Young Ambassadors 2017 Internship Blog

Hi Ambassadors, This week has been more than eventful, as I have been in meetings, served as a museum tour guide, and completed the Story Time event with my local library. On Monday, I was able to read “Drum Dream Girl” to sixteen kids and their parents at the Denver Public Library Corky Gonzales Branch. That day was my first time at that specific library, and I was happy to bring my nieces and nephew and encourage them to become familiar with checking out books. The Story Time itself went smoothly, although I unfortunately was not able to partner with an alumni to host the event. The children at the Story Time event were engaged and invested in the storyline, and they were excited to create their own drums. Included below are some of the pictures taken during the Story Time reading and the following drum activity. I’ve come to learn that on any given day at any given time, I may have to drop what I’m doing to attend a spontaneous meeting. One of those meetings I had this week w...

This week was very exciting! Everyday at the Science Center there are around four demonstration done by the Guest Experience Specialist (GEX) team/workers. I have seen a couple of these demos, but I have never helped GEX. This week I was able to observe/help/learn a couple demos. GEX encourages for some of the volunteers/interns to learn the demos. On Monday I observed the "Discover DNA" demo. I helped Audrey from GEX by assisting her in setting up the table.  Below is a picture of me observing Audrey extracting DNA from strawberries using isopropyl alcohol, dish soap, water, and salt.   On Tuesday I was able to observe/assist with two demos. The first demo was about hominids, which are "members of the family of humans". This demo was done by Matt from GEX, and I only observed. He had five fake skulls: chimpanzee, Australopithecus (Lucy), Homo erectus, Neanderthal, and Homo sapiens (us). This demo is a lot more complex  to understand (at least to me), ...

Hey guys, Last week was fashion week! I thought fashion week would be a bit more popular than the other programs we've hosted, but to my surprise it wasn't. Only about eighteen teens came, compared to our thirty kids last time. It's okay though because we had such amazing garments made this week. Most people say they're into fashion because they like to dress themselves up, that's why this week my boss has made it her mission to change that way of thought. She invited a woman from a company called Slow Factory. Her mission statement is to make garments through a slow production method in order to help the environment. Most of our clothing is made from polyester which is created by oil. That means it can never be fully destroyed, also most of the clothing we donate to Good Will ends up being dumped with the other huge piles of clothing in Africa, I believe. Cotton is also not the best alternative for polyester because it take a huge amount of water to make one shir...

“Excuse me miss, but my friends are eating the grapes that fell from the sky.” The time for session two has arrived. A new set of kids, with a new set of names I would not be able to learn fast enough. The program would now be recycled, with a few improvements and a switch in the order projects would be assigned. Curator Kids Club was on it’s way to a session two filled with success. After morning introductions, the first challenge had begun. Each table was handed a pack of 100 flashcards and instructed to build a two feet high tower that would withstand the weight of a modeled rocket. Without any guidance many of the groups focused on creating a stable base, while others began building with no plan. There was success and there was failure. Each group was able to learn from each other’s structures, what seemed to work best and what did not - knowledge that would later be beneficial when building their bridges. Projects were assigned with little guidance, but no worries YouTub...

Michael hands to yourself! Guys, get in a straight line! Safety first, remember to wear your gloves and goggles. You’re not wearing gloves, where are your gloves? Someone get the frisbee, okay, I’ll get the frisbee. Chaka! Claudia! Someone? Curator Kids Club was my permanent stop. Within this program kids from the 6th to 8th grade are able to explore this year's theme, Engineering. For the duration of three weeks, those selected will face challenges and projects that incorporate the key theme Engineering. With the assistance of Rosemary (program coordinator), Chaka (teacher), Elanine (teacher), Cindy (teacher’s aide), Claudia (teacher’s aide), Anthony (volunteer), and Adriana (the best volunteer in the world) and the use of tools and materials provided, they will build four key projects - a bridge, a mechanical claw, a remote control car, and the final task of constructing an arcade game to present in the California Science Center. Not forgetting to mention, they will face sma...

