Six young lovers of history, aged 11-15, worked with archaeology professor Meredith Linn and Rahway Public Library employee and archivist Tim Valente during the week of August 12-16 on a range of collections-related activities. Meredith taught the participants how to clean, sort and process a backlog of dig artifacts for storage, and helped them research artifacts of particular interest.

Tim shared his knowledge of archival practices and had the young history enthusiasts figure out how to handle, read and understand a collection of documents dating all the way back to the 17th century. He also led an ink-making project, in which the class recreated the kind of iron gall ink used for centuries. Later, they tried writing with the ink using old-style dip pens. Participants were also given a tour of the historic Rahway Cemetery.

The 2019 Museum Lab was once again made possible with a business grant from the Rahway Chamber of Commerce, who we thank again for their generosity.

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