Hancock Shaker Village and Mass MOCA

Hooray field trips! I really appreciate that we get to go to all of these places and meet lots of museum professionals on top of the fellowship program provided everything else that it does. The Shaker Village was really interesting. Today was the first day of their audio tour, so the educational coordinator really wanted our feedback. Honestly, I'll have say that I prefer going through historical sites on my own. It was weird to have to listen to the tour constantly. I eventually stopped using it. I wish we would have had more time there, but it started raining in the afternoon, so we couldn't do any of the outdoor paths. I found the farm animals, though. It was great; I pet a lamb, dodged free-range chickens, and had a calf suck on my hand - just like home. We also got to see a real-live working water turbine. That was so cool! We also talked with the education coordinator and the collections manager. They gave us a tour of the collections, their library/archives, and additional information about the museum. I love meeting all of these people and networking. My world just keeps expanding, which is encouraging for when I will be applying for jobs after next year.

After the Shaker Village, we went to Mass MOCA. That is, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Okay, so you all know my opinion of art museums...so I was less than enthused while wandering aimlessly around the exhibits. The coolest thing was that this museum is in an industrial complex. They gutted out the 19th century industrial building to create exhibition space. Sorry that I an not more enthusiastic about this particular event. I am now going to relax the rest of the night before our last work-day tomorrow. I can't wait for a three-day weekend! I'll get pictures up from the Shaker Village at somepoint...