All right. Hello, everyone. This is Libba Beacham, interim executive director at the Northeast Georgia History center here with what is usually a host, but today a very, very special guest, Marie Bartlett, our director of education here. But. But Marie is leaving us, and we are really excited for her next steps into her career in the museum world and museum education. It has been such a wonderful ride this whole time to have Marie here and the growth of our programs. And so this is just a special episode as a bon voyage and wishing Marie the best, but also reflecting on how much growth we've experienced through our educational programs, through Marie's work. And so, Marie, I really want to just open it up to say we're so thankful for all the time and the work and the creativity and strategy that you've implemented here in our programs. But tell us, what is next for you? What is the next exciting step in your career?

Yes. So I have been given this wonderful opportunity to be the building brains anywhere program supervisor over educational programs at Gwinnett County's nine historic sites. My home base, so to speak, will be the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage center, located in Beaufort. And it's not too far away. So I hope everyone can come visit and say hello. Cause it's a wonderful place. There's also nine historic sites, which includes the environmental and heritage center that has the Cheshire Williams house. There's the Elijah Wynn house, which we actually just got to go to this last fall at their Elijah Winfrey. We went as the history center, and we hosted a booth about historic toys and games and the different programs that we have here as the history center. And we got to play with some kids from the children of the American Revolution.

That was so fun.

Which also been part of our homeschool programs and other programs that we've done, which was wonderful to see. Gwinnett county also has the Fort Daniel historic site.

Oh, yeah.

Which we had the reenactors from for our war of 1812 homeschool.

Yes. That was fantastic.

It was so wonderful. And that's a really cool site because it's where a fort was. So it's an archaeology site. So we also got to talk at the Elijah windfair to the reenactors there and get to talk to them about their archaeological finds. There also is Friedsman's Mill, the Gwinnett County Historic Courthouse, the Isaac Adair House, the Lawrenceville Female Seminary, McDaniel Farm, and the Yellow river courthouse. So I get a lot of historic buildings to play in.

Yes. That's incredible.

Very excited about and my time here at the history center has just been so wonderful and has truly prepared me to take on this more historic sites and more of a role here. But my time here at the history center has been so, so special to me. I started here at the history center when I was a freshman in college.

Yeah. Yeah. As a living history interpreter. Right? Yes.

So it was December of 2016, and I was here for the victorian Christmas family Day, and I. I think I did a dance program, and I was a Caroler.

Nice. Yeah.

And that was my first time ever here at the history center. Even though I grew up. I actually grew up in Gwinnett, so I'm kind of going home, in a way.

Yeah.

So a lot of these sites I have gone to so many times as a kid and have, those have informed my love of history. But getting to work here and really honed my craft as a historical interpreter all throughout college and then as I graduated, being able to be the director of education here and getting to experiment during the pandemic.

Oh, yes.

Because that's where I stepped in in 2020, and we were doing all virtual programs. So that was awesome. Also very challenging. It was a challenging time for everybody, and we had to pivot. Digital programs were not my strong suit at the time. I had not really done digital programs.

But, boy, did you get practice.

I got so much practice, and I feel very confident in putting together a presentation now.

Yeah.

And presenting it digitally and in person. And then it was wonderful to get to move into on site programming again. The pandemic, in a way, almost gave us a clean slate to reinvent what we wanted our on site programming to be since it had been on pause for almost two years. So getting to redevelop, that was also really, really exciting, challenging, rewarding, and just getting to add more and more things. We started, of course, with our field trips and kind of revamping those. Some of it is very similar to what we had before, but just with a little bit of. A little shine to it. A little refreshing. Yeah. Different structure.

Yeah. Different activities that we've included since you've come on. So it really just elevated our programming and made it very engaging, highly interactive, and still, at its core, living history.

Yes. My pedagogy.

Oh, yes.

Is hands on history.

Oh, yeah.

Making it as interactive and fun as possible, because we're telling the story of us as humans, and therefore, everyone should be excited about that because it's your story.

Exactly.

It's history. It's about all of us. And I want to make sure people feel that connection to it.

Yeah.

So I excited that I got to do so much of that here. I love the history center, and I am also very excited to get to do that with Gwinnett and to have even a larger reach in a sense, because this will be over the whole county.

And I'm curious, you know, both of us have kind of similar entries into the museum world. I myself also entered right after college. Like, I graduated, and I skyrocketed from volunteer to director of communications at a separate museum and UT right out of college. But the difference being that you came in during a, a worldwide pandemic and you really had to get creative work within restrictions and bounds of the time. But in general, I'm wondering for college graduates who are history majors or even theater majors, education majors, whoever is interested in getting into the museum world, seeing if that's a good fit for them. What kind of, like, you've been here for four plus years now, and so what advice do you have for those graduates that are really excited about entering into the museum sector? But, you know, there's just so many things that they simply won't know because they haven't experienced it. So what is your sage wisdom that you can offer recent grads that are interested in going into the museum field?

