How long have I been with  MOA?  I started my internship  July 2015.

How did I begin? I am a Masters student at Western, and as part of our program we a
re required to do an internship. I decided that I would split my time over the summer between Eldon House, a historic home in downtown London, and the Museum of Ontario Archaeology. MOA really interested me because I was involved with archaeology during my undergrad, and in my masters program we learned about museum policies.

What drew me to MOA? I had come to the Museum of Ontario Archaeology as a kid and I have fond memories of the visit. I remember thinking that it was a cool museum because it demonstrated that there was a lot of history in my own backyard. I developed a greater interest in archaeology and museums as I got older, and was fortunate enough to study history in university. During my Masters,  a friend who interned here during the school year reminded me about what a cool place the museum was. I decided that I should spend part of my time at MOA completing audience research.

Favourite part of the job? My favourite part of the job is definitely talking to all of the wonderful staff and visitors. Everyone brings something unique to the museum, and the staff brings their passion for what they do to the museum. It’s really just a positive and friendly work environment, and I feel fortunate to be here.

Tell the world: There’s so much I would like to tell the world about the museum! I would like to let everyone know how great the staff is and how dedicated they are to making the museum great. Though the building isn’t as shiny and new as some other museums, this one has a lot of great content and great people behind it who are always looking for ways to make the visitors experience more educational and fun.

Advice for others? My advice would be for people interested in history. No matter your age, if you’re passionate about something like history, there are always ways to expand your knowledge and get involved. It doesn’t have to be through school or clubs. Volunteer, visit museums, read history articles, attend talks, etc. Do what you can to expand your knowledge!

Memorable story? One of my favourite stories about my time here occurred on my first week. As part of my project I am supposed to talk to different visitors and see what they liked or didn’t like about the museum. While I was here one day a pair of visitors came into the museum.  I was a little nervous, but I went up to them to ask them about their visit. We got talking and I found out that they were from Michigan and were on vacation to Canada for a couple of weeks. We began talking about their trip and the museum in general, and I learned about how they got interested in museums. It turns out that their daughter is also in a museums masters program in the U.S. and her passion had inspired them to start visiting different historic places. It was an interesting moment for me, because these people became interested in history from talking to someone who loves history. It made me think, that hopefully I could make people see why I love history so much and maybe inspire them to learn more about history.