One of my over-arching goals for this project is to design a curriculum that is useful to the target audience.  The Anacostia Community Museum produces this exhibit, and while the exhibit’s themes relate to communities across the nation and the world, its heart and soul is centered in the DC Metro Area.  One of the most rewarding experiences of this internship has been leveraging contacts with existing relationships to discover more about the target audience in the DC Metro Area.

I reached out to former colleagues who live in Louden and Fairfax counties to determine if their districts support educational objectives that correlate with the learning outcomes of A Right to the City.  While the learning objectives did not coincide with these districts, my contacts helped to put me in touch with the social studies coordinator of the DC Public Schools.  He has been incredibly helpful and willing to partner in this project.

While I am still developing a relationship with my museum coordinator, he has provided me with contacts that could be helpful as well. I will reach out to them in order to develop a greater understanding of my audience, and this will help me to continue to grow the relationship with my project director and to improve my understanding of my target audience.

I know that my guiding vision rests on the material culture of the exhibit, and this is probably where my true passion lies.  While I have been focused on gaining access to those materials, I have also learned that I can work through alternative routes to gain access to helpful information.  To the extent that I can partner that vision with the experience of the educators who will deliver it will be helpful to the longevity of the virtual exhibit.