For more than 60 years, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Public Museum have shared a close partnership rooted in hands‑on learning and professional preparation.
One opportunity made possible through this partnership is UWM graduate student participation in the museum’s recent Inside-Out Night, the last Inside-Out Night in the current MPM building. The signature event gives museum members a behind-the-scenes look at the work that goes into designing museum exhibits.
Students in UWM’s Museum Studies Visitor Experience and Design course spend the semester researching, preserving, and interpreting selected artifacts and then translate their research into engaging stories to help the public understand each object’s historical and cultural significance. In the process, they gain practical experience learning how objects are stored, documented, and photographed for museum archives.
“We read about and discuss museum theory in class, but being able to apply those concepts to an exhibit that a student designs, and then have the experience of watching the public interact with that exhibit, is an invaluable learning opportunity,” said Jessica Nelson, UWM assistant visiting professor of history.
UWM’s longstanding collaboration with the museum has shaped many museum professionals across the region.
Read the full story on UWM Report.
By Luella Dooley-Menet, Marketing & Communications