Hi there!
My name is Grace Duckworth, and for the past ten weeks I have been the 2022 Summer Education Intern! I am a rising senior at Randolph, double majoring in Studio Art and Art History, and minoring in Museum and Heritage Studies. For a while, I’ve known that I would like to work in a museum “when I grow up.” Through my classes and various internship experiences, I’ve finally settled on pursuing Museum Education and I am so glad to say that my time at the Maier Museum has been instrumental in helping me to decide! My summer here has been invaluable, not only for gaining industry-applicable experience, but also growing confidence in myself and my goals. I am so excited to share with you the special projects and lessons I have learned this summer!

Packaging: How to Handle Your Audience with Care
One question that I have gotten from a lot of people about my internship is “So you’re just a tour guide?” Well… yes and no. I have gotten the opportunity to co-lead several tours this summer, but I realized very quickly that giving a tour is not as simple as people think it is. It involves a lot of what my supervisor (the fabulous Laura McManus, Curator of Education) and I like to call “packaging,” which is essentially tailoring information to fit your audience. For instance, if your audience is a group of children, you would refrain from talking about the scandalous love-life of your artist.
I had the opportunity to package information for four different audiences:
- The Governor’s School groups. We had two groups of teens come to visit that were participating in the Science and Mathematics Summer Governor’s School program, hosted by the University of Lynchburg. I tried to make sure that the tour and the information I was sharing would be fun for them, so when I told them about Project Y, the secret history of the museum, I didn’t tell them about building plans, but about secret emergency drills run by the National Gallery. The real challenge for packing their tour was connecting the Collection to their programs. Together, Laura and I chose to discuss artworks that touched on things like weather patterns and cloud formations, or symmetry and circumferences for the groups to be able to relate back to their lessons.

- The Homeschool group. This group had a range of ages, from lower elementary to adults, and I got to know different strategies for making sure that there is something for everyone on a tour. I helped Laura to set out touchable props for the younger viewers (and for those of us that really wish we could feel a nice, thick oil painting), vocabulary cards and maps for those wanting to learn something new, and photographs of the artists for those who wanted to connect a face with a name. I also helped her make decisions about content based on our audience – we kept the scandal talk to a minimum for the kids!
I liked this tour a lot because I finally got to see our Docents in action! Because of the pandemic, it’s been a while since the Maier had tours and they were so enthusiastic to finally get to interact with the public again.
- The Lynchburg Group Home. Laura and I invited teens living at the Group Home to participate in a Zentangle workshop which I orchestrated myself! We observed patterns in the artworks on display and made Zentangle doodles based on what we saw. At times, I found it difficult to keep their attention, but I adapted when I realized that they were more engaged when I was more casual and friendly, as opposed to trying to be their tour guide. This was a big eye opener for me because I realized the importance of reflecting the energy and interest level of a tour group.

- Docent Training. I fully organized this training session, meaning that I researched content, made handouts, and planned a lecture for the Docents. I spoke to them about Arthur B. Davies’s Decoration (1918), Margrit Lewczuk’s Chrysalis III (2012), Sally Mann’s The New Mothers (1989), and Pat Passlof’s Dusk (1997). I felt like I was doing a big “info-dump,” but I enjoyed the chance to let my inner-professor out! Some of the questions that the docents asked blind-sided me a little, and it was challenging to come up with appropriate and informed answers for them. It was a good lesson in being prepared, but also in quick thinking/remembering!

Binders and Scans and Plastic Protective Sleeves, Oh My!!
If anything came out of this summer, it’s that I became very handy with the copier machine! In total, I organized 10 resource binders: 5 ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)-compliant large-text readers, 1 binder to house the texts that received the Helen Owen Calvert Writing Award, 1 artist-reader with articles relating to the artists in the New Acquisitions 2022 exhibit, and 3 binders with training materials for new docents! (All of which can be found at the Maier if anyone was curious to see my handiwork.)
These projects really felt like I was scanning, printing, sticking paper in plastic sleeves, rinsing, and repeating. Although it was tedious at times, I do have a couple of major takeaways, the first being the importance of having resources available to the public that are accessible and organized. The second is the sheer volume of resources that a Museum Educator must produce! Before this internship, I didn’t realize the amount of time and effort it took to prepare the resources that shape the museum experience. This lesson also applies to some of the other things I made, like flyers for volunteer recruitment and the Exhibition Checklist for New Acquisitions 2022.
Some resources I created are also meant to be available online! As part of my Exhibition Catalog Conversion Project, I made scans, scans, and more scans of previous exhibition catalogs, reaching back to 2015. Then after lots of cropping and editing, I uploaded them to the computer as digital flipbooks to be viewed on Maier’s website (The Maier Museum Past Exhibitions – Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College). I’m proud of this project because, as our director Martha Johnson said, I’ve been able to bring exhibitions that are no longer on view back to life!
The Hostess with the Most-ess
This summer I’ve done a lot of behind-the-scenes and tour work, but I have also gained my fair share of “front of house” experience. In June, the Maier was co-host to the Forte Chamber Summer Concert Series, and to the Randolph College Creative Writing M.F.A. Readings. We also hosted the Annual Volunteer Luncheon, which I helped to decorate. My responsibilities included greeting guests, answering questions, and ensuring that guests (especially those with food and drinks) kept a safe distance from the artworks on the wall. I was surprised by what a big stressor this was for me! It was definitely a test of my patience and politeness when asking people to step away from the walls while I was so worried about the art.

Other than hosting duties, I also gained a lot of experience with Visitor’s Services while sitting out front at the reception desk. I found it so fun to chat with guests and share some of the knowledge I acquired over the course of my internship. Additionally, I got to learn a little bit more about some of our guests! I met Randolph alumni, quizzed children about their favorite artworks in the galleries, and spoke to one guest who was able to relate the Maine scenes in the Whitehead-family loans to her time in South Korea.
Thank You for the Music
I feel that during my time as an intern, I have become very comfortable with the Collection here at the Maier and with the staff and volunteers. I have enjoyed my time here and have appreciated all the guidance and advice from everyone. I am grateful for this experience and everyone who has been a part of it!
I have learned so much, and I am excited to see where my senior year will take me. I’m looking forward to applying my new skills to the end of my studies and to my future career.
Thank you to everyone who made this wonderful opportunity a possibility!


