A few days ago in class, I worked on creating a museum exhibit relating to the Industrial Revolution. I worked in a small group of four people. We were given six sources, which also included photos as well. From there, we analyzed each source, found the most important details, and wrote placards about them. The placards are used for visitors to get the main idea of what the source is trying to get across. Below, I have provided a full image of what my museum exhibit looks like.
Before we created the exhibit, we had to analyze each source. Basically, this means asking yourself, "Where is it located?", "Who created the source?", "When was it written?" and most importantly, "What motivated the author/creator to produce this source?" By answering these questions, it gave me a better understanding on why these sources are very important to my understanding of the Industrial Revolution. The analysis process is one of the most important aspects of the curating, if not the most important. Through this process, you are able to make sure your sources have enough interesting information for incoming visitors. It is essential for visitors to be engaged in what you are providing. In addition, by analyzing a source you can test whether or not a source is reliable. Asking yourself the question, "What will visitors gain from visiting this source?" is also an essential aspect of curating. My exhibit focused on the effect the Industrial Revolution had on the community. This includes, the people and the environment around them. Our first source shows the Thames River in 19th century England. This image shows that although innovative, the Industrial Revolution did bring negative affects upon the environment. The river became polluted, foul, and turned a pale brown fluid. Aside from photos, our second source is a letter from Professor Michael Faraday. He explains that there have been negative effects on the environment, and he wants people to be more aware of their actions. Not only does the Industrial Revolution affect the rivers, streams, and air quality, but it also greatly affects the citizens. A excerpt from Andrew Ure is included in our six sources as well. While some believed that the revolution was positive due to the increase in jobs, others became sad and depressed due to working endless hours and not fully enjoying life. A map between the years of 17-15 to 18-15 is also included. Basically, the map shows increased population, new machines, and a number of docks that were increased for transportation. Our last two sources went together. The image shows poverty stricken neighborhoods with poor living conditions. Below the photo, there is a chart. The chart shows that in certain years of the Industrial Revolution the inflations were more than people could afford. Citizens did not have enough money to pay the cost of living. Some years inflation wasn't as drastic, but high inflation is what caused people to live on the dirty, cramped streets.
It took a while for my group to come up with our title. We tried a variety of titles but a lot of them were just too long. We wanted something that was short, but also allowed for a very important point to get across. In the end, we decided on "Making Money, Destroying Neighborhoods". We thought this was a good representation of life during the Industrial Revolution. Although people were making money, the new machines was causing a negative effect on the community. When visitors view our exhibit, I hope that they learn that the Industrial Revolution wasn't all good. There were some bad aspects of it too. The environment is extremely important and citizens have to do whatever they can to preserve it. Relating to someone's life today, I hope they learn that their actions do have consequences.
Another exhibit I explored was called "Cotton or Freedom? You decide." I really like their title because it made me think. Also, the title makes you want to learn more about the topic. Looking at their poster, I was very surprised by the slavery graph they provided. It is amazing how much the slave population grew over time in the southern states. It is baffling how much the slave population can increase in such a short time span. In addition, I also liked how some of their photos were in color.
"Condemning the Innocent: Child Labor in the Industrial Revolution" was a poster that caught my attention. The title was big and bold, which I think is important. Also, I learned that most of the people working in the cotton factories were very young, some younger than 10 years old. Additionally, I found it interesting that even woman worked in the mills, even though they were usually in housekeeping. I couldn't believe that many children had belts with chains tied around them so that they could pull loads.
"Weaving Slavery Into the Industrial Revolution" was another exhibit that I found interesting. While visiting, I learned that Great Britain was the greatest importer of cotton. I was also surprised that there were so many factories in such a small area. I also found this particular poster to be easy to follow and very legible.
The last exhibit I viewed is called, "Spinning into Slavery". I found it hard to believe that Northern factories greatly effected the people down south. Slavery in the south was driven by the need of cotton to make textiles in the North. Additionally, their title helped me to better understand the topic. It made me realize that people were literally "Spinning into Slavery". More slaves were needed to work the machines.
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