Lily Forman | Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom (Tallinn)
This summer, I had the opportunity of working at Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom in Tallinn, Estonia. As a history major interested in historical memory and public history, I was thrilled to gain hands-on experience in a museum this summer in a place with such a fascinating history.
I was able to work on a wide variety of tasks during my time at Vabamu. Twice a week, I worked in the museum’s collections at their off-site storage location. In the collections, I spent my time helping make sure that the museum’s artifacts were stored properly to preserve them for generations to come. I mostly worked with photos and letters, but I had the opportunity to learn about the wide array of objects housed in the museum’s collections. My favorite moments in the collections were when I stumbled upon an emotional or meaningful artifact, like a flower sent in a letter from someone in Tallinn to a loved one in Siberia or a drawing from a young child. I was honored to be able to work with such meaningful objects, and they also proved to be valuable learning experiences. Spending time in the museum’s collections demonstrated the importance of archival practices and prompted thought about the ethics and logistics behind archives and museum collections.
I spent the rest of my days at the museum itself working on a variety of tasks. One of my main objectives for the summer was assisting with the development of the Friends of Vabamu program, an annual membership program to help bolster the museum’s fundraising efforts and allow visitors from abroad to stay connected with Vabamu. As we worked to brainstorm benefits to offer members, I completed a number of interviews with museum visitors to better understand their interests and experiences. I loved speaking with visitors from around the world, all of whom were passionate about Vabamu’s mission. Speaking to these visitors, I was able to better understand how Vabamu’s exhibitions facilitated their understanding of Estonian history and how museums in general fit into the landscape of history education.
As part of my internship, I also had the opportunity to contribute to a temporary exhibition about the history of women’s movements and feminism in Estonia. I spent part of my summer working on a poster to add to the exhibition, drawing connections between the exhibition’s content and the life of Dr. Olga Kistler-Ritso, the founder of Vabamu. Developing this poster was an exciting opportunity to learn about exhibition creation and design, and I was proud to see my work displayed in the museum at the end of my internship!
One of my favorite aspects of the internship was “Museum Fridays,” where I had the chance to spend one day a week exploring the many museums in Estonia (for free, thanks to my museum worker’s card)! Estonia has so many fascinating museums, and being able to visit them let me not only learn about the country I was living in but also learn more about museum work, collections, exhibitions, and more. One of my favorites was the Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour Museum, where visitors have the chance to step into an authentic submarine from the 1930s. I also loved the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design — I spent hours walking through their displays of textiles, ceramics, jewelry, and more. Being able to explore such a wide variety of museums exposed me to the many ways that museums can function and also demonstrated clearly the impact of history on all facets of life, from boats to saunas to jewelry.
During my time at Vabamu, I learned incredible amounts about both Estonian history and museum work. Throughout my internship, I was able to put to use what I’ve learned in Stanford classes such as Doing Historical Memory, Doing Public History, and the Baltic World. My experience at Vabamu this summer confirmed that I want to continue to learn about public history as I embark on the second half of my time at Stanford. After spending my summer in a history museum, I’m more excited to continue down this path than ever before!
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