Musings of a History Major

History nerd with a BA in History and a Masters in Museum Studies. Museum Professional and Living history interpreter.

[musingsofahistorymajor]

I applied for a job at my current place of employment knowing I'm unqualified and probably won't get it (it's for a Senior Collections Manager job) but thinking it'll at least tell the department that I'm serious about a position in the collections department and now I have a phone screening interview for it tomorrow?!?!? WHAT!?!?!? HOW!?!? I honestly expected nothing to happen out of this and it probably won't go further than this but I don't even care because it's farther than I thought I'd get!

[enki2]

[liminalstrands]

Good news! It gets worse!

I think it's the galactic orbit thing that really did me in

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHARKS HAVE BEEN AROUND THE GALAXY TWICE

[asteroidtroglodyte]

It’s a very good design

[blackbearmagic]

Good morning,

museums should repatriate artifacts belonging to living cultures and display reproductions instead

[blackbearmagic]

Good afternoon,

no one is entitled to the sacred art, tools, or costumes of another culture (save members of the culture itself) and nonsacred reproductions will serve just as well for the purposes of education and appreciation

[blackbearmagic]

Good evening,

having museums full of reproductions would be even cooler than having museums full of sacred artifacts because when modern craftspeople are able to replicate those artifacts, it’s usually because they still make the same items the same way today

this means that you could have description tags emphasizing that such-and-such item has been made by these people in almost the same way for hundreds of years

having museums full of beautiful reproductions takes the emphasis off of Things and places it on the People who make them, which is really as it should be

[johnemillaisarchive]

dunkirk shots that look like paintings part 2

[microraptorhours]

i love you archival work. i love you alphabetizing. i love you sorting. i love you reshelving. i love you document restoration. i love you shelf reading. i love you inventorying. i love you analysis. i love you archival work.

[musingsofahistorymajor]

Sometimes it's really hard to keep my professional, customer service face on when I talk to the public.

The other day I had a guest come over to me at the information desk and ask about a collection of gemstones that are no longer on display. And I explained how museums choose what goes on display and all that jazz (and a few specific things for our museum and why that particular collection isn't out right now) and his response?

"If you're not going to display them, you should just sell them. Then at least people could see them."

I about lost my damn mind. I tried to politely tell him museums cannot display their entire collection at one time and we have millions of objects in the collections and we can't and won't just sell things off and if we did you know who could afford it? Billionaires who will keep it all to themselves so you'll never see it again.

He of course didn't want to hear it and just kept yelling at me for us "keeping things locked away in what is basically a safe deposit box" instead of displaying it all.

When I tell you my blood was boiling by the end...

[musingsofahistorymajor]

I was watching the trailers that have come out for Pressure (2026) and while I am very excited for this film, there's one detail that is driving me crazy.

Kay Summersby is being portrayed in this film and during my first watch through of the trailer I was HOLLERING because YAAS AS SHE SHOULD BE!!!! AND NOT AS A BACKGROUND CHARACTER!!

And I'm still super excited. I am. She looks fantastic! The actress looks just like Kay, her hair is up and in regulation 1940s style! The insignia look correct, the make up is not too 20th century! It's great! But on my second watch through I looked a little closer and there's just one detail that I just.....

WHY THE HELL IS SHE WEARING EARRINGS WHILE IN UNIFORM!!!! This is completely against WAC and MTS regulations!!! WHY!!!

Two seconds of research from the costumers would have told you that the only jewelry WACs could wear was a watch, a wedding ring, dog tags, and an ID bracelet. NOTHING ELSE.

That is straight from "WAC LIFE" War Department pamphlet 35-3 May 1945 page 110 which is a general pamphlet given to members of the WAC and which took it's information from "16 April 1945 - Army Regulations (AR 600-37) PERSONNEL: Prescribed Service Uniform - Women Personnel in the Army."

And the MTS regulations were the same so both of the organizations that Kay served in would not have allowed earrings.

Even looking at original photos of Kay would tell you she didn't wear them while in uniform!