My last week at MIM is bittersweet. I feel like it's only been a few days instead of four weeks! This week I finalized the translation of chaperone guides and had it checked over with Niki, Cristina, and Ileana. It's awesome that the education department has decided to make this small but impactful part of field trips available in Spanish; I'm sure it'll be greatly appreciated throughout the year by schools. I worked on a project along with Niki, for a STEM segment MIM wants to add to the field trip portions. The project consists of rope, hot glue, key chains, and musical instrument tags. It will be used to show the exact length of that instrument, for example the length of a trombone when it is completely uncoiled. Two prototypes were made and they'll choose between which works best for children.  I also learned how to laminate during this project and how to prepare receipts to be sent to finance. After receiving and answering many emails regarding the Back to Scho...

¡Hola a Todos! The fourth week of my internship with Explora was busy, but very fun. I had the opportunity to get to know to the staff and volunteers better. I continued to give group tours and doing prep. I also helped in the summer camp called “Chemistry in the Kitchen”. Although I was always busy with something, I felt comfortable in the working environment that Explora offers. The tour groups, as usual, went great. It’s amazing how I’m still learning from all the museum floor areas and exhibits. Children are the teachers at Explora, they are the ones that “think outside box’. Every time I asked them what they were doing, they responded with something that I would’ve never imagined could be done at that exhibit. The number one rule at Explora is to “touch and experiment everything”. “Chemistry in the Kitchen” was for children from grades 2-3. Here they learned about the different ingredients that make dough raise, the types of fats for cooking, and how to distinguish heal...

Hello everyone, This week was the last week of MOLAA’s Summer Art and Culture Camp. I spent this week mainly focusing on the camp once again. I interacted with the kids who attended this last week of camp as well as the counselors, the student volunteers who assist with the camp. Like the other two weeks, my main assignment this week was to prepare for the camp’s open house by assisting teachers with anything they needed for the open house, creating the certificates, and preparing the slide show. This week, I also had my community outreach activity at the Central Public Library in downtown Los Angeles. Although reading to kids was a new experience for me, I really enjoyed being able to facilitate an activity for little kids. At first, I thought that I was going to struggle with engaging with the kids. However, thanks to my experience with MOLAA, working with kids was pretty easy. I enjoyed doing the community outreach activity and hope to do one again in the future. My experienc...

Hello All! It is amazing how quickly this four-week internship has been going by! Still, I am glad that I had the chance to learn from a variety of individuals and professionals, and that I have had the chance to explore various topics and fields. During this week, the other teen interns and I had the chance to hear from a panel of professionals that varied in fields from software developers to environmental scientists. Hearing from these different experiences allowed me to understand that everyone has their own definition of success and that everyone paves their own path towards that success. The following day I continued to work on the Mars project. During this time, I explored currently existing 3-D photographs of Mars’s surface and began to learn how to utilize the interactive software known as Open Space . Such a surreal experience allowed me to explore some of Space’s wonders from Earth. The continued development of software such as this one thrills me to know that such inf...

Walking into the California Science Center a new experience was on its way. Behind the scenes madness of what I once saw from the visitors eyes as a child in elementary when I frequently visited the Science Center. Now, as I walked in I would help create memories for those who visited, or so I thought. I was immediately greeted by Valerie Thompson, the Volunteer Manager. She showed me to her office and gave me a bag full of gifts, all branded with the California Science Center name. She briefly spoke to me about the Science center and how it was interactive based. Instead of hearing and reading please do not touch, guest are welcome to touch displays available. Interact with intriguing features rather than only being allowed to walk around and read plaques. After our brief introduction I was escorted to the fourth floor, a floor you could only reach with an access pass that would cause me future distress. But, that’s for another blog. Valerie introduced me to a few friendly fa...

Hello This week at Arte Americas, I continued working on organizing newspapers for their History project. It is pretty tedious work but it's interesting finding articles from before I was born. I find myself getting distracted sometimes as I stop to read some of the articles. I also got to see their storage downstairs from past exhibits they held. I got to see some interesting pieces from Mexico from Rebozo festivals they held for Mothers day and other items they kept from a textile exhibit.  Monday, there was a small event held for students from an organization called ARC (Adventure Risk Challenge). They are a youth development programs that combines outdoor activities with an educational program that targets low-income youth from communities in the Central Valley. The students shared their poems at the event and all of them were incredible. The students were very courageous as they took that opportunity to be vulnerable in front of...

