James Royall ’27 reflects on Amazement Square internship

As a kid, James Royall ’27 was fascinated by the stories hidden in museum collections. A TV show about artifacts taught him that even the most ordinary objects have rich histories.

“Even unassuming items have stories to tell,” he said. “It helped me realize I could be one of the people telling those stories.” 

Currently double-majoring in museum and heritage studies and environmental studies at Randolph, Royall spent his summer as a sustainability intern at Amazement Square in downtown Lynchburg. 

His duties included maintaining the museum’s educational garden and bee area. He also helped get Amazement Square’s pollinator garden certified and performed a sustainability audit. 

“Museums shape our communities,” he said. “This showed me what working in a smaller and more local museum looks like, where one person typically wears multiple hats.”