El Paso Museum of History - Week 3 [Connor Kaufmann]

Lights! Camera! Action! Wait… Fashion Show?! Yes, the El Paso Museum of History hosted a fashion show. I know, I know, fashion shows and museums don’t seem to fit well together, but this one sure did! This was Friday’s activity, the week’s highlight, but this doesn’t mean it was the only thing that I did in the 3rd week of my internship. Of course not! The week was full of many enriching activities, so why don’t we start with where we left off… Wednesday! 

Wednesday consisted of me learning to advertise for the museum. I assisted with cutting 200+ flyers for the fashion show on Friday, and spent a few hours walking downtown, posting them on the advertisement boards in various restaurants, parking garages, and bus stops. The flyers I did not use, I gave to the front desk employees downstairs to hand out to visitors as they come in. Thanks to all of these flyers, we had a great turnout on Friday. People were bringing in our fliers and asking if there were still spots left upstairs to enjoy the show, which of course there was. We ended up having a full house, which was unbelievable. On Wednesday, I was also given one more training on how to do a tour for a large group, and then I watched the process of removing artifacts from the exhibition cases by our curatorial assistant. The last thing I did was begin the long and grueling process of getting 300+ envelopes ready to send to donors to alert them of the new exhibits that will be put up soon. On Thursday, I continued my envelope process, but also helped get everything ready for Friday. Friday was the big day! The fashion show consisted of two fashion agencies, one from Juarez and one from El Paso, both of which stood for social justice. The El Paso based fashion studio was headed by a brother and sister who created the studio to bring awareness to mental health in the black community. The Juarez based studio was created by one woman who sought to express indigenous Mexican culture through clothing while also bringing awareness to the hardships indigenous peoples go through everyday. It was very powerful to watch these two leaders in the local fashion industry come together to promote love and care for all people. The fashion that was displayed to the audience ranged all the way from streetwear to traditional Mexican serapes; a truly wild combination, but it worked! It showcased the diversity of the borderland, and the strength of acceptance El Paso has for all people. Instead of watching the show, I was given the opportunity to help run it behind the scenes, and it was amazing! I was able to see where and how the models got dressed so quickly, and I was able to speak to them and ask them questions such as how they started as models. Helping run a fashion show was very fun, but it was also a lot more work than I expected. By the end of the long night, we had officially closed our Black Survival Guide exhibit with a bang! 





Picture #1 depicts me holding the extremely friendly snake named pumpkin who came to the fashion show.
Picture #2 & #3 depict the runway at the fashion show and a picture of the models in front of the Black Survival Guide Entrance.  


Monday began the intensive process of removing the Black Survival Guide exhibit. I assisted with this process, and brushed up on my drywall smoothing skills. I also assisted with the planning for this week's summer camp that will be happening till Friday. The kids will all learn how to scan and 3D print at FabLabs, which is a 3D printing art studio, or digital fabrication laboratory, here in downtown El Paso. They have graciously partnered with the museum to help make this summer camp possible! Monday was an introduction day for everyone where we gave the kids a tour and let them mingle and get comfortable with each other. Tuesday is when the real fun began at FabLabs! The kids were able to scan their own faces to make 3D models of their facial structures. They are then given the rest of the week to edit them and add anything they would like to them before FabLabs prints their models and displays them in the El Paso Museum of History in a pop up exhibit! It is so fascinating to watch all of the kids mess around with 3D models and printers because I have only been exposed twice to 3D printers before this. After helping out with the camp, I came back to my regular duties at the museum, continuing research from last week, and assisting with taking down and putting up exhibits.





The three pictures above were taken during the summer camp! The students were learning to scan museum artifacts while simultaneously learning the history of the artifacts!


Above is a picture of a wall I painted for the Pasos Urbanos exhibit prep!

Everyday that I work at my internship, I am more and more grateful for our Washington Week experience. I honestly do not think I would have learned the professional skills I am using everyday during my internship as quickly and efficiently if it wasn’t for Washington Week. I also do not think I would have had the motivation or excitement to work here for 4 weeks if it wasn’t for the Young Ambassadors Program and Washington Week. Throughout the whole duration of this program, I have learned to appreciate my culture, know what I am worth, feel for and help my community, and how to give back to the community that has supported me throughout my life. The excitement that I get to spend another day learning about my people and our hardships, successes, and grievances is an excitement that has been fostered and nurtured through this amazing program. I wish I had more than just one week left. It has gone by way too quickly.

Fellow Yappers, enjoy your last week!



Until next time,


Connor Kaufmann

YAP 2022

El Paso Museum of History 

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