Hey guys  Today was my last day working with the students in the summer program in the Mexican Art Museum. This week was also the start of a new program. This program concentrates in younger youth and is much shorter than the past program, bringing forth change to my schedule and tasks. The program runs for 2 hours meaning I had more time to spend in the office. I got to interact with the faculty, and get to know them in a deeper level. I am so happy I got the opportunity to speak to such wonderful individuals. Knowing that they found a home in education and are creating a path for students to learn about their culture and have a place to explore and grow brings me so much happiness. I am extremely thankful for my opportunity to work with an incredible staff and great kids. This summer has been unforgettable and I'm looking forward to coming back to interact with the students in the future. That being said I want to tell you about my week working with younger students. Thi...

I'm sorry for not having posted last week! To make up for it, I'll tell you about both weeks in one go. Going to museums might just be my favorite thing in the world. That's why the third week of my internship was just about the best week I could possibly ask for. In sum: each day in my internship at a museum, I was sent to another museum. And then, after work each day, I visited yet a third museum. Heaven. Basically, it was Museum Week for Portraits Alive, the teen education program I am helping out with. Each morning, I had the opportunity to meet different museum professionals at the National Portrait Gallery, including a curator, a historian, a lighting designer, an accessibility coordinator, and even the director of the NPG. Being able to talk all of these museum professionals, to ask them about their career paths, and to see what drives them and what piques their intellectual curiosities forced me to reflect on my own potential career in a museum. I realized t...

Good Afternoon, This week was pretty interesting. It was Marine Biology week. I think I mentioned it in the last post but I'll just say it again. Every week at the Frost Museum's summer camp they do differently themed activities with new kids as well. This week's theme was Marine Biology. The museum is also an aquarium, so as you can imagine that was our first stop. We visited the top half of the aquarium on Monday and the other sections that reside underneath it on Tuesday. Here is a picture of the campers and staff looking up at the pool where we have stingrays, sharks and other types of fish living together. Fish sadly not pictured. This week the campers got to do a lot of cool activities. I was with the 2nd graders again this week and they started the week fish printing. Fish printing is when you paint on a "jello" like mold of a fish then with copy paper print that mold onto the paper. I think the pictures below will explain the concept better.  ...

Hello everyone! It is crazy to think that I only have one more week at the San Antonio Museum of Art; this Friday wrapped up the last of the summer children's art programs, this week being "Heroes, Monsters, and Mythological Creatures." I was able to experience helping an older age group (8-10) than last week. And with an older age group, comes new difficulties, and new rewards. It was a pleasure to assist a different educator, as I was able to explore different teaching methods with engaging young students. This week I also wrapped up my small project for the August 6th Family Day, which was making props for the "Selfie Station." I took different objects from around the museum such as a woman's tilted fedora from the American Gallery, and the elaborate Lokapala headdress from the Chinese Gallery, and created props on a stick (pictured below). Creating these props was a fun and creative outlet for me as I retired each day at 3 from assisting the energy...

Saludos, This was my last week at the Atlanta History Center. I feel blessed that I was able to work with a museum in my community that has a such a remarkable reputation. Additionally, to have had the opportunity to meet adults who work incredibly hard for the success of the museum has kept me inspired. Throughout my internship, I had the pleasure to work with summer camps, but most importantly for the public programming of the NUEVOlution exhibit in January. To be working on a project that basically, in essence, is about me -in the sense that it’s about the new Latino south- was such an honor. I felt a sense of responsibility to give my insight to the project as a way to speak for my community. I also felt proud to meet and work with the people who have been working on this project for the past year. I simply can’t wait for its debut and helping out with it during the winter since I know it will have such a large impact in Atlanta’s community. Overall, working with the Atlanta Hist...

        Today is one of those days... (07/21/17)    Growing up is not easy, uh? Today I freaking cried when the train closed its doors right In front of my face giving me as a gift the shameful situation of being 40 minutes late for work. Do you all remember when we were younger and our parents would wake us up to make sure we would be on time for school? For myself, personally I am a person who is got problems calculating time, which results in late appointments or making it "right on time". It's been few those the moments in which I personally make it 10 minutes or five before the punctual time.    I would always have my parents to remind me of time and to tell me how late would I make it if I did not hurried up. Even having them as a huge help, I would make it on time just if I was lucky enough to not have a bad day with delays out of my control on the way. Yes, having parents who care about you and own a car is a huge help! But what about ...