Museum of the American G.I.'s Living History Weekend

Living History Weekend is a family-friendly event held every year at the Museum of the American G.I. This event is a two-day affair that allows visitors the chance to witness reenactment battles of World War II, shop in the Military Swap Meet, view award-winning displays of living history, and play in the G.I. Zone. In conjunction with the Living History Weekend, the Museum of the American G.I. holds a Living History School Day, which is only accessible to the schools who signed up. In fact, the purpose of this event is to educate students about U.S. military history from WWI to the present. 

This entire event is completely run by volunteers. Hence, I got the chance to volunteer on Friday and help out with the activities taking place during the Living History School Day. During this event, I was tasked with ensuring schools got their pre-packaged lunches, refilling ice chests, restocking chips, taking out the trash, cleaning off tables, putting away chairs, mopping and sweeping floors, and tearing down specific G.I. play zones. 

Through volunteering at the Living History Weekend, I was able to learn what it takes to carry out and implement a successful event. Of most importance, especially with this event, is to ensure that all basis of your risk management plan are covered. During this event, a kid had fallen off one of the structures of the G.I. play zone and broke his arm. After talking with the event coordinator, I discovered that they did not have parents sign waivers, which is an imperative safety precaution when activities are proven to be dangerous. Hence, I learned that when considering one's risk management plan, one must also determine the need for waivers to prevent legal actions from being taken. Another concept I learned from this event, was the importance of creating a takeaway that is memorable. Through the Military Swap Meet, visitors were able to buy mock guns, bullets, grenades, army outfits, and badges. Hence, allowing them to bring home a piece of history, as well as buy it in a memorable way. Finally, at this event, I learned that when dealing with off-premise catering, one wants to be able to find the best solution to keeping the food constantly warm for guests. As this event served Chick-fil-A sandwiches, which were kept warm through a heated bag provided by the caterer. Hence, one must understand what the caterer can and can not provide.