I helped update and upgrade exhibits while working for the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in D.C.

During my first 6 months, I was tasked with collecting information needed to create an online version of the Looking at Earth gallery. Not only did I have to transcribe every label in the gallery, but also tracked down the copyright holders for every image and photograph.

I performed the following with this assignment:

• Tracked down images and photographs online, and at the National Archives, in order to locate their origins.
• Corresponded with companies (foreign and domestic), government agencies, and retired veterans to gain permission to put their photographs online.
• Archived the written permissions.
• Labelled and archived duplicate photos.
• Created an image database.
• Used the aforementioned archives and database to assist the National Air and Space Museum’s Archives with outside inquiries.

Additionally, the gallery had a stereoscope with pairs of stereoscopic images on display. The images appear 3-D when viewed through the stereoscope. To include these images in the online gallery, I turned them into anaglyphs.

-Jen, aka. “Power Chair Dorothy”