做厙TV’s Kate Adelman 28 is spending her summer as a curatorial intern at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, gaining hands-on experience preserving history while exploring a potential career in museums.
Adelmans daily responsibilities include digitizing collections and organizing and assisting in the creation of new exhibits for the public. Working alongside the museums curatorial staff, Adelman has learned the importance of attention to detail, communication and curiosity. Beyond learning collections software and artifact preservation techniques, Adelman said the internship helped clarify what she hopes to find in a future career and the impact of working for an organization that is committed to serving its community.
This opportunity helped me realize that I want to work in a place that values its mission and makes conscious steps to improve and reinforce their commitment to their place in the community, said Adelman, an anthropology major. CBMM and all the staff here work very hard to fulfill their goals as both a museum and a recreational community space.
The opened in 1965 on Navy Point, formerly a busy complex of docks, workboats and packing houses on St. Michaels Harbor, with the purpose of preserving the history, environment and culture of the entire Chesapeake Bay region. Recognized as a world-class maritime museum, it welcomes nearly 100,000 guests annually. Its 18-acre campus includes historic structures, exhibition galleries and a fleet of historic vessels.
The highlights of Adelmans experience include assisting in the completion of the museum’s newest exhibit, which was years in the making. Stories from the Shoreline highlights the voices, traditions and experiences of the people who call the Chesapeake Bay home and focuses on the richness and diversity of Chesapeake life.
Adelman also found a personal connection while cataloging Talbot Country postcards, many of which featured familiar places from her hometown of Easton, Maryland, which is a historic community on the bays Eastern Shore. Through both individual projects and teamwork with museum professionals, she gained valuable technical skills while developing a deeper appreciation for the stories preserved in museum collections.
This project made me very aware of the history and culture of the Eastern Shore and appreciate how many places are both permanent and impermanent, Adelman said.
