought I would know so well). Being able to internalize the stories of these people and then share them with visitors has been rewarding, as we connect to those that are similar to our own stories or learn from those different from us. I’m excited to learn more, especially about Jews in Space, so that I can continue to serve as a steward and docent of these stories with our guests.

I love showing our guests how they can interact with the exhibits and why we chose the stories featured.

Another highlight of my year has been getting to know all the volunteers who make up such an essential part of the JMM community. I truly appreciate those who help out at the front desk, so that I can run back and forth to the printer, to someone’s office, to the bathroom. The shop volunteers are incredibly helpful, as they work with guests to peruse and shop in Esther’s Place. Our docents hold so much knowledge and are always happy to share that knowledge with me and our visitors. All of our volunteers’ passion for the Museum is obvious in their dedication and the energy they give when they’re serving. I’ve gained a lot of wisdom from our volunteers, and I look forward to another year working, laughing, and problem solving with them.

Last year’s volunteer appreciation event was so much fun! I was so glad to have the opportunity to publicly thank all of the front desk volunteers.

In this next year, I’m most looking forward to growing the visitor resources available at the Museum. As I talked about in my last blog post, I’ve learned a lot this year about the barriers that keep people from getting to the Museum, or that keep people from having an amazing experience. We’ve all been talking a lot about what we can offer guests, as we shift our mission to focus on “exploring history, taking action, and imagining a better future”. I want to find ways to make accessing our mission easier, and to continue to be open to feedback and critique. It’s important I keep myself humble so that I can better understand what a visitor (or non-visitor) needs to experience our stories, and I hope that this year I can implement new resources for JMM guests to access.

We’re looking forward to all the ways our new mission will inform the decisions we make at the Museum.

Finally, I want to especially thank all the people who have made me feel so welcome. The JMM staff are incredible. The creativity of our team is on full display with the new marketing materials they make and the educational programs they come up with. We consistently find or create extraordinary exhibits to display and high-quality programs to offer our guests. Most of all, everyone is supportive and welcoming, lending me a hand when I have a problem or challenging me to grow professionally. I’m so thankful to be a part of this amazing team, and I can’t wait to see what the next year has in store for us.


 

Categories
jewish museum of maryland

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.