A bittersweet day indeed…

Today was the last day of Kaitlyn Crabtree’s internship. I have worked with her through our capstone-rehousing project, and through the beginning of my internship, and I think it is safe to say that she will be missed very much at the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center. This day however did not come without work. I am finding out quickly that there is always something to do! Thank goodness for that, because today we got to pull artifacts for the institution’s curator, Ashley Jordan, for an upcoming exhibit. 

Don’t worry everyone! I will let you know when you can come see it!

 But first, we had to do a little prepping of the artifacts. We started by taking a very small amount of Orvus, which is a cleaning supply that is not harmful to any of the artifacts, and added it to a bucket of clean distilled water. (I learned today that we only use distilled water for artifacts, because regular water from the sink has added chemicals that can cause a reaction to different materials.)

Afterward we wipe down all artifacts with water and a clean cloth.

Finally, we take a third cloth and polish the artifacts with renaissance wax. Good as new!

We are so sad to see Kaitlyn leave, but so excited to see all of her future accomplishments! Good luck!