The green-tinted bottle may have held mustard in the Civil War era, but its eight flattish sides gave University of Mary Washington junior Kai Bryant a brand new idea.
“I wanted to prove it could be fully customizable,” Bryant said of a summer project creating archival storage boxes with UMW senior Lily Hollar. With guidance from Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation Katherine Parker, they used a 3D printer to crank out containers for storing delicate artifacts like the octagonal vessel currently housed in Combs Hall.
The work was part of this year’s Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Summer Institute (AHSSSI), which pairs students and professors for five weeks of scholarly study. The résumé- and career-building offering – which comes with a paycheck, plus food and housing for participants – strengthens skills in critical thinking, data literacy, website design, public speaking and more.
In addition to historic preservation, the fifth annual event included groups from communication and digital studies, linguistics, psychology, sociology and studio art. Each student-faculty team presented its process and results last week at a two-hour symposium in Seacobeck Hall’s Weatherly Wing.
“What makes AHSSSI particularly unique is that it gives an avenue for programs on campus to present research that people may not always think of as conducting research,” said Associate Professor of Psychological Science Marcus Leppanen, who coordinates the institute. “It provides an opportunity to develop marketable skills that apply directly to students’ future careers.” Read more about UMW’s fifth annual Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Summer Institute.