Happy
Belated Fourth!
Working at Independence this week
was exciting for obvious historical reasons. The park was buzzing with visitors
and classic Philadelphia events such as Free Hoagie Day as INDE staff set up for the weekend
festivities at Independence Hall. While INDE prepared for the holiday, I
continued to work behind the scenes.
I’m about halfway done with the
inventory and cleaning in the latest storage area. The process remains about
the same, though there are some concerns regarding the environmental controls
within the Second Bank, particularly in this storage room. Historic buildings
such as the Second Bank are particularly difficult to outfit with modern
heating and cooling systems due to their structural components, so historic building
managers do the best they can with that concern. For those of you who live in Philadelphia,
you know that the humidity can be pretty high. These high humidity rates are being
felt in the storage areas, so it has been a concern.
In rooms that contain artifact
collections, it’s essential to a museum’s function to monitor environmental
factors such as humidity and temperature. If the humidity and/or temperature
are too high or too low for extended periods of time, it can cause significant damage
to objects. This is especially a risk in the storage room because the objects
are not sealed in air-tight cabinets as in the previous room. Thus, they are
more susceptible to the fluctuations in humidity.
Devices terms “HOBOs” monitor temperature
and humidity rates over extended periods of time. They look something like
this:
 |
| http://www.onsetcomp.com/products/data-loggers/ux100-003 Photo courtesy of Onset.
A USB cord is used to connect a computer
to the HOBO, and the HOBO registers the data it recorded over a period of time.
This helps the museum technicians at INDE to keep track of the temperature in
storage areas. It’s a chronic concern in the summer, so it's certainly something to
be aware of.
By far, the most exciting part of my week was
climbing the clock tower in Independence Hall. I’ll admit that this had no
relation to my work in the Second Bank, but when Karie invited me to come
along, I simply could not refuse. How could anyone turn that down?
Every Fourth of July, speeches are
given outside of Independence Hall throughout the day. The clock tower is shut
off on July 3rd to prevent it from ringing and disrupting the
speeches and events during the Fourth. I tagged along with Karie, two
museum technicians, and a clock tower expert whose father had also done work on
the clock tower in Independence Hall. He would be the one to shut the bell off.
Getting up to the tower was no easy
task, however. There is no air conditioning as you head towards the tower, not
to mention that there are several flights of rickety stairs that require extra
caution while climbing. While the walk up was slightly precarious, the view was
incredible:
 
The chance to see this view was
something I will never forget. It’s a reminder of all of the incredible things
I’m learning here, but it was also an opportunity to reflect on the passion
that I have for history and how it brought me here in the first place. I like
to believe that history has emotion. Historians need to be critical, unassuming,
and cautious of their research and writing. I say that with no doubt. But I do
not think we should isolate ourselves from the emotions of the past. It closes
us all off from our ability to understand and empathize with those of different
landscapes and time. For me, that’s my favorite part of studying and feeling
the past. I want others to feel that same passion and interest.
Until next time! |
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