The largest project Sydney Johnson has worked on - "Here at Home: Missouri in the Great War" - opened Thursday inside the state Capitol.
Arriving in Missouri in July as the Missouri State Museum's curator of exhibits, Johnson said it was a "whirlwind educational experience" to learn about her new state's history while also learning about the specific time frame and producing the large-scale, three-year exhibit.
"It was an interesting opportunity at a crucial time," Johnson said.
The World War I exhibit will see a variety of interpretation programs and changes to its displays throughout the course of its tenure, she said.
Reared in Louisville, Kentucky, Johnson studied black world studies at Miami University in Ohio. While completing her master's degree in public history from American University in Washington, D.C., she gained experience working at the Smithsonian Institute.
Since childhood, she knew she wanted to be the one to tell historic stories to others.
"I want to tell these important stories to people; that history is not about dates and old people," Johnson said. "It's the way you experience the world, and the objects have meaning. I want people to fall in love with history the way I do."
Telling those stories through the state museum requires her to do "arts and crafts" - that is, to work with technology to publish high-quality panels and displays. She has to be familiar with the museum's artifacts to best include them in the exhibits.
All of her work is with the goal of making history accessible.
But her favorite part is the research.
"If I could sit in a library all day and read books about history, I would," Johnson said.
Her personal interests focus on black women's social activism.
"I interrogate history through that lens," she said.
She hopes her unique set of skills and interests will benefit the museum.
"I want to encourage more visitors of color to the museum," Johnson said. "We're here to tell everyone's stories, inclusive of race, gender or socioeconomic status."