A group of history majors and minors had the opportunity to explore different parts of Baltimore this month, and dig into local history alongside some the city’s historical experts. Students toured Greenmount Cemetery with an expert from Baltimore Heritage, and the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum with one of the museum’s co-founders.

“None of those who joined were familiar with the two destinations, which are located further away from the tourist trail but represent important institutions that illustrate so much about our hometown and American history,” says senior lecturer Victoria Harms. She led the voluntary field trip along with professor François Furstenberg.

Both the cemetery and the museum highlight important Baltimoreans and other historical American figures such as Enoch Pratt, Reginald Lewis, Rosa Parks, Nat Turner, or Elijah Bond, the creator of the Ouiji board. The field trip took place on a beautiful fall day, and gave history students a chance to immerse themselves in Baltimore, as well as Baltimore’s past, and was not connected with a grade.

The trip was made by a generous gift from history alumnnus Warren Isom (’68), whose donation is funding a number of special events and activities convened for undergraduates in hopes of enriching the undergraduate experience for history majors.