Well, after my first week at my internship, I can now say I successfully figured out where to park! I just use the main visitors’ lot, but then flash my employee nametag at the attendants when I exit so I don’t have to pay.
Of course, my first week was full of far more enriching experiences than that. My first day was on Tuesday, and I was at the museum when it opened at 10 am. When I arrived, I met with Abigail, my supervisor. She recently graduated from graduate school at Baylor, and I am grateful to have a supervisor that is so young and relatable. She makes me feel comfortable!
First, we went to the HR department to have my nametag printed, and then I was sent on a scavenger hunt of the museum. Since I grew up visiting there, I knew where the major attractions and exhibits were located, but I was thankful for the refresher for the restrooms and elevators, since I’m sure guests will ask me about them.
Then, Abigail had me focus on the Innovations Department itself. My section of the museum is made up of a main gallery and four adjoining rooms. She asked me to spend half an hour in each room to observe the guests and familiarize myself with the activities. Each room has a different theme relating to STEAM: the Inventor Room focuses on building and balance; the Doodler Room focuses on arts and crafts; the Designer Room focuses on light; and the Imaginer Room focuses on artifacts and research. The activities range from building blocks to designing paper rollercoasters to drawing with light. Then, the main gallery has the bigger attractions such as the tornado machine, paper airplane zone, and bed of nails (which it completely safe!). I spent my time trying all the activities, exploring the storage cabinets, introducing myself to other interns, and noting the stations the kids most enjoyed.
My lunch break was less of a “break” and more of another opportunity to meet people. A couple of weeks before I started, Abigail invited me to attend her “Lunch Bunch,” a biweekly meeting of museum administrators in which they discuss an article relating to museum studies. This week’s article was about museum budgets and museum funding, two subjects I know nothing about. Nevertheless, I read the article the night before, hoping I would have something to contribute. Most of the discussion revolved around financial topics relating specifically to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, but I was able to share a personal experience from a museum I visited in Amsterdam. Overall, the experience was an opportunity to listen and learn about the inner workings of the museum and meeting some of the administration staff.
After lunch, Abigail took me on a tour of all the storage closets, and then we sat down to discuss my schedule and goals for the rest of the summer. I told her that while I want to work on the floor with the rest of the Innovation Studios employees, I would also like to have a project as my objective before my internship ends. And, schedule-wise, I will be working four days a week from 10am-5pm.
So, that was my first day on the job! However, no sooner did I make it home when I felt like I was driving back the next morning. (I guess this is what adult life is like, huh?) When I arrived, Abigail had me read a short article titled “The Process Skills of Inquiry” by Doris Ash. Since the museum’s main mission is education, it is important that kids learn from the activities in our department, even if they don’t remember the science and history content. Abigail and I discussed the importance of soft and transferable skills, and how we value museum guests using questioning, hypothesis, observation, and communication techniques throughout their experience at the museum. I also shared a few of my experiences form my education classes and student teaching jobs. This conversation was vital to me since my end goal is a job in museum education.
“The inquiry process takes advantage of the natural human desire to make sense of the world… This attitude of curiosity permeates the inquiry process and is the fuel that allows it to continue.”
Doris Ash
The rest of the morning, I shadowed an employee named Nadia. She conducted a Studio Surprise, which is basically a pop-up demonstration or craft that guests can participate in for an hour or so. The department has dozens of Studio Surprises to choose from, but Nadia had picked one called “Floating Art.” Basically, the kids draw on a smooth plate with dry-erase markers, and then use a pipette to drop water around their drawing. Since the ink is not soluble in water, the drawing will float and move around. The kids loved seeing their masterpieces come to life! I enjoyed this time because my favorite part of museum work is interacting with guests.
In the afternoon, Abigail had me watch a few tutorial videos on more Studio Surprises that the museum uses frequently. Then, we made a final decision that my project for the summer will be 1. organizing the binder with the master list and instructions for every Studio Surprises the museum had ever used and 2. writing some Studio Surprises of my own. Currently, most of the demonstrations focus on space and physics, but I also saw an employee conduct a craft where kids created their own coat of arms. As I start working on my project, I see and influx of history-related demos in the museum’s future!
I only worked two days this week because my supervisor was out of town, but overall, I had a blast! I am so grateful that the other employees and interns make me feel so comfortable. Looking forward, I hope next week I am able to interact with more guests and maybe even conduct a Studio Surprise independently!
Educated and Innovative 