Summer 2016 Internship - Statement of Purpose

The exterior of the Chemical Heritage Foundation
Photo Courtesy of {https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CHF_P1000361_Chemical_Heritage_Foundation_Exterior.jpg}

This summer I am the Collections Management Intern at the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) in Philadelphia, PA! The CHF is a museum and special collections library which focuses on interpreting the history  of science and connecting that history to a curious public. I will be working directly with the collection manager, Stephanie Lampkin. My job this summer is to help the collections manager gain intellectual control of the collection at the CHF. This means that we need to get to know exactly what is in the collection, and ensure the objects are cataloged within the museum software PastPerfect. Once the museum team has a better understanding of what exactly is in the collection, they can move forward with creating better interpretive exhibits with the collection. We will be cataloging part of the back-log within the collection, and I will be working with a collections photographer to photograph the objects which are not yet cataloged. I will be helping the photographer carefully handle, position, and re-house the objects. The first project we are working on involves traveling to the off-site storage facility which houses part of the museum's collection. Our mission is to document and take measurements of every object housed in the facility, and to also take reference photos of the objects to catalog into PastPerfect back at the museum. This off-site experience will be the subject of my next blog post!

Sitting at my desk!

This internship at the CHF will push me to develop more dynamic skills within the museum field. I have never worked with a scientific collection, let alone a high number of scientific instruments. I am excited to learn the software PastPerfect, as well as the proper handling of scientific materials and possibly hazardous tools and instruments. The CHF is also giving me the opportunity to learn from many different professionals in the field, including: the collections manager, the registrar, a digital projects manager, and an oral historian! I will be using the knowledge and techniques I learn from these professionals when writing and researching my thesis, which will be a material culture case study about Pennhurst State School and Hospital in Spring City, PA. Many of the professionals working at the CHF have showed interest in my project, and would like to further discuss my research. There is a public history fellow at the CHF with a background in nursing, and a degree in the history of nursing who is particularly willing to help me better understand the historical environment at Pennhurst. Overall, this internship is going to be an experience which gives me a better foundation within the museum field through learning proper handling of objects, cataloging techniques, and the software PastPerfect. I am excited to see what the summer brings!