Tiffany Weaver
- Intern: Tiffany Weaver
- Placement: Shippensburg Historical Society
- Website:http://www.shippensburg history.org/
My time as an intern at the Shippensburg Historical Society has been an inspirational
experience. Trisha Grace, my internship supervisor allowed me to take part in a
wide variety of tasks that go into running a museum and non-profit
organization. My central responsibilities were to complete two exhibits from
start to finish. The first exhibit was Civil War themed and coincided with
Shippensburg’s March to Destiny festivities. The second exhibit was themed
around the Works Progress Administration models. The Shippensburg Historical Society has one of the largest collections of
these models in Pennsylvania. The Depression Era theme of the WPA room allowed
me to include some of my own historical interests in a display case for
Shippensburg’s Depression Era theaters.
Aside from my main goals of completing these two exhibits, I was also
able to participate in the everyday workings of a local historical society. I
was involved in an archaeological dig, archive management, membership
recruitment, and community outreach.
I gave a Civil War Trails tour for March to Destiny and tours of the
Civil War exhibit to various children’s groups from around the community. The
tours were personal accomplishments in overcoming my fear of public speaking.
The Civil War exhibit was on display until December of 2009. The exhibit on the
WPA is currently on permanent display. Looking back at my experiences at the
Shippensburg Historical Society I have learned what working at a museum entails
and the work that goes into designing an exhibit. I have gained invaluable
research skills that I can use both in the classroom and in designing future
exhibits. This internship has also helped me decide on career goals and has
inspired me to pursue a career in museum work, specifically exhibit design and
museum coordination.