If you’re one of the millions of Americans social distancing at home for the foreseeable future, the Smithsonian is offering a way for you to pass time.
The museum said it needs help transcribing and reviewing historical documents that are part of its digital collection.
For example, there are about 40,000 pages detailing the life and career of NASA astronaut Dr. Sally Ride.
Ride was the very first American woman to fly in space, spending the latter part of her career helping to assess why things went wrong in some tragic missions.
The documents span Ride’s career from the 70s to the 2010s.
People who sign up are called “Volunpeers” and will work to help make the documents easy to access for the public by reviewing and transcribing historical documents.
Once done, a different volunteer reviews it. Then the museum staff steps in to approve it or send it back for edits.
If the task sounds daunting, you might be more at ease when you read the instructions.
First, museum officials advise you to just type what you see. Next, keep it simple. And finally, save frequently.
Anyone can sign up to be a Volunpeer, but there are a few more steps to the process and instructions for signing up before you can help out.
