Holocaust Museum Houston Week 3

Holocaust Museum Houston
Week 3: July 20-26
Roseliane Corona

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July 20

Connections & Collections

At 10 AM, I had a meeting with Christina Chavarria, a member of the Education Department at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. Not only did she recommend some amazing books regarding the Holocaust, but she also discussed the challenges in bridging the Latino community to education about this event. One way that has been most effective, is helping people realize the similarities from their own experience. She used to teach in El Paso, (shoutout to Deborah), and what helped her students empathize was the realization that they’re alike. Many of the students in El Paso are familiar with issues at the border, either firsthand or secondhand, and could relate when hearing the stories of Jewish immigration struggles. She also would include Latinos like Anthony Acevedo who was a concentration camp survivor. Once people realize that they are affected by an issue or have gone through something similar, that wall of separation & disassociation falls down. 

I told Christina a bit about myself and the program. She even invited me for a personal tour of the museum once I arrive in Baltimore in the Fall. I am so excited and grateful that even after the internship, I’ll have a way to continue learning about the Holocaust and have more educational experiences overall.

At the end of the day, I had a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. It was gorgeous! The frames in their European art gallery were so intricate and reminded me of the National Portrait Gallery. I was a bit disappointed, though, because their Mesoamerica exhibit was closed. They had a Latino art exhibit with art from Argentina and Colombia but it was all abstract. It was a little hard to follow but a new experience nonetheless.

That was the last museum visit in my internship, but I’m hoping to explore other museums in the Houston area before I leave for college.

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July 21

Workshops & Weekends

There’s another workshop today. They tend to fall on Fridays if you haven’t already noticed. This workshop is about a new education resource HMH has called the “Young Upstanders Toolkit.” It’s available in both English and Spanish and is for K-5 teachers. The same idea of character that’s in my project is the basis of this tool. 

My favorite part was when they read a book about a Danish family helping a Jewish family escape. The book was read in front of the Danish Rescue Boat replica in the Bear Witness Gallery. Unfortunately, the lighting in there was terrible so I didn’t get any pictures of that but it was still a great moment to witness. Overall, it’s been enlightening to see the different ways learning can be done either through various settings or activities to get a point across.

In the afternoon, I sat down with someone from the Education team and another curator from the Withstand exhibit. I’m planning on summarizing my interviews with HMH staff members toward the end of the internship so I’ll go more into detail on those conversations later. However, my meeting with Gabriela Magana was amazing!

This interview had a different tone than the other meetings I’ve had. Rather than me listening, we both contributed. We talked about the art landscape of Houston, personal experiences, and so much more. One of my favorite things we touched on was the impact of representation in museums. I already discussed this in my last blog post but similarly, she was able to learn more about her family history because of an exhibit. 

I know I said after yesterday, my museum visits were done but I also went to the Asia Society grand opening, (and brought my phone this time). 

Seeing a cultural institution/museum that’s been years in the making has me so excited for when NMAL has its own museum.

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July 25

Office Blues

I’m working from home today and I’m a little sad about it. The atmosphere at HMH is sociable and enjoyable that missing out on those daily conversations is giving me a pang of FOMO. Lunchtime at the office is so much fun because I learn the most random facts and hear the most crazy stories. I can tell it’s a healthy environment at the Education Office not just from my own experience but also from just observing. People from different departments whose break rooms are on another floor come down to eat lunch in the Education’s tiny break room. It really is the best. 

To keep me on task, I have a mental list of things to complete by the end of the day. I had to finish drafting a social media post for Friday’s Workshop, translate the transcript of my activity guide, and finish the first page of the pamphlet. This is the same system I had to have during the pandemic, otherwise, I’d just be wasting time while running the clock, (not that I would do that— I’m responsible and dependable I  swear).

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July 26

Project Development

I was an iPad kid today. I drew some of the illustrations for my project and started working on the final product. The project is an Activity Guide for the Human Rights Gallery that breaks down the topics to children. The activities include a timeline with blank spaces for kids to fill in with other events as they go through the museum, matching articles with real-life scenarios, and creating an exhibit for one of the Upstanders in the gallery. It’s still a work-in-progress but I’m hoping to have the final product done in time for my Zoom meeting with my supervisor tomorrow. The sooner I finish, the more time I’ll have to work on my presentation.

To further the Latinx initiatives at the museum, I’m working on an English and Spanish version. It isn’t easy because it’s quite literally doing double the work, but it’s worth it because human rights is an important lesson that should be accessible to everyone.

Until next week!

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Here's a map of the Houston Museum District now that my museum visits are done. There are so many in the city and I can't wait to explore more even after the program. The ones underlined and circled in pink are the ones I've visited.

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