What's a challenge that theNAT deals with? Well, an ongoing challenge in Education is to be more engaging, more streamlined, and there's the constant question of what can we do to make this better? For example, they use Ms. Frizzle for activities during family days however, this costs a lot because Scholastic owns the character. So what are they doing? They're coming out with their own character that can be more diverse (ethnicity and gender wise) and inexpensive (since theNAT owns the character not another company).
So, what's been challenging for me? Well, I'm an introvert and it's hard to be outgoing for long periods of time. For instance, during Family Day, I had to be extroverted and engaging for hours which was very tiring. Sitting in a chair all day, like in Entomology, was challenging as well because my back, neck, and eyes all hurt.
What's a challenge that theNAT deals with? Well, an ongoing challenge in Education is to be more engaging, more streamlined, and there's the constant question of what can we do to make this better? For example, they use Ms. Frizzle for activities during family days however, this costs a lot because Scholastic owns the character. So what are they doing? They're coming out with their own character that can be more diverse (ethnicity and gender wise) and inexpensive (since theNAT owns the character not another company).
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Today's blog prompt was to check out others' blogs and reflect on those. Well, it gave me an excuse to stalk my friends' internship blogs heh heh. Just kidding. It was really cool to see what everyone else is working on. Here's three of the blogs that I checked out:
Mckenna Hervey: Mckenna is interning at BlueStocking Books in Hillcrest. Running a bookstore may not seem like a lot but it's a business and running businesses are hard. What surprised me about hers was the ease of which she fell into her role. Mckenna's an introvert but she felt comfortabe talking to random custormers in the store. I think this is something that Mckenna really cares about and it shows. I'd say both of our internships are similar because both of us have to smile and communicate with people. Mckenna with customers and me with the museum guests if I'm helping out with a program. Marina Grimmett: Marina is interning at High Tech High Explorer Elementary with one of their teachers. I'm not entirely sure how she manages to be engaging and have fun with the kids all day. When I helped with a classroom program and Family Day, I had to be engaging with the kids the whole time and it took a lot of energy. Both of us work with kids(her more than me) but in different settings. It's interesting to compare museum school programs to an elementary school. Jasmine Contile: Jazzy is interning at a law firm that works with environmental, human rights, and political law. I've known her for two years and for that entire time she's always wanted to go into law. I'm really glad that she's enjoying her internship and is branching out into a different area of law. I wouldn't really say our internships are alike however, we're both enjoying it. I definitely would describe myself as an introvert and it can be hard to be outgoing. However, I feel like I'm growing as an outgoing person. Since I switch in-between departments I have to be able to talk to new people. And surprisingly, I've grown more comfortable doing it.
Career wise, I've realized several things about myself. While working in Education I realized that I just missed doing math. And no, I'm not kidding. While in working in Entomology, I realized that I really thrive when collaborating with my peers but I also like having quiet, focused, and work by yourself time. I've always like math and somehow along the lines of that I was like "ok let's be an engineer!" I still do although the reason I chose this internship is because my resume is chock full of the robotics team and I wanted to try something new that I really liked. I still want to be an engineer but I also want to combine it with science. I don't want to be limited in what I do. I decided to attempt to describe the sounds filling the room instead of recording it as it seems to be more interesting. These are the sounds in Entomology.
Click. The light source for the microscope in front of me turns on and a soft whirring begins to enter the room. The room is shrouded in a silence filled with warmth almost as if it's calling out for a hug. The silence accepts the whirring sound and soon enough it fades away into the background. In the silence are other noises as well. The creak of a chair as someone adjusts their position. Hard and soft footsteps sounding in the hallways. The shrieking of little children from the main floor of the museum. Loud and brutal clacks of doors shutting. The crinkling of plastic as someone enjoys their snack. The sound paper makes when ink is applied to form letters and images on it. The clickity-clackity of fingers hitting a keyboard. Sometimes the silence is broken by human voices and conversation fills the room. On some days this happens more than others. But the room always falls back into its comfortable silence. First off, more pictures!!! Yay!!!
Anyway, back to answering the prompt. What is social dynamic like at the Museam? Please note, its very different depending on the Department. In Education there's always some sort of chatter, maybe about a project or kids or something random. When I popped in for a quick hello at the end of the day yesterday they started doing burpees because why not? While everyone has their own office, they all eat lunch together and are really outgoing. It's part of their job. They're the ones organizing programs for the schools, family days, and a bunch of other public things. Their job requires communication and collaboration. Entomology is a different story altogether. The science departments are located on the third floor, kinda tucked away from the public. Everyone works in the same room (view picture with microscopes above) but they're really focused on what they're doing. Looking for certain characteristics on an insect to identify its species takes a lot of concentration. There are conversations but there's also a lot of quiet worktime. It's not something that requires constant checking in. So, I'm sorting bugs this week in Entomology but then week two is in Education, week three is in Paleontology, week four is back in Education.
I am designing a pop-up for my project. A pop-up could be a simple game that you take out in a cart to the main floor of the Museam. The goal is to interact and teach people something in a short amount of time. It's fast, easy, and fun! Above in the slideshow are some more pictures. The selfie you see in the slideshow is me today in the Entomology Lab. As mentioned in my last post (and obvious in the pictures) I'm working in the Entomology Department this week. I'm helping out with their ongoing Catus Wren project. I've been taking the samples of bugs that they've caught in their traps and sorting them out according to their order (scientific classification). By the way, there's usually other volunteers helping out but I'm alone in the picture because at that point they had left.
So how am I beneficial? Despite that "sorting bugs" may not sound important, identifying and sorting them to the correct order is vital to their research. I'm quite new at sorting insects, arachnids, and other bugs but I'm learning and sorting. Thus, I am beneficial to their research. The sheer size of these animals. I know this exhibit has been around for a very long time and I remember visiting it as a kid, however as a kid everyone is bigger than you so to see the skeleton of a megafauna isn't as striking. Coming back as a full grown person, it's just hard to take in how tiny you are compared to them.
Besides that, I also found surprising just the amount of stuff theNAT does. It feels like they do everything. "To interpret the natural world through research, education and exhibits; to promote understanding of the evolution and diversity of Southern California and the peninsula of Baja California; and to inspire in all a respect for nature and the environment." - the mission of theNAT Their mission is definitely being completed through not only their exhibits but also the family and school programs, collections, Nature Loan Library, and movies. They definitely try to be inclusive of everyone. For instance, they have ASD mornings where people on the autistic spectrum can come in early and explore the Museam in an environment that is more comfortable for them.
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Internship BlogI interned at The San Diego Natural History Museum for the month of January. I worked there full time for four and a half weeks. I bounced between departments. Week .5 was in Education, Week 1 was in Entomology, Week 2 was Education, Week 3 was Paleontology, and Week 4 was Education. Archives
February 2017
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