Beth's Washington DC Adventure!

100 Days of DC

2010-04-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

100 Days. That’s 2,400 hours, 56 cold lunches, 3 snowstorms, and 112 trips on the Metro, just to get to work! These 100 days have just flown by as I reflect back on my final night in Washington DC. I have learned so much out here; about history, about working in the real world, about myself. I hope that you have shared my adventure with me through this blog, because has it ever been an adventure!

Wednesday was our final field trip as a group, and our last time together as one large group. We went to lunch at Whitlow’s which is a local burger place with really good Oreo shakes! I remember Dr. Joyner saying back in January that by the time we get to Whitlow’s we should know everyone in the group, and I can proudly say that I do. Wednesday was also my final class for the semester, which is always a nice accomplishment to reach! Sadly the rest of my free time these past few days have been spent cleaning and packing, so that actually took up most of my time on Wednesday.

Thursday was my last day in the lab at the Archives. We had one of the best student groups in on a double lab, which actually made it not seem like a double lab. It was bittersweet to see the last of these student groups, as they have been one of my favorite parts about my internship. To see a group of students take historical documents, which many think are boring, and turn them into a meaningful project in under two hours is something of a miracle, and I have been blessed to be a part of that. I started saying goodbye to some of my coworkers on Thursday as well, as they will be elsewhere on Friday.

Today was honestly a strange day at the Archives. I couldn’t help but think that it was my last time doing this, or my last time running to find that. We had an ice cream social again for all the volunteers at Archives I since its National Volunteer Appreciate Week, which made it the finale to my time out here. I spent the rest of the day tying up loose ends and saying my farewells to everyone, which was sad. I have the greatest coworkers out here; I feel like we have become a little family out here! Like I said earlier, I would not trade this experience for anything, and although not everything was easy or happy, it taught me something or at least gave me a different perspective on life. Tomorrow I go back to Minnesota, where I know I have a lot of friends and family welcoming me back home, but I know that I will leave a little bit of myself here in DC, amongst the miles and miles of stacks, with those I have worked with in the past 100 days, or in the knowledge that I gave to a child during my time out here.

Baseball, Potluck, and Records

2010-04-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

Well I started out my weekend on a good note in Old Town Alexandria, and I finished off my weekend at the Nationals baseball game. They have such a nice ballfield, and it is so nice to have baseball outside where it should be! It did make me think of how great Twins baseball is going to be this summer at Target Field. Even though the Nationals lost, it was still a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. One of my friends that I went with is from Milwaukee, and they were playing the Nationals, so she was happy her hometown team won!

After being at my internship for 14 weeks, I have figured out that Mondays are quiet days at the Archives. I spent most of my time up in the Resource Room, since no one else was around. I met some really interesting people while I was up there, and was able to locate some D-Day records for a student, find military records for a veteran, and census records for a family looking for ancestors. These are the stories that make my day so meaningful and make my job one of the best! I hope that as I leave the National Archives that I will be able to continue to make these kinds of impacts on people and help them navigate through the millions of records available to them.

Today was my last day at Archives II. I did not get a chance to work on any preservation work today because we were celebrating National Volunteer Appreciation Week by throwing a potluck and ice cream social. It just happened to match up with my last day out there, which was kind of a nice way to end my time there. I am SO appreciative for all those who work out at A II who were able to teach me things and help me in my internship and I am sorry that I will be missing out on more of their teaching. Not having an hour and fifteen minute commute one way though will be nice....

Tonight was also my last class on the Supreme Court. I came into this course knowing very little about the set up of the court or the American judicial system and in general, and I have gained so much knowledge about the history and controversy behind the system and it's cases this past semester. For anyone who is thinking about coming out to DC for a semester, please let me know! I'll make sure that you don't get too lost or confused if you come out here.

Archives II

National Basilica, which I drive past each week on the way to Archives II

Anna, Robin, and I at the game

They have such a sweet scoreboard!

Gomez at the plate!!

National Field- outside like baseball should be

Last Weekend!

2010-04-18T06:08:00.001-07:00

I am wrapping up my last weekend in DC. Just like most people would, I am trying to fit in as much sight seeing as possible. This also means that I am cramming in projects to finish at work; it is going to be a fast finish!

Thursday at work was full of special groups coming in and out of the Education area. We started the morning with a group of new archivists, who were so excited to see the education space. The next group to filter in was a group of teachers who came to do a mini version of the Constitution in Action lab, and learn about more resources they could use back in their classrooms. We were pressed for time to begin with, but it became just a furried mess when the group showed up 20 minutes late! We made it through the lab, but it was a hurried one! They were very grateful though for the amount of flexibility we had, and enjoyed the lab. Our third and final special group for the day was a Treasure Vault tour!! Charlie needed a few interns to help show documents to a group of high schoolers, and I jumped at the chance! I got to hold and see up close an original (yes THE REAL THING!!) letter written by Thomas Jefferson to Congress about the Lewis and Clark expedition. I also got to show the original political cartoon that marked President Theodore Roosevelt with the teddy bear icon, and the only remaining copy of Mad Magazine comic book, Issue #1. It was just a great afternoon!

Friday was a double lab day. One lab is enough to keep you occupied for the day, so to have two makes for a busy day! We had close to 50 7th graders come through that day, and they really enjoyed learning in this sense. One commented that this was cooler than just being back in school. I'm sure the gloves, magnify glasses, and lab coats don't help in that aspect at all.

Saturday I spent my day down by the Potomac River in Old Town Alexandria. Unlike Washington DC, which grew up following the Civil War, Alexandria, VA was built up in the mid 18th century and was a pivotal town during the American Revolution and Civil War. Today the town has been preserved in its 18th century splendor, with lots of row houses and really unique shops and restaurants. It was a beautiful day to be out wandering and I came across some really neat stores. I also sat down by the riverside and read my book, which was one of the most peaceful things I have done yet. I have attached some pictures from my time down in Alexandria below. Today is my final tourist day in DC, so I will be spending it watching America's pastime: baseball. The Nationals are playing the Milwaukee Brewers, and they won yesterday, so I'm hoping that they will do the same. :)

George Washington Masonic Memorial

Looking out into the river

Christ Church- Both Washington and Robert E Lee attended church and had pews here

Sailors Row

One of the most picturesque places in Alexandria

A few ferry's in the harbor

Alexandria town hall filled with an early morning farmers market

Cramming

2010-04-14T14:13:00.000-07:00

Two weeks to go! Things are strangely seeming to slow down, which is completely different than what I am used to. Normally, during this time of the spring college students are frantically trying to finish all of their course work, but this spring has been smooth sailing... so far

Monday was a really quiet day at work; President Obama scheduled a Nuclear Summit conference in DC the past two days, so a lot of people worked from home the beginning of this week. This meant that I was scrambling around picking up all the little loose ends in the office! No matter though, it kept me very busy, and is one of the many things all interns get to do at some point! I started on making a database on some of the video conference documents used by the Education staff. I will be no means complete this in the next week and a half, but at least it's a start for the next person to come along and finish. This is also the last week that some of the education staff will be around, so it seems like I am saying goodbye already.

This was the case on Tuesday out at Archives II, as it was my last "normal" day out there. I worked on preservation projects all day, both in the stacks and back in the preservation room. Amongst all of the WWI records I came across a letter sent overseas in the Argonne region of France explaining the new technology of Daylight Savings Time! It was comical to read how strange and serious they were about it! I also had a a file on baseball equipment in the camps in France. There was one company who was so generous as to donate baseball equipment to the troops for their free time and enjoyment while overseas. I can only think that this was a small comfort to those who were fighting so far from home. I also found some interesting documents back in the stacks. It was my last day back amongst all the boxes, which was a little sad. I did come across some interesting Soviet and Cold War records from Bulgaria...

