THE STUDENT EXHIBIT

Concurrent with working at the museum, learning new skills, and helping to mount permanent exhibits, the student interns were given the task of researching and creating their own exhibit. The interns explained in their end-of-project report: "Ms. Conley and Mr. Vincent told us that one of the purposes of the internship was to get us to understand the connections in our history and the ways that African Americans, maybe even some of our relatives, might have been a part of it. So, we started [a] project on family history ... to see if we could learn more about our own families and to see if we could make connections to our family history and to history in general." To this end, the interns were taught methods of conducting genealogical research, specifically by John Whitfield, director of the African-American Historical Society. In addition, students were instructed on how to use computers and the internet as tools for research and for transcribing and editing interviews conducted for their project.

As part of the process of creating their exhibit, students set about collecting photographs and conducting research to date them and identify the people in them. They also, as the interns reported, "asked ... family members for family documents or other memorabilia from their lives." Black World History Museum staff and consultants also encouraged students to dig below the surface in order compile their family trees. As students worked on this project, they began to document "real names" of relatives instead of "nicknames"; they also did indeed begin to find ties with history, as one student did in finding a photograph of his great-grandfather in a "Pullman Porter" uniform. The students' exhibit, when mounted, came to include transcribed interviews, labels, photographs, documents such as birth certificates and diplomas, and some artifacts and memorabilia, such as jewelry.

If one main measure of the exhibit's success is the extent to which its creation and mounting increased the interns' and the public's awareness of family history, then this project was indeed an unqualified success. Having incorporated the lessons Ms. Conley had taught them, the students emphasized the importance of researching one's family and keeping and preserving family memorabilia. The students reported: "We ... understand now why it is important for the future that we write information on pictures. We also learned how important it is to talk to family members..."

In addition, the students' work affected the public's perceptions about conservation. As Ms. Conley reported in her project evaluation, she was "informed by a parent that as a result of the genealogy project, she knows more about her family than ever. She said some of the photographs and stories that her children uncovered had not been shared with her previously." This sort of realization about family history has helped to create dialogue within the community and has brought about an interest in the role of history within the community.