Blog posts by Diana
MAH Battle Wounds: Pounded, Attacked, & NerdFighting
Posted January 25, 2013
The Visitor Services team is excited to share our visitor encounters from the front desk. We are (in no particular order) Mary Kopp, Sarah Groh, Katie Chrivia, Kai Hanson and Diana Kapsner. You will occasionally see a visitor encounter from some museum interns and volunteers as well.
Friday, January 4th
The night I was in charge of the barn raising on the third floor, I met a ten-year-old named Taylor. He came in with his grandmother for First Friday (as they apparently do very often) and he was fascinated by the wooden structure within the small gallery. As he approached, I held out a mallet and told him to pick a peg and try to hit it off of the barn. His eyes lit up and he instantly took up the task. It’s amazing how fun it is to hammer things you don’t think you’re allowed to, and for Taylor, it made his night. He asked to do it again, and this time I whispered that with a little extra oomph, he could make the pegs pop out. With this goal, he gave it all he had and sent the peg flying across the room! Not quite what I had in mind, but so mesmerizing to him that he stayed with me for the rest of the night, pounding on more pegs and even helping other people (like the boy and his father pictured here) learn about the joy of using a mallet. Thank you, Taylor!
Kaelle Allen, MAH Volunteer
Saturday, January 5th
On a breezy afternoon in Santa Cruz, Jim came into the MAH filled with whims to lift our spirits. I knew we were in for a treat when he struggled with all his might to open the MAH’s atrium door from the outside courtyard, but was unable to enter. I was pretty sure I had unlocked the door. He then swiftly opened the door for his lady friend by removing his wedged foot to which he
was struggling against. Ha! Later, Jim excitedly asked us “Hey, what am I?” Diana and I were at a loss.
“Guess what I am.”
Jim next yelled out, “I am under attack. Get it?” Pointing up, he repeated, “I am under a tack!”
Thanks Jim for being a force of greatness.
Mary Kopp
Tuesday, January 15th
“Don’t Forget To Be Awesome”
Two teenage boys came in specifically to be Ze Frank’s exhibit. They were hard to miss, wearing bright red shirts with the word “PIZZA” underneath a stenciled man’s face. Curious, I asked them what it was about. They kind of looked at me and paused. One of them hesitantly reached in his pocket to pull out a note. He looks to his friend, to which he nods his head in assurance. Awkwardly, they gave me the note and set off to see the Ze Frank exhibit. The note read:
Nerdfighter?! Well, I’m glad there wasn’t anything to be worried about, but I was intrigued. When they were leaving, I asked them what this was about, to which they replied “It’s about ending World Suck. You should watch the videos.” I told them I would, but only if they came to Ze Frank weekend.
Sure enough they came and although I didn’t get to talk to them again, I discovered how awesome all of Ze Frank’s fans are. Nina captures the spirit of the entire event very well in her blog post.
As I was closing the museum the day I met them, I found this on the activity 
table in the Ze Frank gallery. It felt like a clue; like they left it here for me to find.
It wasn’t until weeks later I used my highly developed research skills to look “FTL! DFTBA” up. Apparently it means “French the Llama! Don’t Forget To Be Awesome.” I’m still trying to figure out the first part. My advanced Google search skills also allowed me to look up the definition of Nerdfighter on Urban Dictionary:
“A Nerdfighter is a person who is proud to be nerdy and intelligent, and who fights to decrease WorldSuck. Nerdfighters are not composed of cells and tissue, but instead made entirely of awesome. Nerdfighters are known to perform their Happy dances when they are joyful… are diverse in their hobbies… have also been described as someone who is ‘Outgoing, intelligent and awesome enough to accept nerd as a compliment’. The polar opposite of a Nerdfighter is a Decepticon.”
I’m proud to say that I am a Nerdfighter. Thanks to those 2 guys and all Ze Frank participants for giving me something to fight for!