Today's field trip after class was a choice- I decided to go to the National Zoo. It was so nice out to go to the zoo (both the warm weather and small crowd) and many of the animals were out. Sadly, my camera's battery died part way through, so I was not able to get many pictures. They have a wonderful panda exhibit, but only one of their pandas was out, as they other one is currently on pregnancy bedrest. I also watched an octopus each lunch, which was one of the strangest things I have ever seen! I have added the few pictures that I was able to get below. The rest of the week is going to be crazy with 3 labs in 2 days, but I guess that's what happens when you try to cram a bunch in in a short amount of time.

Lists

2010-04-10T16:43:00.000-07:00

I am counting down the days until I return back to Minnesota. (13 left!) With this countdown comes lots of lists: to do lists, packing lists, grocery lists, summer reading lists. My list of things to get done at work in the next two weeks is slowly shrinking, which I am a little sad about. I am going to miss the life of an intern, and even more working at the National Archives.

I am in the final steps of completing my Civil War project! All of the pages have been organized, printed, indexed, researched, and put in binders. There are three binders too!! (We were only expecting one, so this has been a HUGE project!) All that is left now is printing off all the introduction pages, and then it's off to the Resource Room for the public to use! Hopefully I will be able to get into the exhibit and at least see part of it before I leave, seeing as I have been working with these documents for so long now.

Friday I was at Archives II, where I learned that we finally got through all of the Brazilian consulate records back in the stacks! Cassie and I have been working on these since January, so it's nice to move to a different part of the world. Currently, we are going through the British West Indies (Antigua and Barbados) consulate records. So far there hasn't been anything too interesting, but I am sure there is some pirate map or hidden treasure in there somewhere! I also went back into the stacks for some presidential assassination research. I spent the afternoon going through the Lynette Fromme files from her attempted assassination on Gerald Ford. She was a member of the Charles Manson clan, so there were some creepy things in that file! I found some good court case papers though, which will be used for a video conference lessons.

Normally I don't work on Saturdays, but this week I did. There were people everywhere, just like last weekend! I was in the Resource Room the whole day, so I spent most of my time showing people ARC and the Declaration. There was the annual Cherry Blossom Parade right outside the Archives this morning, so people flocked into the museum once that was finished. In the meantime though, I sat by the huge window and watched it. There was also a large block party/fair on the other side of the building, which made getting home a bit difficult. The people who came into the RR today too were all about family roots for some reason! I feel like I should wear a sign around my neck that says " This is not a research/ geneology center. This is a Resource Room". O well, I have gotten really really good at using Ancestry, Heritage Quest, and Footnote. So, if anyone needs a hand with genealogical research, I'm your girl!

Seasons of...

2010-04-07T17:42:00.000-07:00

It's a little crazy that I have only been here for 12 weeks, and I have seen all four season in Washington DC. This week has been summer, with temperatures reaching into the 90's. I feel like I should be in a band uniform marching somewhere!!

Monday was pretty quiet day in comparison to last week at the Archives. I am getting into the final steps of my Civil War notebook, which is exciting! I thought I wouldn't get it all done, but it looks like it will be. The tourist levels were fairly low too, which was nice, since it's much easier to help people when they're aren't as many of them.

Tuesday I spent the day in downtown DC rather than the University of Maryland, as the department took the interns out for lunch! We went to Matchbox, which has some of the best pizza around. After lunch, we were sent on the mission of all missions for interns: getting donuts. :) I guess it had to happen at some point!

Wednesday was full of field trips! Our last class for Art was at the Phillips Collection, where we had a discussion on Washington modern art. Then we had a briefing with the NCIS as an introduction to the Spy Museum, which was our next stop. There are some crazy things that go on in the US intelligence agencies around here- like DC has the highest capita of spies in the world...I'll have to remember that the next time I'm at the grocery store.

The Spy Museum was great! The only bad thing was the heat and humidity that seeped into the museum making everyone sticky and warm. The exhibits had a bunch of gadgets from James Bond, as well as actually spy materials used during World War II and the Cold War. They had stations throughout the exhibit to see if you could handle being a spy- I didn't pass the test though. O well, I always seem to be the last person to figure out when people are planning something without me, so being a Bond girl (or a spy) is not for me.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T17:30:00.000-07:00

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier- Arlington

White House- all set up for the Easter Egg Roll

Mom and Dad looking at all the Cherry Blossoms

Lincoln's booth at Ford's Theater

Michelle Obama's inauguration gown at the Smithsonian

Cherry Blossoms! :)

Jefferson Memorial with Cherry Blossoms- and thousands of people

Whew! Those have been the four busiest days since I got here! My family came out to visit me over their Easter vacation, and we have been (and probably walked) all over the city. Let me back up a bit...

Thursday I was in work way too early in the morning, so I would have a chance to join my family when they got here in the afternoon. They got here by the afternoon, just in time for a huge tour of the Archives. After explaining to them over the phone for the past three months, it was nice to be able to show them what I was doing (and exactly what an archivist is). All of my family are history buffs, so it was nice to show them everything I have found; it was so great to seem them excited about what I do. After that we took the large monument loop and headed back downtown for dinner.

The next day we spent around the Capitol grounds. Since it was Easter vacation, the height of the Cherry Blossom season, and it was 80 degrees out, everyone was out and about in DC. We caught two of the three branches of government, and then finished off with the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. My brother was hard to drag out of there!!

Saturday we went to a bunch of museums, and down to the Tidal Basin for all the Cherry Blossoms. It was part of the peak time, so there were people everywhere. It was worth going to see them at that time though, they were georgeous. I have added some pictures of the blossoms, so you can get a little glimpse of them. Since this was the peak weekend, the Cherry Blossom festival had it's annual fireworks show on Saturday night. They were fantastic out on the riverfront, especially with a little bit of seafood mixed in with it!

Today were finished up the grand tour of DC with a stop at the White House Visitors Center and Ford's Theater. It rounded out the three branches that we started with on Friday. We also walked down to Arlington Cemetary in the what turned out to be hot weather! We had a Mexican themed Easter Sunday dinner, which was a little strange, but very tasty! Then it was time to say goodbye to my family, as they have to get back to Minnesota for work and school tomorrow.

Only a couple weeks until I return home to MN. There are still a few things that I want to do before I leave, and a pile of work and homework to finish, but this is what college students do best; pushing through to the end.

What's your story?

2010-03-31T14:58:00.000-07:00

Mankato, MN paper headlines for the day- in Washington DC

The television studio for ABC's This Week

The Microphones that FDR used in his first Fireside Chat- Notice the WTOP one; that is still a radio station in the DC area today

The Intolerable Acts- I wrote a research paper on these freshman year, so I was so excited to see them in person! :)

The view from the top of the Newseum

Wow....you can tell it's Easter vacation week this week. The Metro is strangely quiet during morning rush hour and there are tourists everywhere! (I'm not kidding about the Metro thing, it was so quiet that I thought I was getting on the wrong train!)

When I came to the Archives on Monday, I was greeted by a line that wrapped around the corner. This line was that long for the rest of the day! I spent my morning in the Resource Room, where I barely had time to sit down, there were so many people in there! I did get to help some really cool people though. One group was two Vietnam veterans, who told me a crazy story about submarine chases across the Arctic Ocean with Soviets. I also had a family come in looking for documents on Pearl Harbor as one of their kids was doing a project on it, and I was able to show him how to find over 100 documents for his school project. There was another family with a teacher in the group who was so thankful for the introduction I gave to her about the educational resources we have for classroom use.

