Spotlight on Public History: Virginia Tech Undergraduates Design Exhibit for the American Civil War Museum at Appomattox

Heath Furrow

doi:10.21061/vtuhr.v8i0.7

Abstract

This year’s volume also includes a new feature entitled Spotlight on Public History, where we focus in on a public history project completed by undergraduates at Virginia Tech. This year’s spotlight looks at the Enacting Freedom: Black Virginians in the Age of Emancipation exhibit at the American Civil War Museum at Appomattox, which was created by a team of Virginia Tech undergraduate and graduate students working under Dr. Paul Quigley.

Highlights

In an effort to fulfill our mission of showcasing and promoting the innovative work being done by undergraduates at Virginia Tech and across the country, we are introducing a new feature entitled Spotlight on Public History
Virginia Tech undergraduates, graduate students, and professors worked alongside museum staff to put the finishing touches on the exhibit, troubleshooting interactive digital displays, carefully hanging posters, and gently arranging artifacts
When the doors opened at 6:00 p.m., the students were able to stand back and look at their completed work with a sense of pride. They got the opportunity to watch the public engage with their work and interact with museum staff and patrons, sharing details about their work and establishing potential professional connections. This project resulted from collaboration between the American Civil War Museum at Appomattox and the Department of History at Virginia Tech

Summary

Introduction

On April 4, 2019, a group from the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies unveiled a new exhibit entitled Enacting Freedom: Black Virginians in the Age of Emancipation at the American Civil War Museum at Appomattox. This project resulted from collaboration between the American Civil War Museum at Appomattox and the Department of History at Virginia Tech.

Results

Conclusion