Diana Kapsner
Patchwork, Shared Passions & Pre-historic Findings
Posted December 26, 2012
The Visitor Services team is excited to share our visitor encounters from the front desk. We are (in no particular order) Mary Kopp, Sarah Groh, Katie Chrivia, Kai Hanson and Diana Kapsner. You will occasionally see a visitor encounter from some museum interns as well.
December 4, 2012
The MAH recently partook in a Pop-Up Museum at La Fábrica (http://thefabrica.wordpress.com/). Participants were asked to bring something homemade to La Fábrica for show and tell. I was fortunate enough to see my good friend Laurel Reynold’s creation called “This is A Knot Quilt” when she stopped by the museum on Tuesday. The quilt was constructed at the Fábrica from donated pieces of fabric. Laurel raffled her knot quilt off for the Fábrica’s Holiday fundraising sale on Wednesday the 12th at the Santa Cruz Farmers market. I was happy to see her quilt around the community at MAH, the Fábrica and the Farmer’s Market.
Mary Kopp
December 7, 2012
I was stationed at the front desk on Free First Friday, answering questions and directing guests as usual. About an hour into my duties, a little girl named Amber came up to the front desk with her parents. She was holding something brownish and slightly dirty. Amber had found this object in the dirt, next to some ivy, and thought it was a dinosaur bone. But not just any dinosaur bone—one from a dinosaur that eats vegetables and plants. Amber and her family wanted the opinion of a museum professional and I was the lucky gal for the job. I examined it very closely; it was hard and certainly shaped like a bone. After some thought, I gave Amber my seal of approval, but suggested she might talk to a paleontologist, just to be sure. The little archeologist- in-the-making was adorable and totally made my night. Thank you, Amber, for sharing your awesome find with me!
Katie Chrivia
December 23th, 2012
Controlling the toy trains here at the MAH was Jaden’s dream come true. Jaden (pictured here) is a train enthusiast who has travelled up and down the west coast from San Diego to Vancouver chasing train shows, visiting train yards, and even controlling them. He’s controlled the MAX light rail in Portland and even the Roaring Camp Railroad here in Santa Cruz. He has spent the last 3 days in a row from open to closing to control our toy trains and counting…
Diana Kapsner
December 26, 2012
It’s no surprise that I’m a huge 
Star Trek fan. So, I was stoked to found out that our annual auction earlier this month was STARS: Supernova. I wore an Uhura-esque dress in science-officer-blue and told everyone I could that it was Star Trek related. I don’t meet a lot of Star Trek fans at work or even in life, so you could only imagine my surprise when one of MAH’s volunteers, Christine Garcia, came up to me and said “one of the guests painted a Star Trek ship on her dress, you have to check it out!” I wasn’t alone. We walked over to see a gorgeously detailed Starship Enterprise hand painted on her dress. Her outfit was complete with Star Trek communicator pins, necklaces and a phaser. To top it off, she gave me her card (pictured here). We talked for quite a while about our favorite series, how she made her dress, the new movies and everything else. Art and Star Trek – what else can one ask for?
Live long and prosper!
Diana Kapsner
From Pez to Puzzle Pieces
Posted October 27, 2012
The Visitor Services team is excited to share our visitor encounters from the front desk. We are (in no particular order) Mary Kopp, Sarah Groh, Katie Chrivia, Kai Hanson and Diana Kapsner. You will occasionally see a visitor encounter from some museum interns as well.
September 30, 2012
I stayed late at the Museum one evening so that the carpets could be cleaned. The carpet cleaner arrived, noisily getting to work. When he had finished his task, he looked down at the stone ground and said,
“You see this marble swirling pattern on the floor? Me and my guys did that when this place first opened. We got a bunch of old papers from the Sentinel, grey floor paint, and then smudged paint on the floor.”
I imagine it was a difficult job, tough on their hands and knees, but it was very interesting to learn that the floors were hand-painted and to know that the same man has been making this place sparkle and shine for almost 20 years. Look down the next time you visit your MAH.