Because it was so busy in the morning, I basically hid in the afternoon so I could get some work done! I am now halfway through the Civil War notebook, which is right on track, as I have only 3 weeks left out here!

Tuesday I was out at A II again. I did my normal routine of document preservation, and came across some cool passport application files and a list of all the American citizen foreign births in Brazil during World War II.

Today's field trip was to the Newseum, the newest musuem in Washington DC. We got an inrotduction to the museum from one of my classmates, who is an intern there. There is a fantastic view of Washington DC from the top of the building, which is where we started. This is one of the best places to view the Presidential Inauguration parade, as it is right on Pennsylvania Avenue. From there, we went through a bunch of exhibits all about the news. The TV studio for ABC's This Week is in the building, so I got a picture of that. There was also remenants from the Berlin Wall, 9/11, and wartime journalism. On the way out, there is a large exhibit that has all the headlines for the nation for that day, and what paper do I run into but the Mankato paper!

Tomorrow will be a very early morning at work. My family is coming to visit me for Easter, and I am taking them through the Archives tomorrow. I hope it's not as busy as it has been this past week!

New Friends, Old Stories

2010-03-28T11:44:00.000-07:00

Union Station

Interior of a Mail Car

So the past two days at work have seemed a bit like deja vu for me. We have had a new intern (E) join the group on Wednesday, and since the coordinator has been out of town for the week, she has been my buddy for the week. Luckily my training was not all that long ago, and it has been really nice to have someone the same age to work with. Hopefully she will be able to navigate her way through ARC and the building without getting lost.

On Thursday I had what might just be the quietest lab group yet! They did such a great job working through the Constitution, and even had their parents excited about the lab! E observed the lab, and was thrilled that she was going to be doing this for the next 10 weeks. I also finally (finally!) finished one of my videoconference research projects. The Cold War file is now much thicker than it was before, and hopefully it will be of use for many years in the future.

Friday was a Resource Room day for me. With the Cherry Blossom festival starting this weekend, I expected it to be really busy, but it wasn't. I had a wonderful family come in with their 91 year old grandfather, who is a WWII veteran. I showed him how to retreive his personell records from the Archives, and then listened to a few of his war stories. They were wonderful to listen to; I wish that others would take the time to listen to these tales, they are a dying art.

Sadly, as the semester is coming to a close, there are assignments piling up! This means that Saturday was a homework day; pretty boring for my blog, but I did get things accomplished!

Today I needed to get out of the house, so I went to the Smithsonian Postal Museum and Union Station. It is a smaller Smithsonian museum, but by no means a bad one. There was a great exhibit about Victory Mail during World War II, and a larger exhibit about the development of the postal system, with the Pony Express and Airmail included. This musuem is a little off the beaten path, so I hope that other visitors to the DC area get a chance to peek in here.

Union Station is a mix between a shopping mall and old town promendade. It is where the DC Amtrak lines come in, and it is one of the oldest train stations in the country. I have not been in a mall in almost 3 months, so it was refreshing to walk around in one! :) Once my little excursion was over, it was time to get back to the books. Next week is Easter, and my family is coming out to visit! I am excited to show them DC now that is a bit more familiar than when I left them 3 months ago.

War Time Research

2010-03-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

The Cherry Blossoms are on their way ! On my way to work this past Monday, I saw a few blossoms peeking out. By this afternoon, though, many of the buds were out in full glory, along with many of the trees! The National Parks Service says that the peak of the blooming should be on Easter weekend, which is perfect because that's when I have vacation!

So far work this week has been fairly quiet. I have caught a nasty cold this past week, so a calmer schedule was perfect. Monday I spent most of my time preparing a file on Cold War documents for Dave to use in a bunch of upcoming video conferences. Before I started this project, I only knew the basics of this time period, but I have a much better handle on it after a few hours doing research.

Tues I was out at Archives II, also doing research, but on a different war. I was given a mission to look up information pertaining to the Lost Battallion of the 107th and 108th Infantries from World War I. I spent the afternoon going through four boxes of papers, I ended up with way more information than I needed, which was a good problem to have. Just like my time doing research on Monday, I am into this project knowing the basics of the battle and ended up not only finding what I was looking for, but actually learned a lot. I think I can finally say that I know how to do research at the Archives, which is actually a long process!

I also snapped some pictures of WWI research going on at Archives II for my scrapbook. Check it out!

This morning our field trip was to Eastern Market, to look at different styles of Row Houses behind Capitol Hill. They range from the late 18th century to the early 20th century, and are designed in a variety of styles. I have added some pictures from this historic neighborhood to this blog for you to check out- enjoy!

Historic Neighborhood

Have you exercised your rights as an American citizen today?

2010-03-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

There is so much going on in Washington this weekend; the Metro was packed with people all day!!

It's really exciting to be in the nation's capitol when such historic legislation (by this I mean the health care vote tomorrow) going on! While the Hill was bustling with people preparing for this vote, there were thousands of tourists, runners, and protesters bustling about.

There are 5 different protests going on this weekend: 1. End the Iraq War 2. Tea Party 3. Anti- Healthcare 4. Pro-Healthcare and 5. Immigration Rally. There was also the National Marathon this morning and it's the nicest weekend since last fall, which has brought all the tourists and locals outside (including what seems to be the entire state of Texas; they have spring break this week).

Of course, I was out and about in DC today, attending the Anti-War protest for one of my classes. I have added some pictures from the protest this afternoon. I have never attended a protest on the large of a scale before, so the experience I had is something I can compare to what protests were like during the hippie era. There were some strange people chanting and running around, but many of the protesters are just average citizens using their protected rights as Americans to tell Congress and President Obama their dislike of the Iraq War. The protest was held at Layfayette Park, which is right across from the White House. Overall, it was interesting to be a part of something so large and important, and part of something I have never experienced before.

Following the protest, I went to the Daughters of the American Revolution museum to take a look at their exhibits. They have a bunch of period rooms, ranging from the early 17th century to the mid 20th century. It takes a special person to appreciate these displays, but I thought they were great!

On top of all the excitement going on in DC this weekend, it is in the upper 70's here, which means that I can't help but be outside as much as possible! I'm sad to say this, but I think that I will be going back in seasons when I get back to MN, which is a sad, sad thought.

Tudor Room in the DAR

Maine Room- early 19th century

Furniture from the White House- Monroe Era

Protesters getting ready to march- note the street hockey game going on in front of them, which is in front of the White House!

One of the signs

Protesters in front of the White House

A Day in the Life of an Intern

2010-03-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

So after being in DC for two months, I think the time has come for the coveted blog post on what a typical day for me is. One note though, the nature of my internship makes my tasks and duties vary significantly from day to day, so the following schedule is a compilation of a few different days.

6:15 am- Alarm clock. Yes, it's ridiculously early.

7:15 am- my morning commute begins. Instead of having a a 5 minute walk to class, I have a half hour commute- on a good day. My commute though is fairly simple compared to others that I work with. It's about a 10 minute walk to the metro, a 10 minute metro ride (on only one rail line) and then another 10 minute walk. By the time I get to work, the sun is just coming up, which means that I get to see the sunrise every morning. So nice.

8 am- morning meeting with a few of the members of the Ed department. This is very informal, and just involves stopping by someone's cubicle to see what they have going on for the day. Some days I get specific tasks, and other days they have already emailed me what they need for the day.

8:15-10:00 am- This is my research time. Every day I seem to be working on something different, and past examples include creating and then typing lesson plans, working on index and introduction pages for the newest MASSIVE exhibit, Discovering the Civil War, and just doing research for upcoming video conferences. Every once in awhile I have a meeting, but normally not this early in the morning.

