The nonprofit Museum of the American Revolution’s Living History Youth Summer Institute is a six-week intensive program that ran this year from July 5 to Aug. 14.
The program welcomes young adults from 15 to 21 years old interested in interpreting the lives of African Americans in the Revolutionary War era and involves guest speakers, research projects and field study.
This year’s program introduced eight people – including a Lenape High School graduate – to the world of costumed historical interpretation, with a focus on enslaved and free people of African descent. The course prepares participants to explore careers in cultural heritage, museums and theater..
Launched in 2022, the summer institute aims to cultivate and support a more diverse community of people engaged in the museum field. It’s part of the Philadelphia museum’s African American Interpretive Program, sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal and launched in 2021 to significantly expand the facility’s capacity to develop and deliver programs that explore the lives and impact of Africans in the Revolutionary War era.
Skyy Simeron, a longtime Mount Laurel resident, Lenape alumnus and current Howard University student has participated in the event twice, and recently shared her experience with The Sun.
“I always knew I was interested in history,” the 20-year-old said. “I found out about the program through a Google search of internships regarding history and museum work.”
Simeron went through an interview process in order to be selected for the summer program and was ultimately one of eight students selected to participate.
“At first, it was a little nerve-wracking because it was my first real interview,” she recalled. “But everyone at the museum was very nice, and they made the interview feel like a conversation.”
On Aug. 10, Fairmount Park in Philadelphia – across from the Please Touch Museum – students from the summer institute and costumed living historians set up their First Oval Office Project, a re-created Revolutionary War encampment. It included hand sewn, full-scale replicas of Gen. George Washington’s sleeping marquee, camp bed and furniture that served as his mobile headquarters.
The event was free and welcome to all.
“I did the program twice, and both times I felt it was great to be able to connect with the public and talk to them about the lives of people during the Revolutionary era,” noted Simeron. “The first year I participated, we did the event at Penn State’s campus, and this year we were across from the Please Touch Museum, where we worked with a lot of younger kids.
“I liked that because they are unafraid to ask questions, they’re very inquisitive and ask a lot of fun questions.”
The museum celebrated its program graduates with an August ceremony at the history museum’s Liberty Hall wing. This year was Simeron’s last.
“I was very proud to complete the program,” she acknowledged. “I feel like I learned a lot in both years that I participated. This year, I was able to see the growth within the program and within my peers. So (graduating for the final time) was bittersweet.”
