Diana Del Valle was selected for the Jean Jackson Emery Memorial Internship in the early summer of 2023. What initially began as a two month summer internship was extended to a six-month position. Diana excelled in her support of both collections and education initiatives, and with the HVAC project and associated activities, she has been a tremendous asset. Diana graduated from Colorado State University in May 2023 where she studied Anthropology, History, and Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies. When we first connected with her she expressed interest in working in collections management, but shared “I would be happy with an internship in nearly any field of museum work because I believe any experience would be valuable to helping me learn more about working in the museum world and preparing for a career.” Her positive attitude and willingness to explore different areas of the field has been key to her success in the role. Diana’s position is coming to a conclusion this month. We want to thank her for her excellent work and wish her the best in her future pursuits!
Work with the Collection
Diana was an integral member of the museum’s collections team during a crucial time. Over the summer, she helped to prepare CSPM exhibits and collections spaces for the historic HVAC project now taking place at the museum. Diana helped deinstall exhibit galleries and carefully shifted collection objects from one storage space to another prior to and throughout the construction process. Additionally, she was involved in covering carriages, paintings, large objects, bookshelves, and entire shelving units with hundreds of yards of Tyvek and plastic sheeting to protect them from the onslaught of dust and potential damage as a result of the construction project. Diana also applied her stellar research skills and great attention to detail to help catalog new donations to the archives and artifact collections.
Diana was a great help as we prepared the building and collections for the HVAC project. She is a real team player and pays excellent attention to detail — attributes we greatly value at CSPM.
Museum Education
This fall, the CSPM launched our new History Detectives Outreach Program. Staff and a team of volunteers travel to schools throughout the city (and beyond) to present hands-on activity stations to 3rd and 4th grade classrooms. Diana was assigned the “Artifacts” station where she helps students explore the stories of three travelers, Anabela Osavio-Crooks, Charles Collins, and Leu Bo Foo through a puzzle activity and artifact analysis. Diana helped test and refine the program and assist station volunteers. Diana has also supported community outreach events, summer camps, and other youth and family programs over the last six months.
Diana thrives when working with the public. She is patient, engaging, and shows her enthusiasm for the subject. Thinking back on the past six months it's really hit home how much Diana contributed to programming! We are going to miss her and cannot thank her enough for all of her excellent work!
“During this internship, I split my time between the Collections and Programs teams. With Collections, I learned the details behind the maintenance of collections spaces and both artifacts and archival material, walking through the processes integral to their care from acquisition proposal to deaccession. With Programs, I learned about the process of creating and implementing programming intended to educate and entertain the public, particularly younger age groups. At the beginning, I alternated between the two weekly, but by August, it switched to within the week. With the Programs team, I worked with the Junior Docents, the two summer camps, two Family Fun Days, the Family Fall Crawl, the Halloween History Hunt, and some History Detective Outreach school programs. With the Collections team, I participated in the safe moving, storage, and covering of the collections in preparation of the HVAC construction project, as well as regular collections tasks in both the archives and collections such as accessioning and deaccessioning, documentation, packing and handling, and more.
My very first day, I worked with Programs and joined in with the Junior Docent training. I learned a lot about the basics of working at the museum and interpretation for the public; luckily, I had learned some of this during school, but it was great to get a refresher, and I actually learned even more. I was super nervous that first day, but everyone was so kind, welcoming, and willing to answer any questions that I had; seriously, I think I had two dozen questions the first day, and each one was answered!” — Diana Del Valle
What are some of your key takeaways from this experience?
I am definitely very pleased with how much experience I have with the individual processes in collections that I can apply to any future position; these kinds of applicable, practical skills are so important, and they are something for which classroom education alone cannot suffice. I am also proud of the strengthening of my education skills. I still have a long way to go, but participating in the education programs has given me the chance to learn about teaching many different age groups about history in a way that suits them.
One of the most important takeaways has been the importance of flexibility. Something I was taught in school and was demonstrated by working here has been that each museum is unique, each aspect of the museum is intertwined, and something new always pops up, so having a wide breadth of experience is important. I am so lucky that this internship gave me the opportunity to try new things and participate in a variety of projects because I know I will be prepared to face anything in the future.
What were you most surprised by?
I was probably most surprised with how much work the construction preparation would take. I did not know exactly what it would entail, but the team really thought of everything when it came to documenting, moving, and covering everything in the entire museum. It was a unique thing to learn and participate in. I am really glad I got to experience it since it gave great insight into the importance of preparation, and it may even be something I might face in the future.
What experience did you enjoy the most?
It is so hard to choose; it is split between some of my cataloging work and the History Detectives Outreach Program. During cataloguing, when researching an object or a person, it has been extremely satisfying to see the story come together through the tiny breadcrumbs of information. There were moments when I had great breakthroughs and finally pieced together the full picture after tons of research, and it reminds me what I love about history and the joy of learning new things. On the other hand, the History Detectives Outreach Program has been wonderful. The kids light up when they learn something new, make a connection from history, or answer a difficult question, and their enjoyment of it has made the whole experience very rewarding.
What are your future plans?
This internship has definitely solidified my love for museums and museum work, so after I leave, I plan to look for more work in the museum field or an adjacent one, such as libraries or public history and archaeology. I will likely try to find work here in Colorado, as I find our history very special and worth sharing. Collections is what I am most passionate about, however I still love education, so I am leaving myself open to whatever opportunities comes my way in my job search. I am also open to continuing my education in the future; I am considering getting a Masters in either Museum Studies or Library and Information Science. Either way, I feel confident to continue into the museum world.