Week 1: Learning in Quarantine
By: Marta Olmos
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Captain William Smith house, built in 1692
I had an amazing first week of my internship. I participated in zoom training with the entire interpretation staff, and we covered topics like “race in interpretation” and Audience Centered Experienced. I have worked in interpretation before, but always in an informal setting, so this is my first time receiving proper interpretive training and I loved it. I learned so much and I can’t wait to put it into practice.
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Learning about interpretation using props and silly hats!
Alongside the training, my supervisors gave me a big stack of books to read so I will be knowledgeable about the park when I start interacting with visitors. The revolutionary period is something I have been interested in for a while, but I never took a course on it during school so I was so pleased to dig into these. I really enjoyed learning the granular details about what happened on April 19 1775 – the day of the battle of Lexington and Concord. I still have a lot to learn, but the rest of the interpretation staff are very knowledgeable, and I am sure I will learn a lot from them.
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A selection of books from the park library that I have been using to study
I was not allowed to go to the park for work, but I was allowed to go there in the evenings for exercise as long as I socially distanced. I used that time to explore the park a bit and become more familiar with what they offer. I was especially excited to see the witness houses, which are beautiful old houses that ‘witnessed’ the battle in 1775. I love New England colonial architecture and these houses are great examples of that style. I also took the time to explore the interpretation panels and signs along the battlefield trail. Battlefield interpretation is something I am passionate about and something I am interested in working on during this internship. I even went out one afternoon in costume with my roommate! COVID has really diminished opportunities for costumed interpretation, but I’m hoping to find unconventional opportunities to dress up.
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Wearing my 1770’s cotton mantua dress
Overall, it has been an amazing first week! I can’t wait to finish quarantine so I can get to work in the park talking to visitors and researching new interpretation programs.