10:00 am- Resource Room time. I spend time in the Resource helping the public learn more about what the Archives has, and how they can access it. People normally either shy away from it, or dive right in. The ones who do jump right in (especially kids) are the best ones to come in!

12:30- Grab lunch quick! Now that it's getting nice out, eating outside is a nice break and a chance to get outside.

1:00 pm- Normally I have taken the afternoon labs, if there are any. These normally take about 2 hours to go through the workshop and then a short tour of the Archives. Sometimes in the afternoon though, I will have a Trolley Tour, which is an hour long tour of the Archives for junior high students.

3;30 pm- By the time the lab is finished and cleaned up, I head back down to my desk to finish up my research for the day, or to work on tasks that I did not finish from the morning. If I put in a pull slip for research earlier in the day, I go up to the reading room to pull records and do research.

4:30 pm- Done for the day. Just another half hour commute back to Rosslyn and then it's dinner and homework time for the rest of the night.

Like I said earlier, my day really varies on if there are tours, meetings, labs, or special events going on that day. Hopefully for those of you who wanted to know more details about what I do are satisfied with this breakdown. Basically, it's one third in the public area giving tours and labs, one thrid doing research, and one third in the Resource room.

So What's the Second Largest federal building in DC?

2010-03-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

Anyone, Anyone?? Well it happens to be the Archives building in College Park, MD, on the University of Maryland campus. It really is huge, and I get to work there once a week. What's better, I get to do preservation work here, which really gets at what the Archives is all about.

There are two different types of preservation work that I do at Archives II (the nickname for this building). The first one is called collections management, and I am specifically working with World War I military records. I go through page by page and assess the amount of damage that the record has. Many of them are folded or creased, others have rusty pins and paper clips attached to them. What I do is smooth out documents, remove old clips and pins and then replace them with new ones, put those who are in serious damage into special preservation folders, and refer really worn documents to special preservation archivists. Most of these records look as if they have never seen the face of daylight since they were made over 90 years ago, which is a little disappointing to a historian, but it is really cool to be the first one to read some of these records since they were created! Today, for instance, I was working with records of discharged soldiers, many of whom wanted to return to their native countries in Europe to see relatives.

The second area of preservation that I help with is in the stacks, doing preliminary preservation work. Specifically, the records that I work with are South American Consulate records from World War II. Once again I go box by box, but not record through record this time, and assess the condition of the records. Some are in excellent condition, but others are covered in mold, soot from fires, or are torn or out of order. Should any of these be the case, they are referred to an archivist for preservation. Many of the records that I have come across are bound in volumes, some of which are in good condition, and others that are not. I don't get as much time to looking through these records, but I have come across many classified records, some of which are still so secret that they have been pulled from the file. The best document that I have found so far though, are secret codes from WWII from Brazilian spies! I felt like I was 10 years old again! Hopefully there will be more treasure to find amongst the shelves in the few weeks I have left here; I'll keep my eyes open for more good records on the loose!

Civil War Project

2010-03-12T15:34:00.000-08:00

So it has been over a week since I last blogged on my internship, but it has been more on the low key basis than previous weeks. My newest project is designing a binder that will contain all the documents that will be on display for the newest exhibit, Discovering the Civil War, opening in April. This massive project includes finding the right citation and background information on the document, and then pairing it with the educational resources that we have available that would be connected to that document. I think it's safe to say that this project will take up a lot of the remainder of time that I am here, as there are a few hundred documents to go through!

Like I said in my previous posting, the tourist pace has picked up significantly in the past two weeks. With more people comes more time spent giving tours and being in the Resource Room. By the end of today, I am averaging about 3 tours a week, which is much higher than it was in January! It's not a bad thing to do though, and now that I know my way around more and just know more information about the Archives in general, I am really enjoying sharing all my knowledge with those who come to visit.

The lab schedule, which was completely mixed up last month because of the blizzard, is also starting to fill up. As I continue to do these though, I am getting better at training all the little Archivists, and have even figured out how to put a little spin on the job for them!

This week at Archives II in College Park, I helped with the Volunteer Association meeting for the month. We had a really informative discussion about using DNA in genealogical research, which has only recently been a hot topic. I also helped out with more preservation management of WWI records, which is another one of my ongoing projects.

Well last weekend was sunny, and warm, and filled with lots of activities with Ryan being here. This weekend though looks to be cold and rainy and a little bit more laid back. This is not a bad thing though, as long as you have things to keep you occupied!

Tour Guide

2010-03-12T15:10:00.001-08:00

Now that we are getting into tourist season in Washington DC, there is a large increase in the amount of people coming to the National Archives. I am partly to blame for this, as my boyfriend Ryan came to visit me for the week. We tried cramming in as many sites as possible, and I think we did a pretty good job of getting around. The first day he was here we visited the Air and Space Musuem, Library of Congress, the Capitol, and the Botanical Gardens. Ryan was like a 10 year old in a candy store looking at all the machinery in the Air and Space museum, which I have no clue about, but he did teach me some good information on it. We also found an old Irish pub that afternoon and ate lunch there in honor of St. Patrick's Day!

The next day we went back to the Botanical Gardens (yes there are that awesome to go back twice!), along with the National Gallery of Art and National Archives. I gave my huge spiel at the Archives, which I'm not sure if he got or not, but that's ok. The National Gallery of Art was our favorite place of the day, as we didn't even plan on going there, but ended up spending over 5 hours in just one of the buildings! Thank you for the tip Carolina! I think Ryan is quickly becoming an art historian though, as he spent some of his time wandering around the building with guide book in hand. :) Of course, a great way to end the night was some cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory!

The last day he was here we went to a bunch of the monuments (Lincoln, Washington, Vietnam, Korean, World War II) . It was absolutely wonderful out, which was perfect because we walked at least 4 miles around DC. After the big monument loop, we went back to the National Gallery of Art, and then off to the White House and Chinatown!

Just as soon as Ryan came though, he had to leave. No worries though, it was all smiles while he was here, and my family will be here in just three weeks and in time for the Cherry Blossom Festival!

Old Friends, New Projects

2010-03-03T15:53:00.000-08:00

Oh how fun it is to have friends come and visit!

One of my closest friends from my younger years came for two days to visit DC and me :), and to look at some grad school programs out here. She arrived on Sunday afternoon, just in time for some fantastic sunshine (sorry MN folks!) and lots of tour time. We visited almost all of the major monuments and the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. Even though I have only been in DC for about 7 weeks now, it was strange to be showing someone else my new city. No matter though, it was very nice to have her come and visit, and good practice for when others come to DC while I am here. Thanks Melissa!

Monday was actually a slower day at work. The snow of 2010 is finally behind us enough that things are getting back in order and I am now done with all of my training! My last one was on Monday morning, when I led a group of teachers in a professional development workshop on the Constitution lab and digital resources the Archives has. They were very impressed with the materials and how much was accessible to them! I also got the go-ahead to work on labs as an official Archivist Trainer independently, which completes my official assimilation into my internship. I have had many people in the Archives ask if I was going to become a teacher someday, and they seem to be shocked when I say "Not exactly...".

The rest of my afternoon was actually somewhat "teacher-ish" (if that's a word), as I worked in the ReSource Room with a bunch of little kids, and writing lesson plans. Interesting....