So why is she wearing earrings in every scene of this trailers she's in!? WHY!?

This is why I should stop watching period dramas. I notice too much. Every time they get a simple thing like this so wrong, I wanna explode.

[museumsandmonograms]

When patrons fabricate discounts and insist that is what it says on the website.

chamomellia

[musingsofahistorymajor]

Oooh I've been getting this a lot lately too. It's infuriating. But on occasion I do get to enjoy telling these types of guests "yeah that's the Google A.I. result. That's not our actual website. Google A.I. is more often than not, completely wrong and cannot be relied upon."

[lesblackwidow]

reminder to visit museums, even if you feel out of place. you feel out of place because there is an established concept of inaccessibility of "high culture" to the masses, purposefully developed to distinguish between social classes.

take up space, read the plaques, get the audioguides. you are just as entitled and right in being there. visit museums, boycott museums, be expressive about your opinions about museums.

a lot of museums are free, or discounted for youth and students. take advantage of that. check your local art museum. check your local history museum. museums are there for you, they are there to educate the public, not to distinguish between class. it isn't a private collection, it's a public exhibit.

GO TO MUSEUMS!!!!!!!

[teashoesandhair]

'Take up space' OK but this is so important, because that's your museum, that's your gallery, and if you want to spend half an hour staring at one painting that makes your soul feel all tingly, then you can absolutely do that, and don't let anyone make you feel weird for doing anything other than spending 10 seconds looking at something and then dismissing it with a sardonic grin

[musingsofahistorymajor]

Oh my god. 1,000 times YES to this post!!

I'm a museum professional. I've worked in museums my whole life. I have a master's degree in museum studies. My job is Visitor Experience.

GO TO MUSEUMS!!

We are here for you! We want you here! Museums would not exist if it wasn't for the people visiting them. Come and enjoy what we have! Stay for 15 mins or stay all day! See one exhibit or see them all!

Things I've seen people use a museum for:

A playdate for their kids

A place to practice drawing

A place to study for school

A place to get lunch and catch up with friend

A first date

A place to understand the city their visiting

A place to learn something new

A place to see something in person they've only seen in books

A place to get out of the rain or heat for a little while

And don't be afraid to ask the floor workers questions. I promise there is no stupid question (except for maybe that one guy who asked me if those stairs over there go upstairs....that was dumb). We love questions.

Go to museums!!!

[musingsofahistorymajor]

Kerry Condon as Kay Summersby in the trailers for Pressure (2026)

[nasa]

One last look at Earth before we reach the Moon. This view of the Earth was captured on April 5, the fourth day of the Artemis II mission, from inside the Orion spacecraft. The four astronauts will reach their closest approach of the Moon tomorrow, April 6. 

[without-ado]

Artemis II Launch: April 1st 2026

l Time l NASA Artemis ‖

[tenkuu-otoshi]

Images of the Earth taken during the Artemis II mission

[astrolugo]

The Artemis II crew captured an impressive image of the Earth from 41,000 miles away this morning.

It is the first time since 1972 that human beings see an Earth in a growing phase in its entirety.

[nasa]

3, 2, 1 – liftoff!

The Artemis II Moon rocket lifted off from our Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1, 2026. Our live launch day coverage continues on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf_UjBMIzNo

Stick with us for more Artemis II content including live broadcasts for lunar flyby and splashdown, daily news conferences, and 24/7 streams providing views from the Orion spacecraft and from NASA Kennedy.

[without-ado]

"Return to the Moon" Artemis Ⅱ 2026

l Andrew McCarthy 1,2 l Alex G Perez 3,4 l Alexander Gerst 5

[writerxwren]

For someone who didn't have a speech prepared he knew exactly what to say ❤️

"In all of this emptiness — this is a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe — you have this oasis, this beautiful place that we get to exist together. I think, as we go into Easter Sunday, thinking about all the cultures all around the world, whether you celebrate it or not, whether you believe in God or not, this is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing, and that we've gotta get through this together."

~Victor Glover