-Katie Chrivia
October 5-6, 2012
Levi and Jesus were on a mission to complete our Antique Shop puzzle. They came on First Friday, Santa Cruz’s art walk night, and were working on it until we had to close the museum at 9pm. Surprisingly, they came back the next day and stayed until 8pm determined to finish the puzzle. “We’re going to try to solve this until they kick us out.” Levi and Jesus worked it for 7 hours total. That’s some dedication!
-Diana Kapsner & Stacey Garcia
October 17
Can you believe that I’ve never had Pez? This was crazy talk to Jeremiah, who has a huge collection of Pez 
dispensers he has been collecting for 19 years. “What do you mean you’ve never had Pez? How could you not have had Pez?” he asked me, baffled. It was such a coincidence, too, because the night before, I had a dream where I bought Pez at a festival (no joke!) “Well, I’m going to have to bring some for you. What’s your favorite cartoon character?”
Apparently, it’s the Green Lantern. Jeremiah came back a month later with a stack of Pez candy and the Green Lantern dispenser. Jeremiah can dispense Pez like nobody’s business; the man has it down to a science. “You have to peel the wrapper back… rip the sides off too… oh, careful of the broken ones…” I failed miserably. Lemon Pez scattered all across the top of the desk. Thank goodness we don’t have ants.
My childhood-self had no idea what she was missing. Now, I can’t stop eating them, even as I write this. I think I’ll try the cherry favor now…
Later that day…
The Battle of the Elmo. It was a hot day on the desert-colored tables in the Lezin gallery.
A staff member happened upon the scene. We had no idea who could have done it, but I was determined to figure it out. I eyed all the visitors curiously wondering to myself “was it you?” I put on my metaphorical Sherlock Holmes cap. There was only 1 family who came into the museum that day. I would investigate. As the family walked out, saying their goodbyes, their son lingered around a few seconds longer to look at the doodads in our store. I raised an eyebrow and in a low voice, asked him suspiciously “did you make that war scene in the Lezin gallery?” He smiled a buck toothless smile and ran out. Case closed.
-Diana
Visitor Inspirations
Posted September 22, 2012
The Visitor Services team is excited to share our visitor encounters from the front desk. We are (in no particular order) Mary Kopp, Sarah Groh, Katie Chrivia, Kai Hanson and Diana Kapsner. You will occasionally see a visitor encounter from some museum interns as well.
August 24, 2012
Kong rockin’ a Memory Jar
Today I had the pleasure of welcoming a number of really awesome people into the MAH. One in particular, was a first time visitor and UC Santa Cruz sophomore who just recently switched his major from Biology to History of Art & Visual Culture. I shared with him some of my favourite professors & subjects in the department. It was great that he had followed his passion for architecture and wanted to cultivate his newfound interest in the arts at the MAH. Shortly after our impromptu conversation, I suggested he join the creative process by making a Memory Jar in our interactive gallery. When we walked into the gallery, I noticed his expression switch from excitement to astonishment…”These are people’s memories?” he asked, somewhat bewildered, as he panned the wall of decorated jars.
I reassured him, “Yes, and you’re more than welcome to add your own”.
When he finished I was amazed by his unique and creative use of the materials sans glue, to boot. He had devised a clever way to balance a construction paper shadow man with its two rectangular hands and a jar lid.
The label read: I was helping a friend and wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to lift, but to my surprise I could.
His succinct comment was moving: here was a story of achievement and strength, and now he had a tangible reminder of it. I told him he could return November 25th when the exhibit concludes to reclaim his memory jar. Then, off he went, up the bird chirp staircase, to explore the rest of our installations.
-Natalie Benamou, Community Programs Intern
September 2
Two ladies came into the Museum, eager to check out what we had on display. They originally came to because they had heard wonderful things about the new Santa Cruz Collects exhibition. But instead they left with new ideas for their classrooms. They loved the interactive components to the exhibits, especially the memory jar activity on the first floor and the long scrolls for list making on the third. One of the ladies held up her phone and excitedly told me that she had already told two teachers about the interactive components and the ideas for the classroom she got for them.
