DEA Museum Staff Gear Up to Highlight 50 Years of History
This July, DEA turns 50. As keepers of the agency’s history, Museum staff is working full throttle to augment permanent gallery content and experiences with two new exhibits and an anniversary history book. It’s a tough challenge, but the end results will engage and fascinate visitors later this year.
As keepers of DEA’s history, the Museum staff is working full throttle to augment permanent gallery content and experiences with two new exhibits and a 50th anniversary history book. Both will be presented to the public later this year.
How do staff members pack 50 years of history into two small exhibit spaces? The Museum’s educator, collections specialists, and historian embrace the challenge. Working together with input from retired DEA agents and employees, Museum staff first make tough decisions. What are the most important stories to share? And how can their presentation best engage and fascinate visitors? With many solutions on the table, the Museum is collaborating with exhibit planners, writers, and content experts. Conducting historical research; searching for just the right photograph to illustrate a story or concept; selecting compelling artifacts to complement stories; designing clear and creative exhibits; and making use of oral histories and videos – these are the steps of museum exhibit planning.
“DEA’s 50th anniversary comes along once in a lifetime,” said Jan McKay Wrzesinski, Museum Director. “The exhibits’ challenge is significant because of space limitations, but the end product will be educational exhibits that will resound with agents, employees and retirees, and the general public.”
Beyond developing two new exhibits, staff are updating DEA’s 40th anniversary history book. By adding new details to existing chapters and researching highlights from the past decade, they will produce a rich trove of content covering the complex history of DEA’s work.
Additional educational programs, online content, and smaller exhibits at DEA Headquarters are in the works.
“As Museum professionals, we always want to tell more of the history. But as Museum professionals, we grapple with the realities of space, whether in a gallery or in a book. Museum education is a spark that entices visitors and readers to do their own research and reading, to take action to learn more. If we accomplished this, we will be successful.”
There will be something for everyone as we commemorate DEA’s 50 years of service to the American public and the agency’s collaborations with law enforcement partners and governments worldwide.
Look for upcoming details on these projects at www.deamuseum.org. You can also sign up to receive the Museum’s newsletter and other announcements.