QUB Student Maddy Kennedy. Image Credit: Armagh Observatory and Planetarium
As a student of Public History, I am fascinated by the invaluable, yet often underappreciated role played by archives and archivists. I was therefore delighted to undertake a thirty-day internship at the archives of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP) as part of my Masters course. Under the supervision of Matthew McMahon, Museum Collections Officer, I spent the first portion of my time at the AOP archiving. This mainly included working with uncatalogued material and uploading it to the online management system. It is the unfortunate reality of archival institutions that material can sometimes remain uncatalogued for extended periods of time. This can pose an issue as it means that researchers may not be able to access certain materials as they have not been uploaded to a central system and therefore cannot be located for study. I worked to counteract this problem by sorting through a wealth of letters and paper documents, spanning from 1947 to 1994. I first ordered them chronologically, then wrote brief yet detailed explanations of each, and uploaded all identifying information to the online system. This work is painstaking but is absolutely crucial to the management of archives, and I am proud that I personally catalogued a total of 305 items during my time at the AOP.
My background includes a degree in Russian, so I was very excited to learn that the AOP archive holds an extensive collection of Russian language material. Much of this relates to the late astronomer, Ernst Öpik, an Estonian born in the Russian Empire in 1893. After years of travelling and working throughout Europe, Öpik eventually settled in Armagh, Northern Ireland. I had the opportunity to translate some previously unread documents that proved to be instrumental in guiding my understanding of Öpik. A Russian language biography revealed that at age 7, he lost an eye in an accident involving a bow and arrow shot by his younger brother Oskar. As a result, he wore a glass eye for the remainder of his life. This was just the beginning of the revelations about this mysterious figure that I uncovered by translating Russian documents.
Having completed my archiving project, I then shifted my focus to the other aspect of my internship which was to create an exhibition for the public. My brainstorming stage revealed that I was still completely transfixed by the Öpik documents that I had catalogued, and that I wanted to probe deeper into this man’s extraordinary life. Therefore, when the time came to choose a theme for the exhibition, I decided that Öpik’s life story would provide an interesting narrative. Although Öpik is already well-known in the world of science for his astronomical pursuits, as a Humanities student, I felt compelled to consider the man beyond his scientific accolades. In taking this approach, my further research revealed even more unanticipated details of Öpik’s life, such as the fact that he had two simultaneous families, his hatred of new technologies, and perhaps most surprisingly, his impressive talent as a pianist and composer.
Öpik playing the Lindsay Piano. Image credit: Armagh Observatory and Planetarium
Most of all, however, I was intrigued by the international element of Öpik’s life. In his 91 years of life, he lived in Estonia, Russia, Uzbekistan, Germany, the United States of America, and Northern Ireland. This constant travel is such an important facet of Öpik’s story. He travelled for various different reasons, such as to flee an oppressor, to avoid war, to obtain education, and perhaps most commonly, to teach. Öpik was a keen educator and often set sail or on occasion trekked by foot for the opportunity to spread his knowledge to the younger generation of astronomers. Due to his impressive reputation as a pioneer in his field, and his monumental status as one of the last great polymaths, it is often forgotten that Öpik was, in fact, a refugee. He and his family had to flee on several occasions due to the outbreak of war. In a time in which migrants are so often victims of abuse and vitriol, I felt it was important to tell the story of this refugee family who travelled across so many different countries before finally finding their home here in Armagh.
I decided that the exhibition would focus on Öpik’s extensive travelling and titled it ‘Ernst J. Öpik: The Man Behind the Science’. The next task was to curate an object list
Ernst Opik – Source WikiCommons
that would simultaneously represent Öpik’s unique life experiences, and effectively capture the attention of visitors to the AOP. I chose to include a combination of airmail letters, lecture notes, images, a family tree, and medals, amongst other items found in the archives.
Whilst the content of this display concerns Öpik and his activities, the ultimate aim of the exhibition is to demonstrate the immense importance of archival institutions. Having both used and contributed to the AOP archive, I learned the value of keeping well-organised and maintained collections. Archives facilitate researchers in making truly new discoveries, and this knowledge can subsequently be spread to the public. Although it is true that museums are typically where members of the public interact with historical material, it is absolutely crucial to remember that exhibitions and displays would not be remotely possible without the support of an archive. Having experienced firsthand the interface of museum and archive, I can say with some conviction that these two entities are not mutually exclusive and in fact rely heavily on one another. My internship at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium provided me with the opportunity to develop the fundamentals of Public History practice, but perhaps more importantly, my time here has helped me to further understand and appreciate the hidden work of archivists.
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