Last week I attended a volunteer orientation at the Sen. John Heinz History Center, which is the primary museum about Western Pennsylvania history. I’ve learned that volunteering at the center, which is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, is serious business.
I’ve been thinking for a while about involving myself in a local museum. I love visiting museums when I travel, and working in a museum seems like a great activity once I’ve got time and enough money to retire. I’ve had an interest in history, well, since I started reading.
I’m by no means an expert, but with a strong interest to get me started, I figure I can learn.
Anyway, I spent about four hours at the museum last Thursday, first learning a bit about the volunteer program, the various opportunities available and the requirements for staying in good stead as a volunteer. Depending on what volunteers want to do, there are training programs that must be completed and a fair amount of time to devote to the work.
I’m particularly interested in helping out with the research and maybe even using my writing and editing skills for articles or presentations. Part of my orientation was in the museum’s archives. I was fascinated by the amount of work that goes into receiving, cataloging and transcribing material that is contributed to the museum. I think it would be fun helping there, or even using the archives for research.
I’ve already started an assignment to research the relationship between Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick. It was a rocky one, at best.
