JHSSA is inviting community members to sign up for a free History Mystery Box to celebrate Canadian Jewish Heritage Month this May. The registration form for the box is available here, or you can contact our office. A written summary of the project can be found here.
Some information about the video below:
If you’ve ever used the internet to research a product you are considering purchasing, say a computer, a kitchen gadget or some other big-ticket item, you have likely come across the Youtube genre referred to as “Unboxing Videos”. A video where someone literally records themselves taking a product out of its packaging, attempting any necessary assembly and giving their review and impressions of the product.
The following is our take on an “Unboxing video” for our History Mystery box. The History Mystery Box is a free project created to celebrate Canadian Jewish Heritage Month in May, 2021.
The boxes will be available in mid-April by pre-registration.
This video records one person’s initial impression of the box. You may notice that the reviewer tends to get caught up in details like dates and locations. Another reviewer, presented with the same material, had a completely different response. The Citizenship certificate prompted thoughts of what it would have felt like to arrive in a new country alone, not knowing the language. The Winnipeg Normal School material had them asking big-picture questions about education, and career paths for women in different time periods. There will be as many correct ways to look at the box as there are participants. That’s part of the fun, and part of the mystery!
We hope everyone will take Canadian Jewish Heritage month to look at history in general, and our own personal histories, a little differently, and then share our thoughts and discoveries.
Summary of Questions about the History Unwrapped Video and History Mystery Boxes
From the Q and A session on March 9, 2021:
Q- If I want to share a document, say a certificate, would a photocopy work or do I have to send the original?
A- A high quality scan accompanied by a story/explanation would be best for the purposes of this project. Only send us the original if it’s something you want to donate to the Archives, or if you don’t have a scanner and are asking us to scan it for you. Please contact the office before sending an original.
Q- Do I have to respond to every item in the box?
A- Not at all, though you are welcome to if you are having fun.
Q- Can more than 1 person in our family/group send in a response or do we have to get together to send in one response?
A- Either works for us, whichever works better for your family/group.
Q- What are the optional photograph cards mentioned on the registration form?
A- The set in question is composed of pairs of photographs of kids through different time periods. It can be used to play matching games like concentration or to create stories; we have a list of game ideas included with each set.
Q- Are you sending us originals? How and when do we return the box?
A- We are sending colour copies of documents and photographs, they are yours to keep.
Q- How big is the box?
A- We are expecting them to be shoebox sized or smaller.
Q- Is there any indication on the items of where they come from in the JHSSA collection?
A- There won’t be any indication on the item itself, but we will include that kind of information in the sealed information envelope, for people who are curious after they have investigated their box.
Q- Where did the idea for the project come from?
A- Our archivist emerita came across a very different mystery box program, aiming to engage with participants in a tangible and tactile manner instead of an online virtual one during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her initial response was “Hey, we have stuff…we could do that too” and the project evolved from there.
Q- Is there a cost?
A- No, the boxes are free.