Tuesday I was at Archives II, working on some new, but really awesome projects. Unlike the Volunteer program at Archives I, the group out at College Park works a lot on preservation work, which I got to help with. I was working with World War I records, going through and making sure that these records were still in good enough condition that the public can access them. It is similar to my work with the Brazilian consulate records, only much more in depth. I came across some personal records from Fort Ripley, MN, which is so close to my hometown! These were men who who from my area fighting for their country, and here I was, making sure that their lives in the records would be preserved. The afternoon was even better, as I was sent on a mission to find a letter written by the US ambassador to Greece to the Secretary of State in 1868. Not only did I get to go into the microfilm room ( I know, very cool, but very nerdy), but I also got to go back into the stacks and pull the letter myself! It was so special to see the ACTUAL record, written in ink, upon the many pages of this man's journal.

Today our fieldtrip was to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, which I had gone to before, four years ago. After taking some classes in modern European history, especially my Hitler's Germany, I had a very different experience this time around. It was still very profound and deeply meaning to me, but in a much different sense than the first time I was there. I encourage all who come to Washington to visit this museum, it is an experience unlike any other institution.

Fanning the Flames

2010-02-28T06:13:00.000-08:00

So I think I have learned the rule in the buisness world: Fanning the flames is something that interns do everyday to keep things running smoothly. This week was no exception to that rule!

Thursday I spent most of my time "fanning the flames". This is intern lingo for running around fixing little things and keeping things running smoothly.First, I learned and then mastered the computer graphic design program, InDesign by creating a booklet/scavenger huunt for the Polar Exploration Family Day on Saturday. At first I wanted to throw the computer out the window because I was so frustrated with the program, but after a few hours I had my booklet completed! There were more computer issues too with a few letters that I was editing, but "fanning the flames" on that one turned out successful as I tracked down IT and got the computer fixed and the letters finished.

Friday I was in the lab all day fanning more flames and figuring out more problems.The morning session went very well, with only one computer mishap, but the afternoon was no so smooth. Our second lab group showed up a half hour late, and then only came with 6 of the 22 students we were expecting. Missing one or two people is not really and issue, but the lab is supposed to have a minimum of 18 students, not 6. This left us scrambling as we tried to adjust it to not only fit the numbers we had, but the students (they were preparing for the national competition of We the People). It actually turned out well; the students understood our main message and now know how to doing primary source analysis on historical documents.

By the time Saturday rolled around, I was tired. But, it was Polar Exploration Family Day and all of my work this week was about to pay off. It turns out that it went really well. The kids loved all the pictures that we found of Robert Peary going to the North Pole, especially the penguin pictures! I also headed up story time throughout the afternoon with a tale about Peary's daughter Marie, who spent much of her childhood in the Arctic. The Resource Room was a busy place all afternoon, as it should be, and many of the parents had no idea that this resource was available to them. Hopefully some of them will return in the future, with their children, to learn more about history.

Today one of my best friends from Wadena, Melissa, is coming in for a few days to look at some graduate schools. We're heading out to the monuments this afternoon- it is going to be so nice to have some old friends out here!

Conquering New Heights

2010-02-25T16:15:00.000-08:00

I apologize for this being a later than normal blog post. While it seems like it had been a normal week, it has gone by fast.

Monday was the quietest day of the week. I spent most of my day in the ReSource Room helping out a bunch of families find World War II records (which were really popular for some reason) and writing lesson plans for the two activities the Duke group participated in the previous week. This is my first time writing out official lesson plans, which is a bit nerve-wracking, but after a lot of review on the formatting of them, and developing my content to fit this template, they are in the process of review.

Tuesday I was out at Archives II for a full day!! No snow in the way this time! Most of my day was spent back in Stack 350, working on the Brazilian Embassy records. After working on this for three weeks, I am able to figure out what city is on the coast and what city is in the jungle based on how much mold there is on the records! I wish I could take some photos of the stack area and some of the records I work with, but it would be compromising the preservation of the records. It's funny, some of the archivists who have been back in these records before have actually left little notes on the boxes warning people about the deterioration of the records. This is precisely why I am working on this, to save these one-of-a-kind documents before they are destroyed forever.

When I wasn't working with these records or any of my other duties as an intern, I have been developing a scavenger hunt for Saturday, which is a Polar Exploration Family day. After two days, I have the entire thing completed! It took quite a fight with Adobe InDesign, but the booklet is complete and ready for young ones to come and explore. I was a little nervous diving right into this project, since I was basically on my own with this one, but I am hopeful that it will turn out to be a success.

Wednesdays' field trip marked the beginning of the museum extravaganza! Our first stop in this was the Museum of Crime and Punishment, a new museum on the Washington DC scene. It was very different and good in terms of content, but the display methods were not totally to my liking. (This is just something that comes out of studying museums, you just pick up on little things.) A few exhibits were on the Old West, the Mob, cold cases, and they even had a full CSI lab. There was also some interactive stations that included a SWAT team simulation and a polygraph test. Once again, very cool content! Next week is a totally different museum, the Holocaust Museum, which should be very somber experience.

Duke and Georgetown

2010-02-21T08:45:00.000-08:00

Well the Duke group on Friday was a success!! There were a few glitches here and there , but overall it went smoothly. Let me start back at the beginning.

Friday was a very crazy day: I had the Duke kids coming in the afternoon, and my first student lab in the morning. The lab went great too! For those of you who are not familiar with it, it is a two hour workshop that students from 5th grade through 12the grade come in to do some in-depth analysis and digging about the Constitution and how it affects their everyday lives. They get a mission from Bob, the White House press secretary who needs information for a campaign on the Constitution in Action. The kids then spent most of their time looking through documents housed at the Archives to find ways that different parts of the Constitution are used everyday. They also look at how certain ideas from the Constitution (like representative government, checks and balances, enumerated powers) are written into the Constitution and then used in these documents. Once they choose one that fits their guidelines best, they create a script and send a message back to Bob about the Constitution in Action, which becomes a part of the press conference material he uses in the end. In addition to all of this, the students learn a little bit about how the National Archives works, and what sorts of research they can do here. Their environment is set up like the reading room in the Archives is, and some of the students even get to don lab coats and go back into a mock-stack area to retrieve the records they will be using. They trip ends then with a quick visit to the Rotunda, where they students get to see the actual documents they have spent all this time working with. It's really a neat experience for all of them, and I really enjoyed helping the students find the right records and then figuring out how they apply. Here is the website if you want more information at all: http://archives.gov/nae/visit/learning-center/learning-center-lab.html

My afternoon then was completely dedicated to the Duke group. Just before they showed up, Missy and I ran into a huge problem with one of the records we were going to use: the VHS tape would not work. Luckily I thought quickly on my feet and looked it up on YouTube, where it was! We ended up using it as a teaching moment; there are many social media places on the internet that can be used for historical research!

The group came right on time, (which is a feat around here) and spent a lot of time in the rotunda learning about the Archives and the documents we have here. I was so relieved that they liked this historical aspects of the Archives; I was worried that they would think it's boring! We then took a stop into the Public Vaults and then it was off to the ReSource Room. The Archivist, David Ferraro (yes , the actual one!) stopped in to introduce himself and thank Missy and I for the work we have done on this project. By this point we were running a bit short on time, so we got right into the stations that we had spent so much time working on. In the end, we only got through two stations, and even then the students seemed liked they felt a little rushed. They did enjoy them though and got the point that there are many scientific resource here, not just historical ones. Their teachers were very appreciative too of all we had done to accommodate them, and the students were very polite and thankful for the program we had made for them. Even my boss was impressed with all the work I had put into all of this, including the last minute technology glitch. It was a great day. :)

Yesterday I spent a lot of time outside, since it was fantastic out! (As I write this, it's 50 and sunny out-there is even patches of green grass!) I went to the Navy Memorial for a volunteer meeting for the DC International Film Festival that's coming up. Once that was over, I went down to the shops at Georgetown with a few friends for some vintage clothing shopping. We only found one shop, but we went into some crazy expensive stores! I also found Georgetown Cupcake, which is supposed to be fantastic and has a show coming up on TLC.