- Katie Chrivia, Visitor Services
September 17
I was in the Courtyard yesterday afternoon about closing time and noticed what appeared to be ghosts in the lobby! Actually, they are patio umbrellas. Thought you might get a kick out of seeing them! (Maybe you could use them to promote a Halloween event!
I am new to Santa Cruz and hope to get involved with the museum as a member or volunteer. I visited it once, in June, when I was trying to determine if Santa Cruz was the right place for me to retire to. The museum went into the “pro” column—and ultimately I made the decision to move here.
- From an email sent by Andrew B.
Visitors Discovering Something New at MAH
Posted August 31, 2012
The Visitor Services team is excited to share our visitor encounters from the front desk. We are (in no particular order) Mary Kopp, Sarah Groh, Katie Chrivia, Kai Hanson and Diana Kapsner. You will occasionally see a visitor encounter from some museum interns as well.
Mark & Jen took home a Miss America tote bag.
Saturday, June 23
Jennifer and Mark stopped by the desk after viewing the galleries and curiously picked up our MAH tote bag that features the Miss America Contestants from 1924. We all started to talk about the history of the pageant in Santa Cruz. Coincidentally, Marla Novo, Curator of History wrote an Artifact of the Month blog post about the same picture. Diana mentioned the meat dress of Ann Simonton to which Jennifer noted she had seen a great documentary that featured the protests of the Miss America contest in Atlantic City. The documentary was called Up Against the Wall Miss America and shows feminists protesting the pageant in 1968. Mark bought the tote bag, and left us wanting to check out the documentary. Thanks for sharing, Jennifer and Mark!
- Mary Kopp, Visitor Services
July 7, 2012
Today Aron and Sam came in looking around the Atrium surprised. “I’ve lived here all my life and I never knew this was here. I’ve walked all along Pacific Avenue and right passed this building without ever knowing.” I was curious, “what was it that prompted you to come in today?” I asked. Aron and Sam were attracted to the Art Market in Abbott Square, which was our first time doing such an event. I started to tell him about the history of the building, how long MAH has been here and what we have in the galleries. After a good hour or so of strolling through the museum, they came back asking if I knew a good framing shop. Aron, a recreational photographer, had developed a photograph of a rose on the other side of a heart-shaped fence. “It would be perfect for this exhibition.” I told him about our upcoming exhibition Santa Cruz Collects and how we’ve been asking people in the community to share their collections and stories for display. Then I handed him a MAH program and told him to keep in touch. They will both be coming to 3rd Friday: Street Art Night.
-Diana Kapsner, Visitor & Volunteer Services Manager
Sunday, July 8th
At the Museum today, a group of 3 came in ready to explore our local culture and art. They were a bit disappointed to learn that we were still exhibiting the All You Need is Love show, which they had enjoyed a few months back. Still, they paid to come in and see it again. After a few minutes, I heard them laughing and discussing the visitor-generated responses to the question “What’s the craziest thing you’ve done for love?” They traveled upstairs and after a while they slowly came down. They told me about how they saw so many new things with the second viewing. They also took the time to read the labels in the Joan Brown exhibit (“It all makes so much sense now” one of the guys said) and play the Hearts to Hearts game in our Solari Gallery. It really shows that there’s always something new waiting to be discovered at the Museum.
-Katie Chrivia, Visitor Services
Saturday July 21st
Hamilton visited the museum and recognized one of the boys in the Soquel skate photo hanging in the entrance hallway. One of them, named Chris Chapman, he was neighbors with when they were kids. Hamilton made a keen observation about the skater boy’s haircuts: they were all flat tops. Apparently, these kids were “trendsetters” for the flat top hairstyle. While everyone in the 70s and early 80s wore their hair long, these kids were “going back to the 50’s style.” He also recognized that the picture came from a photographer doing an interview for the local newspaper, the Santa Cruz Sentinel about flat tops. Bill Lovejoy, the photographer, still works for the Sentinel today.
-Diana Kapsner
