A Curator Must Do Many Things

 My group and I were assigned to make an exhibit on child labor during the Industrial Revolution. After much discussion, we decided to name the exhibit Condemning the Innocent, because after extensive research both within and outside of the documents given to us, we found that it was very rare that a child worked in a mill or mine willingly, and they usually only did because the poverty was so bad that their families had no other options. My group and I, somehow, didn't run into any major problems other than not having enough space for all of our pictures , which was easily fixed by simply letting some of them hang off of the sides. Throughout our research, I think the think that surprised me the most was a photograph taken of a young boy who worked in the mills. He appeared to be between 9 and 11, and his clothes were dirty and torn and his growth and posture had been stunted from excessive hard labor on his developing body.  After making the exhibit,I learned that I should be grateful for not only being able to get an education, but that I don't have to get up before the crack of dawn to get there. Also, I learned that if I had been alive during this era in England, I would have faced the same fate as the girls  described in an excerpt of Bobbin Girls which explains what the working conditions were like, and is shown in out exhibit.

During this project, each group was assigned a different topic. For example, my group, group D, were assigned child labor. Group A did their exhibit on the different types of spinning wheels were used in the textiles, and who/how they were operated. Since children of as young as 5 were allowed to work in the mills, better and safer wheels were made to appeal more to potential women and children employees. Group B's exhibit was about the new kinds of transportation invented during this time period, specifically the steam engine. The steam engine allowed people to go far distances in a shorter period of time than they would be able to through other forms of transportation. During this period, this technology was so new that they took going 150 miles in 32 hours as an amazing breakthrough, where we'd see that as excruciatingly slow. Group C was assigned the topic of pollution that came from the new machines in the air in water. The most striking thing included in the exhibit was an image of a street in Manchester, England completely covered in nasty and polluted water. Finally, group E made their exhibit about the increase in slaves being brought into the U.S.. Since the demand for textile goods were rising as well as the amount of mills being built, they needed more cheap/free labor. In my opinion, his assignment has been a very important learning opportunity to show the students involved the different aspects of the Industrial Revolution and how it affected the working class people alive during that era.