Next week is looking like more research time for me, as well as more labs. As we get into the tourist season (which starts in just a few weeks) the Archives is getting ready for the thousands of people that will walk into their doors to see their government's most basic workings. Should be interesting...

This is one of the letters the students look at while in the lab. It's a pretty funny presidential letter actually!

Georgetown Cupcakes!

Some of the shops at Georgetown

Grease Lightning!

2010-02-18T16:34:00.000-08:00

So I know that the title of this blog is completely dedicated to the musical Grease, which does have a part in this. But is also is partially talking about the federal government getting back into the gears of a normal workday. Almost two weeks after the first snowflakes, things are still not back to what they were. The metro is so over-packed that you're lucky if you get on the first train, and even more lucky if the train doesn't break down. I was not so lucky this morning, but that's life for you.

The Archives also needs some "Grease" to get back on track. I spent most of Tuesday (since Monday was President's Day) rescheduling appointments and presentations, while at the same time preparing for the VIP group coming at the end of the week. There was one group of teachers in for professional development that made it in. It was the first time that I was able to get into the Learning Lab with actual people! Even though it was a modified lab, it was such a great experience; I am looking forward to tomorrow's lab when we have actual students!!

Wednesday was a night out on the town for the LCWS students. We went to Grease on Broadway at the National Theater. It was awesome! The cast was full of American Idol alumni, including Ace Young and Taylor Hicks. I have a few pictures from the play below. I have been aGrease fan since I was young, so it was great being able to sing along to the songs. Taylor even did an encore solo presentation! I will say that I was a bit tired this morning going into work, but it was totally worth it.

Tomorrow is the big day- the Duke group is coming, and we will finally get to see if all of our planning was worth it. It's also my shot to prove myself as a contributing staff member; I hope all goes well! Wish me luck!

Encore concert by Taylor Hicks

Taylor Hicks as Teen Angel- He cam out of an ice cream cone!

Everyone is so into their programs!

Summer Nights

Grease Lightning!! :)

Museum Mania!

2010-02-14T15:03:00.000-08:00

This weekend has been a whirlwind of museums! I managed to fit five different stops in two days!

Saturday: Natural History Museum and Smithsonian Castle

The Natural History Museum was crazy on Saturday! I guess it might be from the pent up feeling those living around Washington have had in the past week. The museum is definately one of my favorites so far- I feel like I'm betraying my fellow American history buffs on this one, but it's truly a great place. There's the hall of Mammals, Ocean Hall, Dinosaur Hall, and rows upon rows of jewels, rocks, and gems. I was able to snap shots of a few pictures within these exhibits, but they are just something else in person. The castle is a bit more of a visitor center, but there were a few exhibits that show the highlights of all 19 museums the Smithsonian runs.

Sunday: The National Museum of the American Indian, The US Botanical Gardens, and the Freer gallery of Art

The American Indian Museum is the newest on the mall, and is completely different than any other one I have been in. Tribes from all over North and South America planned the musuem, allowing the visitor to get a glimpse on how they see the changes in their ways of life in the past 600 years. There was no covering up what the government did wrong, rather it is placed right next to all the triumphs that native people have accomplished. The coolest part of this museum was the programming that was going on: chocolate!! Since it was Valentine's Day, the musuem had a full array of programs and stations about the native treat. It was so neat to go through the process of making chocolate and to see the many ways you can cook with it!

My next stop was at the Botanical Gardens, which was the best place to go on a chilly winter day! They have an exhibit right now about orchids, which is my favorite flower, and I could've spent hours in there, had it not been for my sore feet. The conservatory had sections on rainforest, desert, endangered species, and even a place on medicinal herbs. I plan on going back there again- it was just fantastic!

On my way home, I stopped by the Freer Gallery to peer in on one of the best art rooms in the country: The Peacock room. I think the pictures speak for themselves, but the Peacock Room is somewhere that I have been reading about since I was little. It was actually partly a mistake; the designer asked for a small leeway in his creativity; and then took off as he painted the ceilings and walls with golden peacocks. It is quite a site to see. :)

Peacock Room

Told you it was awesome!

Tropical Rainforest

In Hawaii :)

Some early Cherry Blossoms

Orchids at the Botanical Gardens

Cacao pods and chocolate beans

Making Mexican hot chocolate

In the Natural History Museum- so adorable

Sant Ocean Hall- with a whale hanging from the ceiling

My favorite- anyone want to guess how much it's worth?

the "Cursed" Hope Diamond

The T-Rex from Night at the Museum

Natural History Museum

Back to Normal...sort of

2010-02-12T16:30:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day back since our monster snowfalls this past Friday and Tuesday. Just as Washington was all shoveled out, we got about 10 more inches of snow. I am happy to report though, that there is no large snowstorms in the future. For those of you back in Fargo, we have surpassed your yearly snowfall record by almost a foot. Take that!

Since I was snowed in all week, it was pretty mundane few days. I caught up on all my television shows, finished all my homework, and even took a few naps! By Thursday evening, though, I had full blown cabin fever and was ready to get out. The entire city was shut down most of the week, including all public transportation, so the Federal Government was closed.

This morning, though, the weather had cleared enough for everyone to go back to work. Today we had about half of the Education team in running the ship. Most of the day was spent trying to reschedule all that had been missed this past week, and the other half was just a normal day.

I finally (!) got into the research rooms too today! It is quite the process getting the records you want, and involves many loopholes (pull slips, finding aids, ARC, and the Reading Room). The good news: I found what I was looking for (in a police report talking about James Garfield's assassination). The bad news: Only one record of the three I got ended up being helpful and I have no pictures to show, as cameras are restricted in certain areas at the Archives. O well, I guess that happens during research!

Next week, I hope to go more into the research areas and dig up more information about Presidential assassinations. The Duke group will also be here on Friday, and with plans still running smoothly, despite the weather, I hope that the stations I put together will be beneficial and eye opening to the students!

Let it Snow! - Part Duex

2010-02-07T07:47:00.000-08:00

So I think that I spoke a bit too soon on the past blog about snow... I'm sure that there was some blip on the news where you are about the 30+ inches of snow we got in less than 48 hours. I have been snowed in since Friday afternoon, and am going a bit stir crazy, hence the reason why this blog might be long.

The end of the week at the Archives brought with it some success. I am finally making progress in my lesson plans, which are to be presented in just a few weeks. I helped develop a briefing book that the students will use to write their discoveries about the Archives, and then take home as a keepsake.

On Thursday morning, I went up to Capitol Hill to sit in on a Congressional hearing from the House's Education and Labor committee. After starting almost an hour late ( I am realizing that nothing seems to run on time with the Federal Government) the hearing got underway and only lasted a half hour! They passed legislation on restraining children in schools, both to protect the students and give their teachers the training they need. The whole process of a committee was so different than what I have ever seen on C-SPAN. There were people running in and out, casting their vote and then moving on to their next appointment. It seemed a little rude and trivial for voting on an actual piece of legislation. Never the less, I am glad that our government allows us to witness this important process in forming law.

By the time Friday rolled around, people were in terror over the snow. The night before I went to the grocery store, and waited in line almost twice as long as I normally would. They had not run out of anything when I got there, but my roommates missed out on some essential supplies because they went later in the evening. Only three staff members out of ten were at work on Friday morning and we closed down by noon. All federal employees were given a semi-snow day and were allowed to leave four hours early.

Once I got home, I was snowed in for the next 36 hours. I spent most of Saturday catching up on homework and watching a marathon of movies. I almost felt like I was back home again, as the flakes fell. I even longed for the chance to go outside and shovel or make a snowman!

