“ The students did an excellent job and as a result , I was asked to step in as interim Director to help implement and execute the marketing strategies we had developed . I was extremely honored and nervous to accept the role . After visiting , most people are thoroughly impressed by the collection and say “ I had no idea this was here .” Once I realized that my marketing skills could help the community discover this “ hidden gem ,” it ’ s been fun and exciting ,” she said .
“ I do not have any museum or public history experience , but that ’ s the beauty of the museum being part of Valdosta State University . We have experts in those areas on campus and they have been so gracious to lend their expertise and also include the museum as part of their class projects . We are also able to provide internships , work study
The Copleand Museum has a small replica of The Clotilda , the last slave ship to have entered the
U . S ., whose history was explored in the Netflix film , Descendant .
positions , and graduate assistantships to a wide variety of students across the entire university .”
Unfortunately , the museum was open for all of two months before the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to close for several months . However , Watson focuses on the bright side of the closure , saying it allowed staff to focus on improving guest experience , especially when it came time to expand .
“ We rotate the collection about once per year . While the expansion has allowed us to display significantly more artifacts , we also want the experience to be manageable . We would much rather have a smaller number of items on display at one time so people do not feel rushed or overwhelmed . We want visitors to really be able to appreciate and process what they are seeing
so it can be more impactful and thought-provoking . Especially once we have the app fully functional , we want people to be able to spend ample time with the supporting information it provides so they understand the significance of the contributions and will be more likely to remember more of it .”
Expansion more than tripled the size of the museum space . The museum now has two full rooms of artifacts , space for traveling exhibits and items on loan from other museums , a photo area and the Children ’ s emPOWERment Zone . Watson said staff wants teachers to see them as a partner , and the expansion gave them the space needed to be able to host students during field trips .
“ Now , students at every grade level will be able to gather comfortably in the museum to complete the activities we have designed to help teachers meet the Georgia Standards of Excellence for Social Studies . We have had local teachers use the artifacts from our collection as the basis for lessons and projects . It is such an enriching experience for the students to then visit the museum where they can actually see the artifact in person and share their presentation about the person and their contribution with the rest of the class .”
And educational opportunities certainly abound . There is an entire area dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen . Not many people know that one of the Tuskegee Airmen was born right here in Valdosta , and there ’ s a display highlighting him . There ’ s also have a replica of the Clotilda , the last known slave ship to arrive in
34 Valdosta Scene | February 2023