Week 9

 

On Saturday, I was assigned to help the museum repair their barricades. The museum's barricades needed repairing because the reflectors on the barricades were faded and had to be replaced. My job was to disassemble five of the barricades so that the museum could place new wood and reflectors on the barricades. I used a wrench and a pair of pliers to get the bolts off from the barricades. Most of the bolts on the barricades were rusted because of exposure from the weather’s elements. It took many attempts to get a few of the bolts off from the barricade, however I managed to complete the job with the right tools. After I took off the old wooden boards from the barricades, I carried them to the museum’s trash dumpster. Some of the metal bolts were saved, just in case the museum needs to use them when reassembling the barricades.

                The museum has a pair of binoculars from the Second World War, and they received an additional pair of binoculars from the Second World War that are in much better condition. I opened the display case so we could access the binoculars and compare the origins of where they were made. To our surprise, both were made in Japan. This is a good primary source to add to the museum’s Second World War display exhibit.

                The museum added an additional monument for the Coast Guard next to the monument of Alexander Hamilton. The Coast Guard display is an ongoing project. The museum received over 2,000 pounds of granite to place next to the Coast Guard display. After the granite was placed by the monument, I had to place the tools needed for the display inside the museum’s storage unit. The military museum’s outdoor storage unit is a Quonset Hut, which is a military style structure made of metal. After I locked the Quonset Hut, and placed the tools back into the hut, I returned to the main part of the museum to help modify the museum’s Cold War display.

                The museum’s Cold War exhibit highlights specific events regarding Florida’s connection to the Cold War. During the Cold War, Miami was a central location because of the Cuban missile crisis. Everglades National Park contains two Nike Hercules missiles, and three missile barns that were built during that time period. Our museum has a display about the history behind the Nike Hercules missile site, and I needed to help place and arrange the exhibit with new display information boards.

                Whenever there is a visitor to our museum that has served in the Vietnam War, the museum gives the visitor a Vietnam commemoration pin, and three letters from the past three Commander in Chiefs of the United States, in appreciation for their service. The museum is running out of one of the letters, so I needed to count how many are missing and organize the letters that are fully complete. The letters need to be printed on hard stock, so we will reprint more recognition letters for our visitors that served in Vietnam. My experience at the museum this week included minor tasks and two important tasks, which are both needed for the establishment of the museum.