Week 4

Hello readers! I have been working at the museum for about one month now and am starting to get into a good pattern. This week I continued to accession the Vacanti Collection. I am making sure that everything is being cataloged correctly so that we can access it in the future. I also began to make a digital timeline so that I can show Salvatore Vacanti’s life by combining the research I have done and the artifacts in his collection. It is very much still a work in progress but I have linked it below. 

Accessioning the artifacts allows me to see what will be useful for a future exhibit. In the same vain collecting the information I have into a timeline is helping me to piece together all of the aspects of Vacanti’s life. I have found some interesting Videos from NARA and an old newsreel of the ZW-1 being launched for the first time. I Have included these in the timeline linked below..

I think that by visualizing Vacanti’s life this way I can provide a bottom up view of history during the 1950s-1970s. This should help people to understand the historical context of military life at the time. Providing a more human element to this story should help to both entice viewers and present them with a different perspective on the history then is usually told. This should fit into the general Veteran focus of the Military History museum in Kissimmee by telling the history of individual veterans to help explain the US’s military conflicts.  

In conclusion, I am learning a lot in my new role at the museum. I am excited to continue working on the Vacanti Collection and see how I can use it to tell an engaging story that both educates and inspires our visitors. I believe that by focusing on the human element of history, we can make a real connection with our audience.


Here is the link for the timeline: https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1FpSk0MlV0vTSITY49iu1PiTloY40LdMGs9B3r9jRv3w&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650 

Again much of the text here is a placeholder but this should serve as a good proof of concept for what I eventually want it to look like.


P.S. Here are some Photos of Vacanti I found from his Ship Books.

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