What really interested me in working in the Education Department at the MSU Museum was the idea of working with the public. I liked the idea of creating a dialogue with the visitors. I did this through multiple avenues, I lead group visits and orientations, I worked special events, and I also trained a new docent.
After observing a couple of times, how group visit orientations work, I was able to lead a couple of them. It was nerve wracking at first, because as someone who is very introverted and shy, public speaking is not something that I enjoy. I’ll do it but I do get some nerves. However, once I realized that what I have to say important and I was helping to create a good museum experience, I felt better. Eventually I was able to start leading group orientations and be present in the galleries by myself.
Another great aspect of doing group orientations and visits was that, the 5th grade classes that I work with as Teacher Aide for came for a visit and I got to lead the students around. I ended up using my work background to help create a fun experience for the students and a (hopefully!) less stressful visit for the teachers and chaperones. The next week I got to do the same with the 4th grade classes from the same school. The structured setting that we developed for these field trips worked really well.
I also worked some special events, including a Sensory Friendly Day with Potter Park Zoo as well as a special screening of an upcoming show on PBS. But more about those in a future post.
Another aspect was training a new docent. I was asked by the Head of the Education Department, to train a new docent. It was nearing the end of my internship and I had been working at the museum enough that I confident that I could help guide a new docent through what to expect while working there. The new docent and I ended talking quite a lot and we got to ask questions and try to figure out more about museum.
I enjoyed this aspect of the internship the best, interacting with the visitors was so much fun and really allowed to me to shake off my shy nature and talk to people. It was a nice balance to the office work aspect being able to talk to people and learn more about what visitors want and try to help them as best as possible.
Museum Musings 