Well we have reached the end of this semesters internship project. I have greatly enjoyed the work that I have completed with the edible education experience broadening my skill set and understanding of curriculum creation for a public history audience. This week we reflected on the work we have completed over the semester at the internship showcase that occurred this morning. The most valuable section of our presentation that I want to share was the slide I constructed on the skills and takeaways that I had gained from my internship.

The first takeaway, and in my opinion the most important, was the recognition that not everyone wants a history lecture and knowing how to meet audiences where they are is critical for programming success regardless of venue. Planning programming for museum visitors is a very different genre of public history writing. Compared to the formal language of academic papers and the explanations historians give when trying to explain their research to laypersons, museum visitors are in a headspace to understand and arrive ready to learn and absorb history. The manner of teaching at the Edible Education Experience was not like that, at all. I have spent so much time recently trying to reframe my class information for not only the students who will be learning the content but also the educators that I forgot how important it is to make sure to use the content I was preparing not as a script but as reference material meant to assist in the process of teaching.

The second takeaway was how crucial time management is to the completion of projects. While I was very behind on several of my deadlines due to work and home getting in the way, learning to budget my research time and construction time, focusing on finding relevant and useful information that I could use for my projects, rather than going down every rabbit hole just because it was interesting was a challenge I still have to get used to. In terms of time-management in the classroom; I learned that just as people may not want a history lecture, it’s important to be flexible about how long the lecture you give actually is and when the learning becomes part of the programming. I have had to filibuster when demonstrations took too long, and I’ve had to cut my information short when it ran way too long. It’s all part of the learning process.

Finally, I just want to say thank you to everyone at EEE and the Kitchen House for being so willing to take an intern on and especially Meghan for being so flexible and nice about everything. I have had a blast working with you and I have learned so much about food confidence. The teachings of the Kitchen House are something that I want to continue to carry with me into my museum career wherever that might take me. I hope to push for community centered programming that teaches sustainable farming, biodiversity and the importance of using native plants. I want to share food empowerment sessions and create space for food sovereignty. I want to make historical methods of food preparation a part of the local history that community members learn and engage with regardless of age or any other defining factor. The past is full of so much information about how we can exist within our food systems sustainably, respectfully, and confidently. I hope to continue this idea moving forward.