Open Forum

Dear All

What is the one thing you never expected to encounter in your work at a museum?  I am wondering because I think in life we expect somethings to be a factor in museum work and not unrelated things. I look forward to the responses.

Thanks,

Rachel

Hi everyone,

One thing I do at my job is checking the bug traps and uploading the photos to the bug trap folder. It's actually quite interesting, but when I was getting my master's degree in history, I never expected to be checking bug traps! I love my workplace and the unexpected jobs are part of the fun.

Dear All

What is the one thing you never expected to encounter in your work at a museum?  I am wondering because I think in life we expect somethings to be a factor in museum work and not unrelated things. I look forward to the responses.

Thanks,

Rachel

Hi everyone,

One thing I do at my job is checking the bug traps and uploading the photos to the bug trap folder. It's actually quite interesting, but when I was getting my master's degree in history, I never expected to be checking bug traps! I love my workplace and the unexpected jobs are part of the fun.

Dear All

What is the one thing you never expected to encounter in your work at a museum?  I am wondering because I think in life we expect somethings to be a factor in museum work and not unrelated things. I look forward to the responses.

Thanks,

Rachel

When I interned at the Smithsonian, one of the other interns researched patterns in the bug trap contents to determine if there was a consistent source of bugs getting in. If I recall, there was a distinct tendency for the pests to come from a certain zone. This could then be used to reduce incursions from those sources. Of course, we happened to have our office behind the live insect exhibit, so the results weren't shocking, per se, that some of the food crickets were escaping...but we then had data to back up anecdotal reports of escapees. 

Hi everyone,

One thing I do at my job is checking the bug traps and uploading the photos to the bug trap folder. It's actually quite interesting, but when I was getting my master's degree in history, I never expected to be checking bug traps! I love my workplace and the unexpected jobs are part of the fun.

Dear All

What is the one thing you never expected to encounter in your work at a museum?  I am wondering because I think in life we expect somethings to be a factor in museum work and not unrelated things. I look forward to the responses.

Thanks,

Rachel

Dear Sandra

It is funny how the small things are important in museum.  I know it all matters.

Thanks,

Rachel

When I interned at the Smithsonian, one of the other interns researched patterns in the bug trap contents to determine if there was a consistent source of bugs getting in. If I recall, there was a distinct tendency for the pests to come from a certain zone. This could then be used to reduce incursions from those sources. Of course, we happened to have our office behind the live insect exhibit, so the results weren't shocking, per se, that some of the food crickets were escaping...but we then had data to back up anecdotal reports of escapees. 

Hi everyone,

One thing I do at my job is checking the bug traps and uploading the photos to the bug trap folder. It's actually quite interesting, but when I was getting my master's degree in history, I never expected to be checking bug traps! I love my workplace and the unexpected jobs are part of the fun.

Dear All

What is the one thing you never expected to encounter in your work at a museum?  I am wondering because I think in life we expect somethings to be a factor in museum work and not unrelated things. I look forward to the responses.

Thanks,

Rachel

Dear All

What is the one thing you never expected to encounter in your work at a museum?  I am wondering because I think in life we expect somethings to be a factor in museum work and not unrelated things. I look forward to the responses.

Thanks,

Rachel

Rachel,

We offer overnight programs for organized groups aboard our WWII warship. We have added modern toilets and plumping in certain areas but have also retained some of the original "fixtures" but stress to visitors NOT to use them as they are not connected to the plumbing. You can probably imagine what happened. We learned a valuable lesson that clear instructions are required even for something that may seem obvious to us.

Dear All

What is the one thing you never expected to encounter in your work at a museum?  I am wondering because I think in life we expect somethings to be a factor in museum work and not unrelated things. I look forward to the responses.

Thanks,

Rachel