Martha’s Vineyard Museum

I spent at least a week every summer on Nantucket until I was 18. It was also a great time, and it’s where I have some of my fondest childhood memories. Oddly enough, I’ve only stepped foot on Martha’s Vineyard once. I was flying from Nantucket and the plane stopped on the Vineyard. I got out for some fresh air (it was a tiny plane) and got right back on. That means that I’ve never visited the Martha’s Vineyard Museum in Edgartown, MA, but I’m sure it has a lot in common with the museums that I’ve visited on Nantucket. The museum is “dedicated to furthering an interest in, experience of, and appreciation for the history and culture of the Island and its environs.” That’s exactly what you’d expect, and they do this with exhibitions, collaboritive educational programs, scholarly research, archival collections, and community outreach.

Island Time

The Martha’s Vineyard Museum was originally founded in 1922 as the Dukes County Historical Society. They changed the name in 1996 to the Martha’s Vineyard Historical Society, and again in 2006 to its current name. The museum’s current exhibitions include We Are Marching Along (the island’s role in the Civil War) and Out of the Depths: Martha’s Vineyard’s Shipwrecks. There are also plenty of permanent exhibits that educate on the island’s history from colonial times to modern day. If you want a quick intro to some of the history that museum covers, you should check out its Martha’s Vineyard FAQs. If you find island life intriguing and want to help tell the story of Martha’s Vineyard, look no further than the Martha’s Vineyard Museum’s Jobs page. Right now there’s only one 20-hour per week position as an Oral History Assistant, but I’m sure that you could fill the rest of your time on such an interesting island.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• MVMuseum.org
• Jobs at Martha’s Vineyard Museum
• About Martha’s Vineyard Museum
• Martha’s Vineyard Museum’s Exhibitions
• Martha’s Vineyard Museum in the News

Have you been to Martha’s Vineyard?

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