QUB Pupil Maddy Kennedy. Picture Credit score: Armagh Observatory and Planetarium
As a scholar of Public Historical past, I’m fascinated by the invaluable, yet usually underappreciated position performed by archives and archivists. I used to be subsequently delighted to undertake a thirty-day internship on the archives of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP) as a part of my Masters course. Under the supervision of Matthew McMahon, Museum Collections Officer, I spent the primary portion of my time at the AOP archiving. This primarily included working with uncatalogued materials and importing it to the web administration system. It’s the unlucky actuality of archival establishments that materials can typically stay uncatalogued for prolonged intervals of time. This can pose an concern because it signifies that researchers could not be capable of entry sure supplies as they haven’t been uploaded to a central system and subsequently can’t be situated for examine. I labored to counteract this drawback by sorting by means of a wealth of letters and paper paperwork, spanning from 1947 to 1994. I first ordered them chronologically, then wrote transient but detailed explanations of every, and uploaded all figuring out info to the web system. This work is painstaking however is completely essential to the administration of archives, and I’m proud that I personally catalogued a complete of 305 gadgets throughout my time on the AOP.
My background features a diploma in Russian, so I was very excited to study that the AOP archive holds an intensive assortment of Russian language materials. A lot of this relates to the late astronomer, Ernst Öpik, an Estonian born within the Russian Empire in 1893. After years of travelling and dealing all through Europe, Öpik ultimately settled in Armagh, Northern Eire. I had the chance to translate some beforehand unread paperwork that proved to be instrumental in guiding my understanding of Öpik. A Russian language biography revealed that at age 7, he misplaced an eye fixed in an accident involving a bow and arrow shot by his youthful brother Oskar. Because of this, he wore a glass eye for the rest of his life. This was just the start of the revelations about this mysterious determine that I uncovered by translating Russian paperwork.
Having accomplished my archiving undertaking, I then shifted my focus to the opposite side of my internship which was to create an exhibition for the general public. My brainstorming stage revealed that I used to be nonetheless fully transfixed by the Öpik paperwork that I had catalogued, and that I needed to probe deeper into this man’s extraordinary life. Subsequently, when the time got here to select a theme for the exhibition, I made a decision that Öpik’s life story would present an fascinating narrative. Though Öpik is already well-known within the world of science for his astronomical pursuits, as a Humanities scholar, I felt compelled to take into account the person past his scientific accolades. In taking this method, my additional analysis revealed much more unanticipated particulars of Öpik’s life, corresponding to the truth that he had two simultaneous households, his hatred of recent applied sciences, and maybe most surprisingly, his spectacular expertise as a pianist and composer.
Öpik enjoying the Lindsay Piano. Picture credit score: Armagh Observatory and Planetarium
Most of all, nevertheless, I used to be intrigued by the worldwide factor of Öpik’s life. In his 91 years of life, he lived in Estonia, Russia, Uzbekistan, Germany, the USA of America, and Northern Eire. This fixed journey is such an vital side of Öpik’s story. He travelled for varied totally different causes, corresponding to to flee an oppressor, to keep away from battle, to acquire training, and maybe mostly, to show. Öpik was a eager educator and sometimes set sail or occasionally trekked by foot for the chance to unfold his information to the youthful technology of astronomers. Attributable to his spectacular repute as a pioneer in his subject, and his monumental standing as one of many final nice polymaths, it’s usually forgotten that Öpik was, in actual fact, a refugee. He and his household needed to flee on a number of events as a consequence of the outbreak of battle. In a time wherein migrants are so usually victims of abuse and vitriol, I felt it was vital to inform the story of this refugee household who travelled throughout so many alternative international locations earlier than lastly discovering their residence right here in Armagh.
I made a decision that the exhibition would deal with Öpik’s intensive travelling and titled it ‘Ernst J. Öpik: The Man Behind the Science’. The following process was to curate an object checklist
Ernst Opik – Supply WikiCommons
that would concurrently characterize Öpik’s distinctive life experiences, and successfully seize the eye of guests to the AOP. I selected to embody a mix of airmail letters, lecture notes, pictures, a household tree, and medals, amongst different gadgets discovered within the archives.
While the content material of this show considerations Öpik and his actions, the final intention of the exhibition is to exhibit the immense significance of archival establishments. Having each used and contributed to the AOP archive, I realized the worth of holding well-organised and maintained collections. Archives facilitate researchers in making really new discoveries, and this information can subsequently be unfold to the general public. Though it’s true that museums are sometimes the place members of the public work together with historic materials, it’s completely essential to do not forget that exhibitions and shows wouldn’t be remotely doable with out the help of an archive. Having skilled firsthand the interface of museum and archive, I can say with some conviction that these two entities are not mutually unique and in actual fact rely closely on each other. My internship at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium supplied me with the chance to develop the fundamentals of Public Historical past apply, however maybe extra importantly, my time right here has helped me to additional perceive and admire the hidden work of archivists.