Today, people are shoveling out. Most of the main roads are plowed, but still very icy. The sky is clear and sunny, but heaps of snow are everywhere. I have added a few pictures of this storm, including a tree that fell on my apartment building! Forecasters say that it's supposed to snow again in the coming week- who knows how long of a work week this will turn out to!

Let it Snow!

2010-02-02T17:53:00.000-08:00

Iwo Jima Memorial

Georgetown game where Dr. Joyner played

Snow!

So, one of the first things I was told when I came to DC was that when it comes to the weather, natives of the area do not know how to deal with snow. I laughed at first when I heard this, since there are people back in Minnesota who have no clue how to drive in the snow, but people were not kidding when they told me this! I had my first experience in the snow on Saturday, when the metro area got about 6 inches of it. I have attached some pictures here to show some of it. I went to the grocery store that morning and it was hilarious to see people try and drive through it! Or even worse, dress for it! There were some with umbrellas, which did no good since it was also windy out. There were some who were bundled up in multiple layers, save for their eyes and it wasn't even that cold out! (By that I mean it was like 20 degrees above 0, a heat wave where I am from!) The best thing I observed though, were the looks I got from people as I ventured out in a coat and mittens. I laughed as the stared and then just shook their heads at me.

Because of the snow, there wasn't much of a chance to get out and see DC. So, instead I spent some time seeing more of the Rosslyn area. I went to a Georgetown basketball game with a few friends and watched our dean, Dr. Nancy Joyner play in an exhibition basketball game. She is a member of a traveling senior league, and it was so fun to see a different side of her. On Sunday, I went out and visited the Iwo Jima Memorial, which is just steps away from my apartment. I had been here before a few years ago when I was last in DC, but it looked totally unique with the snow dripping from it.

In terms of the Archives the past two days, it has dimmed down a bit as I have more independent work to do. I started a project on curriculum development on scientific innovations through history. Whew!- that's quite a mouthful. Let's just say that it so far has been a great way to jump right into research at the Archives. Today, I was back at Archives II in the stacks playing the role of a preservation archivist. I got to look through books and books of World War II embassy files. Some of these were a bit dull, but others were espionage files, filled with old codes and locks! Some of these records had not even been opened since they were placed there almost 40 years ago. Who knows what's in those boxes!

As I write this, DC is bracing for a second snowstorm of the week. People were on edge once again, trying to leave work early, and prepare for the worst should they not be able to make it into work. I tried not to laugh, but I'm hoping that tomorrow when the snow stops that the federal government doesn't.

Schools in DC

2010-01-30T06:10:00.001-08:00

Dunlap Broadside- the first printed Declaration, made July 4, 1776

Entrance into the Public Vaults- the permanent exhibit of the Archives

Ammendment repealing Prohibition

Bill of Rights

Signatures of the 56 Framers of the Constitution

"We the People..."

The Constitution of the United States

The Actual Declaration of Independence

Rotunda at the National Archives

The Magna Carta

The past two days have been so busy at the Archives. Some people have requested that I take pictures of where I work in the Archives, so they are added below.

Thursday was a trip outside the office, to the Charles Sumner School for the district competition of We the People. There were four different schools represented there, which is double the amount from last year. All of the schools were from the northern part of DC except for Cesar Chavez, which is in the Southeast section and is often times thought of as being one of the worst places to live in DC. These were also the students who I judged last week at their school competition. I sat in on all 6 units of We the People, and got a really good overview of the program. I wish I had a chance at this when I was in high school (and if there are any government teachers reading this, I highly recommend it!). Mary Beth Tinker, who was part of a Supreme Court trial on student's rights had lunch with us, and the representative from DC, Eleanor Holmes Norton, spoke to the students about taxation withouth representation. The best part of the day came when awards were handed out, and Cesar Chavez won, and are going to nationals in April! This is such a wonderful award for them and after seeing their presentations, they deserve it after all the work they put into it. I'm excited to see them compete in April!

On Friday, a new exhibit open at the Archives about Japanese Americans and WWII. We had a lot of people wonder into the ReSource Room asking about it, and especially the Japanese surrender papers. I felt like today was also the beginning of the semester, when you are assigned all your projects for the next three weeks. I have a lot of research and catalouging to do, along with presentations and curriculum building, but it is going to be fantastic.

Friday afternoon I went up into the Treasure Vaults of the Archives, which is where the most important and valuable documents are kept. I was in the Legislative vault, which had been opened for some members of the House Appropriations committee. I saw the first pages of the House journal, which tallies the electoral votes for George Washington, and keeps track of the first details of the House. I saw two of the State of the Union addresses, impeachment papers, poilitical cartoons, the first set of MAD comic books, and some petitions sent to the House. It was the highlight of a great week, and I hope I will be able to go back up there and see a few more things.

Today it is snowing, and people are freaked out about it! I plan on sitting back and watching how the South handles the Northern cold.... :)

So, There's a lot of large buildings around here...

2010-01-27T17:04:00.001-08:00

Well I'm halfway into my second week in my internship and finally getting into the life of a city girl. This past weekend I spent a lot of time at the Smithsonian Musuem of American History, which houses some of the more famous pieces the Smithsonian holds. There's Judy Garland's ruby slippers, Kermit the Frog, the flag that inspired the Star Spangled Banner, and many of the first ladies' inagural ball gowns. I've added some pictures below of what I took, but there are so many more (and probably better quality) at the Smithsonian website.

~Abe Lincoln's Hat

~Kermit

~Trying to be President. It didn't go so well...

~Helen Taft's inaugural ball gown

~ Outside the Museum. The Washington Monument is so close!

Monday morning came soon enough and it was back to the Archives. This week I am wrapping up my orientation meetings and finally getting started on projects. I was in the Resource Room and Learning Lab so far this week, helping students find research pertaining to their interests or a school project. On Tuesday morning, a group of students came in and looked at documents that are from the Treasure Vaults of the Archives. These are originals that are very influential or highly sensitive and are only taken out a few times a year. Some of these include the note that impeached President Andrew Johnson, a working copy of the 13th Ammendment, and the Electoral College votes for the election of 1876. They were amazing and the students were just as intriguied as I was with the documents.

~This is one of the documents we got to see up close!

On Tuesday, I went to the second large facility in the DC area that the National Archives has. It's located about 40 minutes north of downtown DC, on the campus of the University of Maryland at College Park. It is the second largest government office building in the country, and is full of almost 600 miles of record storage shelves! I will be working here (also known as AII) once a week, helping out with archiving and the volunteer program. I went back into the "stacks" and just didn't know where to start! There are so many papers and topics that draw my attention that it might be hard to narrow down to just a few. Once again, I've added some pictures for this, but this time they are courtesy of Google.

~Exterior of Archives II at College Park. It was built around 15 years ago, and unlike Archives I, it was built for this purpose.

~Inside the Archives, in the research rooms

Today was a field trip day again, and this once focused on the military. We visited the Pentagon, and had a tour of the building. It is the largest office building in the US, which makes perfect sense if you have seen it before. Since we could not take any pictues on the premises of the Pentagon, mine come from Google again.

~This is as close of a picture you can get, because of all the security there.

Tomorrow I head back out into the DC schools to help with the district competition of We the People... I'm excited to see what the students have put together and whether they can handle the test of a congressional hearing...

Intern Introductions

2010-01-22T16:39:00.000-08:00

Well the past three days at the National Archives have been such a whirlwind. Case in point, It's not even eight, and I'm yawning and have bags under my eyes. Anyway, I have done a lot over these days, so here are the highlights:

-First I got the grand tour of the place, which includes a brand new National Archives Experience, that houses the Public Vaults, Learning Lab, Resource Room, and other gallery and movie space. This is the place where I will be spending most of my time, if not in my office.

