We are so excited to be partnering again this year with the New York Historical Society to bring new resources and opportunities to the Girls Write Now Class of 2020! In addition to hosting our CHAPTERS Spring Reading Series and our Career Day in June, the NYHS invited the Girls Write Now Class of 2020 into its halls for Orientation Day, where mentors and mentees met for the first time or reunited to gear up for the year ahead.
Mentees were able to visit the New York Historical Society’s Tech Commons, a state-of-the-art digital media and STEM maker space for teens to work with mentors, meet friends, and create. Teens can use the space for free during drop-in hours on weekends to record a podcast or song, learn how to 3D print, design and code a website, or just hang out and explore. Because of our partnership, this year mentees were able to create their own websites to house their portfolios with the assistance of NYHS Teaching Artists, who taught us about HTML, website design, and more!
Mentees and mentors also visited the Tiffany Lamp Gallery and learned about Clara Driscoll and how the discovery of her letters revealed that not only was she the head of the Tiffany Lamp Women’s Glass Cutting Department, she was also the lead designer of the most popular Tiffany Lamps. We then spent time surrounded by these beautiful lamps, brainstorming, and writing, before exploring more women’s history with the multimedia Women’s Voices exhibition, and an introduction to archival research using The Patricia D. Klingenstein Library reading room.
After an amazing orientation day, we can confidently say that we are ready to claim our own places in history through storytelling. Thank you to the New York Historical Society for hosting us!
Mentees and mentors brainstorm for the year ahead while surrounded by history at the New York Historical Society.
Mentee and mentor pairs meet and reunite at the Class of 2020 Orientation at the New York Historical Society in October.
At the New York Historical Society’s Tech Commons, mentees and mentors learn about HTML and web design, and get started on building their websites that they will use to show their work throughout the year.
Mentees and mentors hear from David, a teaching artist at the New York Historical Society, at the Class of 2020 Orientation.