Blogerim

“on.tour” in Prison

Guides discussing exhibition cubes and hands-on material with inmates; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Svea Pietschmann

I had hardly returned from the summer holidays this year when I went straight to “jail!” But don’t worry, my criminal record still has zero entries. Rather, my visit to prison occurred in the context of our so-called “Prison Week.” This was where our mobile education initiative, “on.tour – The JMB tours schools,” visited the juvenile detention centers at Plötzensee and Neustrelitz. These two days gave me the opportunity to gain insight into the young prisoners’ everyday lives. The experiences I had there were incredibly interesting and corrected some ideas I had previously had about correctional facilities.

Cold – grey – dreary: when you think of jail, it’s not the most inviting pictures that come to mind. I was all the more astonished then, when I walked into the juvenile detention center at Neustrelitz. → continue reading

Our Summer Vacation Program for Modern Scavenger Hunters

David Studniberg with three scavenger hunters; photo: Doris Spiekermann-Klaas, Verlag Der Tagesspiegel

Even now, scavenger hunters are investigating the hole next to the coin track and taking funny pictures with the iPad. Tom, an eight-year-old tyke with a mop of brown curls on his head, is reading the next instruction out loud: “Now look for the black arrows on the floor and follow them until you get to the Chill Corner. There, you can…” But before Tom can finish the sentence, both of his fellow searchers call out excitedly: “Over there, that’s the corner! Come on!” In a flash, the three of them dash off, past Moses Mendelssohn, towards the “Chill Corner”, where they throw themselves on the comfortable pillows and eagerly read the next quiz question on the tablet.

This and similar scenes can be observed every day now during the holidays at our exhibition. Tom and his friends, you see, belong to a group participating in a new summer vacation program, App through the Museum. → continue reading

Going to work; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Anne Richter

Finally finished with school and no idea what next? Perhaps a year abroad or right to university? Or a traineeship? I was asking myself these questions when I graduated high school. Given my interest in Berlin’s museums and cultural and social work, it made sense to gain experience in these fields during a year of civil service. The Jewish Museum Berlin wasn’t actually my first choice; I applied for and was invited to an interview at the Archäologisches Zentrum (Berlin State Archeology Center), which matched my particular interest in ancient Egyptian history. I was therefore extremely disappointed when I was declined. Additional offers were slow to materialize. → continue reading