Photo By Peter Chang | Dr. Stephanie Carter, Museum curator for the Washington National Guard's museum poses...... read more read more
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A recently hired curator at the Washington National Guard museum hopes to bring new life to old objects that are critical to understanding the organization’s past.
“I am fascinated with how we connect humans to objects,” said Dr. Stephanie Carter, who moved here from Florida to accept this newly created position. “You and I can both look at the same object and have different connections based on our background. I think that is important in telling stories in museums.”
Carter brings a wealth of knowledge to the Washington National Guard museum, with a background in anthropology and museum studies. She recently completed her doctorate on material culture, which is the study of how humans view and attach value to objects.
Carter will spend her days at the “Arsenal,” as it is often referred to. It’s the oldest building on Camp Murray, which volunteers from the Washington National Guard State Historical Society transformed into a working museum approximately 30 years ago. Many of these volunteers served in the Washington National Guard and spent countless hours archiving and preserving artifacts for display. As the volunteer numbers have dwindled due to retirements and other commitments, the need for a full-time museum curator became clear.
“If you look around, the hard work and the passion that the historical society put in is incredible,” said Carter. “I came in and it was just incredible. You can see the blood, sweat and tears and passion for the Guard.”
One of Carter’s goals is to move the museum forward while also honoring the past.
“One of my favorite history quotes is from Teddy Roosevelt. He said you have to understand history to understand your future,” Carter said. “I think it is important to tell our story, the story of the Guard through objects and stories. It shows the important work the National Guard has done.”
Due to staffing, the Camp Murray Museum is open on Wednesdays when volunteers are available and open by appointment on other days.
| Date Taken: | 08.24.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 08.24.2021 18:41 |
| Story ID: | 403845 |
| Location: | CAMP MURRAY, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 392 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Learning from our past: New Museum curator hopes to bring new life to old objects, by Joseph Siemandel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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