-I had many other tours, ( I think it's around 5 in three days), each led by a different member of the Ed team. It's so interesting to hear each of them speak, as they point out different aspects of the Archives. Hopefully, I will have my unqie tour down soon.

- Orientation, Orientation, Orientation. I have a feeling this will be a long process. Since I am going to be there for an extended period of time, I will be in Orientation awhile. I am almost through it, but next week is still full of it. Most of it involves learning about what the Archives holds, how we get it, where it came from, and what we keep. There are also many building tours, talks with different departments in the building, and computer instruction.

Today was my first day I guess of actually getting to help others and make a difference. This morning I visited the Cesar Chavez Public Charter School for Public Policy up on the Hill. I was there to help judge a competition/ mock congressional hearing that the high school students put on. Using their resources from the Center for Civic Education and their textbooks, each group prepared a four minute presentation about an aspect of the Constitution, and then were grilled by the judges in six minutes in a question and answer session. It was such a joy to see these students use their knowledge and be EXCITED about using it and sharing it with 0thers. This is one of my passions in life and it is thrilling to see it be lived out. Some of these students moved on to the district competition also being hosted in DC next week. I am excited to see these students, as well as others from across the district share their knowledge and young expertise to all of us.

The rest of my day was spent in the ReSource Room, a place for anyone to come and do research on the documents we have on display at the Archives. I had a few families wander into the room and look through our resources. Most seemed to be overwhelmed and not sure where to begin, but one little boy just jumped the gun and followed me around the room for the quite awhile. It was so awesome showing him all the cool things that we have, and I think his parents were thankful for coming in. This is what we do at the Archives and what I have learned this first week: we are here to preserve the nation's history and to share it with others in the hopes that they will find something that will light up their eyes just like that little boy did today.

DC Field Trip- National Building Musuem, Library of Congress, US Capitol

2010-01-20T14:25:00.000-08:00

Today was the first of many weekly field trips into DC. My morning started with my second class, Art and Architecture of Washington DC. We visited to National Building Museum during class to get a good introduction into to the planning, set up, design, construction, and even controversy in DC architecture. The National Building Museum is the old Civil War Pension office, which makes it one of the oldest buildings still standing in DC today. It is also one of the largest, since its purpose involved bringing in many men into the office. The pictures below are of the interior and exterior of this building.

Following our morning class, I went off to the Library of Congress, since it is so close to the NBM, and the Capitol, which was our official field trip of the day. This is such a wonderful building set right behind the Capitol and next to the Supreme Court (hence those pictures are in here too!). The library contains the remains of Jefferson's library (some 7,000 books) as well as exhibits, a main reading room, and some colorful murals and frescoes. One of my favorites, the Gutenberg Bible, is located here, as well as thousands of other books below the library in tunnels.

Our final stop for the day was at the US Capitol. What a great tour! We visited the old House, Senate, and Supreme Court chambers, all which were still decorated in their republican glory. The rotunda, completed just after the Civil War, was also a stop along our tour. Of course, we were bumping shoulders with some of the big whigs in from Congress, and even a few govenors! After our general tour, we visited the public galleries of the House and Senate. What an experience it was to see and hear our representatives in action making the laws that govern our nation. Of course, it was also interesting to see all the design and style that is in these rooms, and to think that a week from today, President Obama will be delivering his State of the Union address to these men and women in the room I just visited.

The rest of the week is back at the National Archives. Hopefully by the end of the week, I will have a better grasp on what my duties are as an intern.

Old Senate Chambers

Capitol Rotunda- It contains six different murals depicting the founding of the US.

Rotunda Ceiling- US Capitol

First chambers of the US Supreme Court

Entrance into the new Capitol Visitors Center.

Main gallery of the Library of Congress

US Supreme Court- Notice the Lawyers waiting for court to reconvene.

US Capitol

National Building Museum- Former Pension Offices

Inside the National Building Museum

Welcome to DC!

2010-01-18T18:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm alive and officially a city girl! I arrived here in Rosslyn (where LCWS is located) on Saturday afternoon. I was nervous about flying out here all on my own, but was pleasantly surprised to find that Megan and Alex, who are also from Concordia, were on the same flight as I was. We also met four fellow students from Luther College in Iowa, who were also on our flight out to DC. Out of there seven of us, all but two have been out to DC before. This was so helpful, especially when it came to the Metro. Once we landed in DC, we had to navigate ourselves from the airport to our apartments. I was nervous about doing this, and I've only been on public transportation once in my life, so Steven took control and helped all of us get on the Metro. The trick, though, was that we had our luggage, which was so bothersome to carry around! After some wrong directions, we finally found LCWS (located at River Place in Rosslyn) and made our way to our apartments. After being up the entire day, I unpacked and went to bed!

The next day we had to ourselves. It was raining out (so strange for a MN girl) so my roommate Karmen and i decided to go shopping. We braved the rain ( and the Metro again) and went to Pentagon City, where there is a great mall. We also decided that groceries were a high priority, since we hadn't gone shopping yet. After 2 hours of shopping (with Viking score updates by grocery store employees) our hands were full. This is the problem with grocery shopping in DC; you have no car, so buying in bulk is not the best thing. So we caught a taxi back to our apartment and managed to make it back without losing or breaking anything.

Later that night, we got to meet all the students that we would be taking classes and living with during the next 14 weeks. There are 34 of us ( a smaller group for the program), which I hope will make us all bond well!

The bonding continued the next day with a touristy day around DC. We packed a lot into our day and the pictures below tell of where we went. It was nice to get out into the sun and get to know everyone a bit more.

Just as we are getting settled into our lives here in DC, our internships start. Stay tuned to hear about all the adventures that come with your first week as an intern. It should be interesting...

Korean Memorial

Concordia Kids!- Alex, Megan, Beth

World War II Memorial

The Capitol

Washington National Cathedral

Blog Post #1- Introduction

2010-01-06T19:05:00.001-08:00

This is partially a test run for my blog for the next few months, and partially an introduction about my travels. I will be spending just over the next three months interning in Washington DC with the National Archives. I am a part of the education team there, and will be one of three interns there for the spring. My duties will include creating curriculum and projects for all groups of people to learn more about the Archives and their importance to our nation. More specifically, I will be working closely with the US Constitution, and leading groups of students through an interactive exhibit that teaches them about it.

The Archives holds millions of documents about the formation and history of the US, and many families come to the Archives to learn about that history and how their family specifically fit into the nation's story. I will be guiding these families through the process of finding this information, and helping them fill in the blanks.

Students each spring across DC come together to celebrate National History Day, and the Archives plays a huge role in preparing this event, and also helping students get access and interpret the information that they will use in their projects.

My final task is to do a bit of research on my own. I am not sure if this will be on a large topic in American history, or if it will be something small and perhaps more personal, but I will have so many resources at my fingertips, that they are just itching to get back into history and I am sure to come across something fascinating!

My internship is not the only thing I will be doing in DC. I am a part of a program through Concordia College that allows me to take classes at the same time I will be interning. One of these classes is about the Supreme Court's upholding of the US Constitution, which will correlate nicely with my internship. The other class looks at art and architecture in Washington, and how our nation's capital was deliberatly built with the designs and enginuity that stands there today.

Of course, being in the nation's capital, I will be taking all that it has to offer. This includes visiting other museums and monuments in DC, getting in on some fantastic arts performances and viewings, seeing the culture close up, watching our government function daily, both in the White House and Capital, and giving back to the community by volunteering.

This semester looks to be quite an adventure...stay tuned to see how it turns out!