OMCA has opened a new Sent Away bay, giving the visitor a more visceral experience of the Japanese-American Internment. It has replaced the old bay which exposed the experience at Tanforan detention facility—euphemistically called Tanforan Assembly Center, and formerly the Tanforan horse racing track—where Japanese-American families were detained during WWII. In the original exhibit, the… Continue reading Sent Away and Coming Home
Today I began to learn first hand the meaning of the docent’s college-level class, California History as Public History. Betty Reid Soskin came to the museum to talk to the docents for our monthly Advanced Training and New Year’s Luncheon. Betty is the oldest park ranger in the United States— 94 years young, for sure.… Continue reading Back to the Beginning: Docent Training and Understanding Public History
Our training class met every Tuesday. We bustled in, some with notes and binders as if carrying them would keep us from forgetting important facts. This Tuesday I was charged with my tour as I had “lucked out” the last week when time ran out just as it was my turn. I spent hours in… Continue reading I Gather My Courage!
