Hello! My name is Mary and I am the Content Developer at the Ohio History Connection. I work with staff across the institution to develop, write and edit content that is used in exhibits and displays, marketing materials and signs.

My background isn’t working with collection objects, so a lot of this experience was new territory for me. I have to give all the props to my fellow team members – Lynn, Juli and Emily – for being complete and total rock stars. They answered all the questions I had (have) and really helped me get excited about the project.

Before this experience, I didn’t know how much work goes into creating a display – and Gallery 1 is a small space compared to a lot of other exhibits. There were Object Lists (capitalized because it’s official – also new to me) to be made. Moving had to be coordinated. After all of the objects were moved from our storage facility to the Ohio History Center, the process of putting everything into the display area began. When you have a display that contains more than 1,000 objects it takes some time and finesse to make it all look cohesive. I was able to help put the objects out (also called installation) and, if I’m being completely honest, I had the biggest, goofiest smile on my face when I was helping with the displays. It was so much fun to dive into an aspect of museum work that was new to me!
We’re very proud of the display that we created, and we hope that visitors enjoy it as much as we do.