Tell us a little about yourself!

My name is Louisa Seitz, and I was born and raised here in Lethbridge, Alberta. I will be graduating after this academic school year with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in history, with a minor in museum studies. I’ve always had an interest in history, but it was more stagnant in my younger years, and I was unsure of what I should major in, until I studied further at the University of Lethbridge. My areas of interest include Medieval history, Local History and Archaeology.

How was your experience volunteering with the Galt?

Volunteering at the Galt was very informative; there is plenty of local history stored and knowledge amassed through the museum's longstanding operations. I was orientated along with a team of other students and museum-minded individuals to the Galt’s collections and its organization standards. Afterwards, our volunteer team was able to utilize a database to help community members locate objects for the upcoming Treasures and Curiosities exhibition. The volunteer schedule was very flexible as we worked as a team to fill shifts, and any of us interested in volunteering further beyond the scope of the exhibition was facilitated and encouraged by staff. In addition to the strictly professional aspects of volunteering at a museum, it was fun to help community members and bring local history stored in collections to the limelight. The Galt Museum strongly emphasizes community involvement, and I really enjoyed being a part of that.  

What new experience or learnings did you take with you after being a volunteer with Collections at the Galt? Has this experience influenced or elevated your interest in museum work?

I am interested in pursuing a career in history, which will likely involve handling and working with historical materials. I wanted to learn proper object handling techniques as well as understand how museum collections are organized and operated. I was able to fulfill both of my learning goals. Additionally, although there was a learning curve with the database for object location, my competency in its utilization increased significantly. While the volunteer role was not long-term and there is always more to learn, the Galt's orientation to museum standards was foundational to me.  I aspire to learn more about museums as I continue volunteering and advancing my career.

In your opinion, what was the most interesting artifact that was selected by a member of the community?

The most interesting object was a large jar of pickles, sealed around the time of World War II, which evidently had mold and an odour.  

Any final thoughts?

I know that history can occasionally get a reputation for being uninteresting and children may find other subjects more entertaining. However, the jar of pickles was selected by a community member's child (and had even been previously researched), so the selection emphasized to me that something interesting can nearly always be found when you look for it. Occasional visitors often learn just a small portion of knowledge that museums like the Galt accumulate—but through consistent involvement no matter how non-time intensive, these interesting facets of Lethbridge’s history can be found out.