Yes, I get this a lot with our interns and people who find me online. And really the best advice that I can give someone who's interested, who wants to get in the museum field is get your foot in the door somewhere. The museum world is very small, and starting somewhere as a volunteer, as an intern, that is the way to get your foot in the door to get experience. And hopefully, therefore, we'll be able to put that on your resume, get a job somewhere. So definitely start with volunteering with an internship, because that's how I started. I started as a volunteer at state Leoaks, which is a historic plantation and also outbuildings, including a school house in Slave Cook's cabin and tenant farmer house, as well as a barn, a country store, and a recreated native american village.

Wow.

And that is where I started volunteering in middle school.

Yeah. Middle school. Yeah. So you can start early.

You can. There are junior docent programs out there. Trying to find one can sometimes be a little challenging because it depends on the place.

But, hey, if there's any middle schoolers and parents out there that want to volunteer for our homeschool days, do reach out.

Yes, please. So, I started as a volunteer in middle school, and I think that's really what put me on the trajectory that I have now, because I was able to be a volunteer, be a junior docent, be a full time docent, then move into a historical interpreter. So I really, you know, I have gone from docent to director, and one of the reasons I was able to do so fairly young is because I started so early.

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And, you know, your involvement here at the history center, like you said, you started out as an interpreter here for us, and you really got to know the living history side of things, not only through us having the opportunity to really shine through our living history programs, but through your experience with reenactments and the Atlanta Historic Dance Company, other societies that really thrive in that living history space. And so we were just thrilled to have you. It's been a remarkable journey to see how much you've grown over that time. I definitely resonate with that, being someone who really just dove right in, you know, to the museum world and had to, you know, on my feet, learn from trial and error, learn new skills out of necessity and curiosity, thrive here. And I just know that you've made such a huge impact on so many lives here to create those memorable, special experiences and connect kids and adults alike to our past. You know, something that has been such a great advantage to us is, of course, having folks on our team who have a background in history and theater or performance, or at least are confident enough to take on that kind of edutainment kind of role. And you really thrived here with that. And I can't wait to see what's next for you, especially since we've been in. We've had so many great connections with Gwinnett before that. I know this will not be the last that we see of Miss Marie, but, Marie, what are some of the highlights of your time here? I mean, I know it's hard to narrow down specific moments out of thousands, but when it comes to mind, I mean, what do you think you're gonna. What are the memories you'll take away and treasure?

There are so many memories that I will treasure and will hold a special place in my heart forever. It's so hard to pick just a few. I think one of the things that I'm proudest of is the community that we have made with our homeschoolers.

Yes.

Starting during the pandemic, we had our homeschool history club online.

Yeah, online.

And that has really morphed into something where we hold monthly homeschool history days, field trips for them, essentially, where they can come and interact with history. This whole. We've done that for the past two years now. And I will never forget the first one we ever held, because I was hoping for maybe 50 people to show up. And then 360 did.

Yes.

And we were not prepared.

But you did it.

But it was just me out there in the cabin, and it was about school. It was the run room schoolhouse program that I put together, and it was me as a teacher with some slates and chalk and some ink and a quill, and I somehow entertained 360 people in a matter of 3 hours.

We knew we were onto something at.

That point, though, when Glenn. Cause we didn't have a friend desk person at that time. So Glenn was like, oh, I'll put the bell out, and I'll come out when people stopped by, inevitably. And then he was out there for 3 hours straight and called you and leslie up from the basement as backup. We have a line out the door. Please come help.

I know. It's, like, such a, it was a thrill, though, because, you know, I think that there really is a need for specifically for homeschool families. History's complicated. History is challenging, but to have an experience you can take your kids to that is educational, memorable, fun, and engaging. It really just opened up this big world and big community to us. And so I can definitely see how that's been our highlights for you and also just the field trip programs that you've had. Just, I love that every time we have a field trip, Marie will ask the kids to raise their hands if this is their first time to a museum, and we have many of our kids who raise their hands, and so to be their first experience of a history museum is really special. I mean, do you have any?

I also do that to figure out, because one of my, this isn't a great memory, but it was a memory that is very memorable. It was really our first big field trip after the pandemic, and it was a bunch of second graders who had never been anywhere in their lives before.

Ah, yes, because pandemics.

Because pandemic. And they just were not sure how to act at a museum. Right. They didn't know. So ever since then, I now ask, who has never been to a museum before? Because I was traumatized.

Yeah. A little etiquette lesson was needed, and.

And that's where I said, oh, my goodness. So I make it a great positive so that we can be like, oh, my goodness, I'm so excited. It's your first time to a museum. This is how we act at a museum.

Exactly. Exactly. And, you know, the field trips in particular are so fun, because the kids love the exhibit scavenger hunt that curates scavenger hunts.

They love finding the little blue guy, Izzy.

Oh, yes. Yes.

That is one of their favorite things.

