A team of experts from the Smithsonian Institution have teamed up with the National Museum of Bermuda to host a free webinar next week.

The panel of all-female researchers will explain the role that personal stories and objects play in the development of museum archives.

Lisa Howie, the director of learning and engagement for the NMB, said: “We are fortunate to have this opportunity to engage with the Smithsonian Institution in DC.

“While we may not yet be able to travel to Washington to experience the National Museum of African American History and Culture or the Robert Frederick Smith Explore Your Family History Centre, we can meet online to learn more about these cultural assets and flag a trip west in the future.”

Hollis Gentry, of Smithsonian Libraries, and Joanne Hyppolite, of the NMAAHC, will present several objects of Caribbean origin from the Smithsonian’s collection and explain how they landed in the museum’s archives.

Doretha Williams and Kamilah Stinnett, both from the Robert Frederick Smith Explore Your Family History Centre, will also discuss their experiences with community engagement and explain how one can research their family history through the centre.

The webinar is the third event in the NMB’s Tracing Our Roots/Routes programme, which encourages families to research their own history and genealogy.

The programme started on February 17 with a virtual lecture hosted by Kenyatta Berry, an American genealogist and host of Genealogy Roadshow on PBS.

The NMB also hosted a webinar on March 17 where researchers from the NMB, Bermuda National Library and the Bermuda Archives discussed how to use Bermudian resources to research family history.

The next webinar will take place next Wednesday at 5.30pm over the Zoom app.

To register for the webinar and toolkit, or for more information, visit https://nmb.bm/learn/tracing-our-roots/.