Designing Panels
The time has finally arrived—when I started interning at the beginning of last semester, Heather discussed the state parks exhibit that we would be doing. Now, at long last, I have compiled my research into two panels! I went into the archives on Tuesday, July 12th, with the mindset that I was going to complete panels for both of my parks, Chimney Rock State Park and New River State Park. I am happy to say that I was successful. This task was complete with the aid of PowerPoint. While I am familiar with PowerPoint, I had never created a 2’x3’ panel using the program, so this required a small amount of learning on my part and, of course, a printer capable of printing such a large document. Not being a… technologically inclined person, I had thought this task was going to be much more difficult than it actually was. Really the only major change involved in transforming a slide into a panel is adjusting the size of the slide, which can easily be done under the “Design” tab on the PowerPoint toolbar. After the slide was set to the appropriate size (24”x36”), all that was left to do was to arrange the information and pictures on the panel in an attractive fashion. This required no additional learning on my part as this step is done no differently than if the slide was a normal size. The entire process took me a little less than 5 hours, leaving me a little time to begin proofing another volunteer’s description of Grandfather Mountain State Park.
As I have said before, this particular project is very exciting for me as I have had minimal experience thus far in helping create an exhibit. Although Heather is currently out of town, I worked closely with Sarah to ensure my panels were exactly what she was looking for since she is putting the exhibit together in Heather’s absence. Although we had touched on this before, Sarah reiterated how important it is to have a panel that is reader friendly and attractive, something that will hold the attention of a regular person. She also stressed the importance of making all of the panels (there are 10 states parks in the western region of North Carolina that will be covered) different and unique so as to keep the exhibit interesting. Most of all, this is one of the few projects that I have gotten to participate in from beginning to end, from concept to exhibit. I had the opportunity to go out into the field as a real archivist would to collect data. I was given the freedom to decide the layout and contents of the panel. From beginning to end, I was invited to participate in every step of the process that a professional archivist would. This project was undoubtedly the most involving since the beginning of my time at the WRA, and I hope to be able to participate in many more like it! I have included photos of my completed panels for your viewing pleasure. To see the 8 other panels, visit the WRA over the next few months!