Yes. If you come to the history center, anyone can participate in our exhibit scavenger hunt anytime you visit, even adults, and we encourage you to. But, yeah, you can find the 1996 mascot for the Olympics, Izzy, in our exhibits. But there's also an artifact scavenger hunt as well. So it's just a really fun way to interact with history to get the kids excited about the old stuff that we have and the stories behind them.

And also to increase their vocabulary of historic things and also to get them thinking about, oh, this is a toaster that looks a lot different than my toaster.

Exactly.

So getting them to understand, compare and contrast them and now is also part of our scam design, which I'm really proud of because when I came here, it was just kind of check marks.

Yeah.

Which is great for little kids. And now I just tell them to check mark it if they're little. But now there is the option for older children to actually write the word. So that way it can be a little bit more engaging for older students. But you can still put a check mark in the box that's just bigger. So that's another improvement that I was happy to help implement here at the history center.

And then just the activities they get to enjoy, like historic toys and games to learn about childhood during the 18 hundreds, for instance, making that connection to, because so often they're learning about the adult experiences of history, which makes sense, but to learn about childhood and to make that connection and then just to see them so excited to play cup and ball and jump rope and nine pins and hoop trundling and all sorts of things, it's such a fun experience that, you know, they walk away thinking like, history is cool. History is fun.

History is fun and engaging. And I can see myself in it because we're learning about childhood. I'm a child. Getting to see them play with the historic toys and games is amazing because I asked them about what their toys and games look like at their house. And a lot of people, a lot of the children say video games and things, which, you know, is a lot of fun. We love video games, but it's very different than these tactile games that are all made out of woolen. And there was one point, I said something, I was showing them the tops, and I was like, oh, but you know what these are? And this teacher looked at me and said, no, no, they don't. I was like, oh, oh, okay. So just thinking about this toy that has is ancient. Tops are ancient. They go back to lots of different ancient cultures. And to think that, oh, children today don't know what they are.

Yeah, I'm going to teach them what.

A top is and how it works.

And just for them to connect the dots on, like, for over, you know, for hundreds and hundreds of years, kids have been playing, doing the same thing. It's just such a visceral connection and a fun connection for them that I know that, you know, you've really set a great foundation for our field trips and programs. So I do want folks to know that, you know, homeschool days will move forward, field trips will move forward. We're very excited about that and that we're just so thankful for the foundation that Marie has created here. I'm so proud of you, just as an individual who's grown so much, and I know that you are onto great things and that this will not be the last that we see each other.

We'll do lots of special collaborations.

Exactly. So folks do make a point to check out the programming that's lined up under Marie's direction once she's settled in and everything at Gwinnett.

Yes, you can find it in the Gwinnett community services. Excellent. Excellent. I think I'm technically under parks and recreation. I'm not sure. I'm sure they're going to tell me at some points, but I know the big umbrella is the community services.

Great. Yeah. And by the time this airs, we can throw a link in the description so you can see what programs are coming up. Yeah. All of that to say, folks, if you want to share any communication with Marie or just thanking her or anything, you can reach out to us@infoegahc.org and we'd be happy to forward those comments to Marie. I know she's really meant a lot to many families and visitors over the years, and we're just really, all of us here at the history center are thankful and really very excited for you. And, yeah, don't be a stranger. And folks, y'all don't be a stranger either. Go see Miss Marie at Gwinnett. And I'm sure you'll probably see her occasionally here at the history center, too. But Maria, the last thing I wanted to ask you since that we are celebrating 20 years at Brenau this year in 2024, and we're all kind of reflecting on the past but also looking to the future. And so just for you. What do you hope for the future of the history center? What do you want to encourage people to consider about the Northeast Georgia History center as we celebrate 20 years at Brenau?

Yeah, so the history center has done so much and grown so much just in my time here in the past four years. And I really hope the history center will just continue its legacy of incredible educational programs, both virtually and in person, and will continue to be its community's pathway to history education because that is our mission and we have been doing a great job. We are a small but mighty staff here who has done amazing things and has continued to grow. So I just hope that the history center continues to do the excellent job that it is doing.

Thanks so much, Marie. We wish you all the best. And folks, again, if you'd like to share any comments with Marie, you can email us@infohc.org any last remarks?

Marie yes, I just wanted to say that I have so enjoyed my time working here at the Northeast Georgia History center as the director of the Ada Ma Ivest Education center and getting to know all of you. Some of you listening right now have been a part of our virtual programming since the very beginning of my time here in 2020 when everything was virtual. And it has been so wonderful to watch our community grow from online to on site programs. And we have created so many wonderful programs and memories here thanks to this community. And they will forever hold a very special place in my heart.

That's really special. Thank you, Marie. Alright folks, we will see you next week for another episode of then again, thanks for listening. See ya.

Then again is a production of the Northeast Georgia History center in Gainesville, Georgia. Our podcast is edited by Andrews Gilles. Our digital and on site programs are made possible by the Ada Mae Ioster Education center. Please join us next week for another episode of then again.