(Museum) Life during a Pandemic

I will also highlight and remind the reader about perhaps one of the most important lessons of this crisis (aside from a complete comprehensive reform of almost every single institution, system, and social safety net program in this country), which is that the internet seems to have become the center of human civilization., Through doing research for the museum, I've been able to have a hand in our transformation from physical exhibits and objects to digital databases, websites, and virtual exhibits. This new mode of consumption has made all of our historical, scientific, and cultural archives available at everyone's fingertips, whenever and wherever.

Confined to the walls of my home due to the “Work Safe, Stay Home” ordinance issued by the County of El Paso, Texas, and adjusting to not only an online class schedule but to an online work schedule as well has been unusual. But nevertheless, it’s nothing I can’t handle. If I’m being honest, I was looking forward to seeing how our institution would adjust to this new format of work. Meanwhile, as some professors have continued to upload content and communicate with students just as if they were in a classroom, other professors have not been so thorough. I suppose that’s just the nature of trying to get adjusted to online teaching and learning. In any case, I can’t help but think about the hardships and obstacles students may face that can disrupt their ability to work from home. This could be due to mental illness, living in a disruptive environment, lack of –resources—some don’t even have Wi-Fi at home (I never had it until my first semester of college); or the students who don’t live at home and are overwhelmed because they don’t have a job anymore, yet the bills, the rent, the assignments, and the exams stay are still there all the while. When I think about these obstacles, I’m grateful for not being in too much of a dire situation, yet I still feel share the frustration for the ones who are in such straits.

The pandemic has not only given us an introspective revision of our own lifestyle and that of others, it has also called us to question our place in society and how we got to this point: the point where we are encased in our crowded or isolated living spaces with pending assignments and deadlines creeping up, desperately waiting for that revered stimulus check to hit our bank account after hours of frustration trying to prove to the government that we’re “poor” enough or worthy enough of assistance to buy our groceries and toiletries, all the while living with the constant anxiety and fear that we or someone we love has been exposed to the horrible disease that has brought the entire world to its knees.

As the country faces the highest unemployment levels since the Great Depression, the American public (when they’re not scraping to put food on the table, trying to avoid eviction, or falling into the abyss of despair at the hands of economic and social injustice) can find temporary leisure through digital means. Now more than ever, Americans are consuming their entertainment via streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and other services, and are participating in social media discourse on sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. By-and-large, the free time that’s available to us when we’re not brooding over the current state of the world is usually spent on activities that help us suppress the fact that there’s a global pandemic going on.

Before I arrive at my main point, I’d like to ask the reader to think about all the movies, shows, documentaries, books, newspaper articles, or any other type of content they’ve consumed during their time in quarantine over the course of this pandemic. After some thorough pondering, I would now like for the reader to imagine their life without any of these media. Not a single one. At the very least, this reminds us of the significant role that the humanities play in our contemporary society during this age of digital consumption. This consumption of digital media is constantly increasing. With the added effects of COVID-19 restricting most social gatherings and activities, our consumption levels of digital entertainment continues to skyrocket. It is because of this that I would like to call all museums, art galleries, historic sites, and other cultural institutions to look at this lockdown and view it not as an obstacle, but as an opportunity to begin, to or become more active in the digitization process of their institution.

In his book, Best of Both Worlds: Museums, Libraries, and Archives in a Digital Age, former Secretary of the Smithsonian, G. Wayne Clough, introduces the technological transformations of the decade as, “The ready availability of digital learning resources is enabling a free-form approach to education that empowers individuals and self-forming groups with new opportunities” (Clough 9). This technological progress within society allows for newly granted access to endless amounts of information and knowledge that will only propel newer and more innovative advancements to come. But in order to achieve this progress, institutions must first take part in digitization - the rendering of objects and artifacts into digitally formatted copies—if they wish to be at the forefront of modern forms. In doing this, these institutions will be able to reach a much broader and diverse audience, especially now, seeing as the general public has a newfound eagerness for distraction.



I take great pride in the fact that at the UTEP Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens, digitization projects have already been underway. The most recent example of our digitization in practice can be seen in our exhibit done in collaboration with UTEP’s Biodiversity Collection called, "Tiny Tunnels, Big Connections: Ant Relationships Shape the World.” This exhibit showcases the impact ants have on our ecosystems by displaying the various types of relationships these insects contribute to within the world around them. First opened February 13, 2020, the exhibit featured 3-D laser-printed replicas of the enlarged heads of several species of ants, augmented reality enabled graphics on the walls and dozens of preserved bio-specimens, to name a few. Because of the pandemic, access to this exhibit was restricted up until very recently. Now, thanks to the diligent work of museum staff, this captivating display is available online through the Centennial museum’s website. This new digital rendition features AR-capable images which can be interacted with through Augment El Paso application, detailed slides and diagrams of specimens, and my personal favorite: an interactive digital 3-D scan of the Mystrium camillae worker ant, done by the Economo Lab at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan. You can read more about the exhibithere.

   
"Tiny Tunnels" augmented reality images available through the UTEP Centennial Museum website.

It is through projects and ventures like this in which we can attest to the endurance of the human spirit and the desire to elevate knowledge, awareness, and curiosity, even in the most drastic predicaments. The motivation and drive to continue an institution’s mission like the one demonstrated by the Centennial Museum is a representation of what other institutions must begin to pursue and achieve. These transitions must begin as soon as possible; otherwise, the lack of digital presence and materials will only limit the spread ideals that make these educational and curatorial establishments the very pillars of progress within our society.

If there is any good to come from this pandemic, I hope that it includes a wave of “lightbulb” moments for museum directors and curators across the country, in which they realize that digitization is not just a novelty project, but instead, the very clear future of these institutions.

Written by Saul Fontes, Undergraduate Research Fellow
El Paso Community College, The Humanities Collaborative at EPCC-UTEP

(Images courtesy of Saul Fontes and the UTEP Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens.)