By: Mars Johnson, Reporter
OMAHA, Neb. — The Durham Museum is the third location in the U.S. to host this particular Nelson Mandela Exhibit that originated in South Africa.
It’s full of original artifacts and is slightly different from other exhibits the Durham has shown in the way that it focuses on the details of one man’s life as opposed to a broader topic. There are even handwritten letters by Nelson Mandela himself.
A volunteer of six years at the Durham Museum, Betsy Hildebrandt, said she’s still trying to figure out the whole exhibit.
“It’s huge. I mean we’re covering three of our big exhibit rooms,” said Betsy.
She often volunteers in the gallery and for special events. Other than that, she’s been in the medical field for about 50 years and enjoys the flexibility of volunteering. It allows her to visit her grandchildren whenever she wants.
Betsy didn’t know much about Nelson Mandela before the exhibit, but her father and Nelson Mandela were about the same age, so she compares Mandela’s life to her father’s.
“I had heard of Apartheid when I was growing up but didn’t know much about it. And I remember I was out of college by the time that Mandela got out of prison. And so, I remember that part of it, but I never realized that apartheid has rules–did not come in until the 50s which surprised me. I kind of thought it was forever,” said Betsy.
Director of communications at the Durham Museum, Jessica Brummer, said she loves history and getting others excited about history.
“Probably one of the things I love most about my job is just getting to come to work in historic Union Station. Our building is a national historic landmark, and not very many people get to say they get to work in a national historic landmark. I love the beauty of the building and the inspiration that that gives every day I get to come to work here,” said Brummer.
Brummer said people may want to visit this exhibit more than once to learn everything it has to offer.
“Many of these things have never been seen outside of South Africa before, so we were really really excited to bring it to our community,” said Brummer.
Brummer sees a connection between then and now.
“So many of the messages that are in this show are relevant to today’s world as well, so I think there’s a lot of lessons that can be applied to what’s going on in our world now, and hopefully learn from and people will grow,” said Brummer.
Overall, the Durham Museum seeks exhibits that fit a diverse range of learners.
“We’re also looking for shows where even if you don’t know anything about the subject, it’s presented in a way where it’s easy for people to understand. It’s interesting. It’s exciting. It’s engaging. And no matter what kind of learner you are, whether that be visual or you like to read or through technology there’s something for everyone to learn here. For us, this exhibit just lined up so well with those types of things, and obviously telling a very important story in history,” said Brummer.
The Durham museum is hosting free virtual events with guest speakers who knew Nelson Mandela. Also, people are welcome to attend the community free day on April 2nd where they can experience the Nelson Mandela exhibit free of charge.
Brummer encourages people to get a membership to the museum and visit the Durham Museum’s website. Future exhibits coming up include one about dinosaurs and another featuring costumes from the series and movie Downtown Abbey.
