Additional reports from Queens Memory projects

Here are a few additional reports from Natalie Milbrodt on Global Grand Central detailing Memories of Migration activities that went far beyond the original grant period. Thanks Natalie!
Making a Community Story Quilt
Making a Talking Family Story Quilt  

Presentation at the University of Arizona: Knowledge River

By: Odalys Gomez

The University of Arizona’s School of Information Knowledge River program invited our Memories of Migration team to share with their students the different ways we have implemented the grant to the community. Knowledge River prepares students that are working toward librarian or information professional career that are interested in the information needs of Latinos and Native Populations. As part of the Memories of Migration team I got the opportunity to travel and share with Knowledge River. It was an amazing experience to be able to present to students who are interested in a career in this field. I was also able to hone different skills necessary for a professional career. I had to step out of my comfort zone. With this trip I realized that in working with Memories of Migration I have learned different things that I would not have learned anywhere else.  I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I had to share what we have done with others. It is extremely important to share programs, like Memories of Migration, so they can grow. I also had the privilege to get the students and professors to participate in one of our activities that we take out to our community. Overall this was a wonderful experience. I got to share with others and learn from them as well. 

Community Outreach

4th of July Celebration at Centennial Park

The Santa Ana team spent Independence Day mapping migrations and capturing stories of our community members. Here is a short video of our booth, produced by our CTV3 department.

As with our previous event, we had an information table, a mapping migration station, and a photo booth area. We made some slight modifications to our setup and activities. 

Information Table and Booth Set Up

What worked:

• At this particular event, we had a large enough space to spread out our activities. We set up three canopies, one for the information table, one for the mapping station, and one for the photo booth area. This large set up was nice, because it allowed many people to interact with us without being too crowded.

What didn't work:

• We were battling with intense wind throughout most of the event. Unfortunately, our acrylic sign displays were continuously blown over. We ended up putting water bottles on the backside of the stands to keep them up. 

Mapping Migration Stories

What worked:

• For this event, we decided not to use the 6.5ft x 4ft map we originally used, because it was just too large. Instead, we brought a smaller world and a map of the United States. The maps were large enough for many people to pin their stories, but small enough to not require extra tables. Both maps fit on the tops of two tables.
• The map of the United States made it much easier to pin the migrations of our community members who have migrated within the country. Through this, we identified a key migrant community that we would like to track, Military Families. 
• We created a Santa Ana,CA/Orange County flag attached to a dowel, which was able to withstand the pulling of the strings being wrapped and tied around it.. This was much more effective than the pin we had used at our first event. 

What didn't work:

• We tried using the name flags to label each individual migration, but the wind made it difficult to keep them attached. We stopped using the flags about half way through the event. 
• We began to notice that the thickness of the yarn we were using made it difficult to see the locations and map below. In the future, we will use thinner string. 

Photo Booth

What worked:

• The photo booth was a success. People enjoyed participating and sharing their stories. 

What didn't work:

• There weren't really any issues with the photo booth at this event. We were under a canopy, so the lighting was a little bit of an issue, but we were able to correct the photos by using the flash on the camera. 
• We are still trying to find a solution to the short backdrop problem. 

The 4th of July event was a great success for us! Many people signed up to come in for interviews or to get involved with our Teen Community Historians program. Click here to view more photos from this event.

Community Outreach

Juneteenth Celebration at the Heritage Museum of Orange County

The Santa Ana team kicked off their summer event schedule by participating in the Juneteenth Celebration at the Heritage Museum of Orange County.

Pictured is the Kellogg House, the centerpiece of the Heritage Museum of Orange County

As it was our first event, our set up and activity plans were a bit of an experiment. Our booth included an information table with project material and a laptop displaying the Historypin.org website, a "Mapping Migration Stories" activity table, and a photo booth area.

Information Table and Booth Set Up

What worked: 

• The flyers provided at the information table were very helpful to individuals requesting more information about the project. We have since had all of our material translated to Spanish. 
• The sign-up sheets allowed us to record enough information about what an individual was interested in and how to contact them, without to being to laborious. 

What didn't work:

• The only difficulty we really had at the information table was the laptop displaying the Historypin.org website. Due to our positioning, the sun-to-shade transitions made it difficult to keep the laptop screen visible. We had to continuously change the brightness of the screen, which inevitably drained the battery. When we decide on a better alternative to the laptop, we would like to reinstate the use of Historypin.org at future events. 

Mapping Migration Stories
What worked:

• The overall idea of pinning the migrations was really successful and provided an amazing visual representation of the movements into and out of Santa Ana, CA/Orange County, CA. People really enjoyed pinning their stories. 
• Using RED pins to mark place of birth, and WHITE pins to mark places of migration made it easy to distinguish one migration story from another. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

What didn't work:

• We used a small pin to mark Santa Ana, CA/Orange County, CA, but it wasn't strong enough to hold all the strings wrapped around it. 
• We were marking the migration story paths with name flags, but we were having a difficult time keeping them on with the wind. 
• The map we were using was HUGE! It measured about 6.5ft x 4ft. and needed 3 tables to hold it. The map and tables took up all the space under one canopy. 

Photo Booth

What worked:

• Jessica (Santa Ana, CA) created chalk boards to help participants share their migration stories in our photo booth.  This prompt allowed the participants to provide us with a brief overview of their migration story. 
• Participants were asked to fill out a "Bio Card" before taking a photo. This helped us to keep a record of participants and their stories. 
• As photo booths are a bit of a "in-thing" right now, we saw a lot of excitement for participation in this area. We uploaded the photos to our Instagram account so participants could tag themselves. We used the hashtag "#memoriesofmigration" to create an album of sorts for easy viewing. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

What didn't work:

• We used a white backdrop for the participants to stand in front of, however, due to height differences, some of the area behind those in the photos were not blocked out by the white. Although it is not a huge problem, it is something that we plan to fix for future events. 

Overall, the event was a success and we had a great time! It was definitely a learning experience, and we plan to apply what we have learned to our future community outreach efforts.