Week 1~July 12-16, 2021

I have become enmeshed in the museum world and begun learning its mission and priorities, especially those specific to the BCMM. I feel like I have learned a lot this week, as I have jumped in and begun work on the lesson plan materials. I think I am well-suited for the educational aspect of a museum, as the role is very similar to that of a librarian. There are the constant demands of public relations and outreach to the community.

Week 2 ~ July 19 - 23, 2021

Time--what an important yet illusive concept, especially in the museum world. There is never enough hours in the day to get everything done. I know this perplexing situation has much to do with lack of funding and staff due to the museum being a nonprofit organization; however it is a necessity for accomplishing goals. As I taught during two class visits and then conducted a practice in-service training with volunteers, I was reminded how much I love teaching. It is at my core and I was able to see learning come alive in my students' eyes. It was not only alive but fun, for a change. I think that realization, if nothing else, from this internship, solidified how this type of work would be a great fit for me professionally. Also, one doesn't mind the time component (and the lack of enough of it) if one is passionate enough about the museum's mission.

Week 3 ~ July 26 - 30, 2021

Preparation and presentation sum up this week. We prepared for the teacher in-service, which included proofing, printing/copying, purchasing lunches, gift cards, materials for the sessions, and set-up. This preparation occurred twice, as we hahad ve two workshops. In this respect, there was a lot more preparation involved than with a regular classroom lesson. Since we are representing the museum, we must be cognizant of that at all times and provide the best marketing we can. We provided coffee and pastries each morning for breakfast. We gave away tote bags with materials and notebooks and pens. Essentially this was a mini conference so we had to outfit the event as such.

I gained an enormous amount of confidence as an educational leader through my experiences of leading the teacher in-service sessions this week. Fellow educators from southwestern Virginia and eastern Tennessee attended, and there was an overwhelming positive response to the lessons and my presentation of them. I realized how much I enjoyed working with adults in this setting and it solidified that a future career as an adult trainer in either a museum, nonprofit, or corporation is something I may be well-suited to pursue.

Feedback from the surveys was overwhelmingly positive. It appears that this event spurred interest in the museum among educators and will help boost visitors and usage of our facility in the future. Our goals were not only met but exceeded based on the success of these events.

Follow-Up Activities

Email responses to participants--

I gave my work email address to the participants to contact me if they have further questions or if they want to collaborate, etc. I also plan to share the presentation slideshow with them.

Hyperdocs--

I hope to create a hyperdoc or more for a couple of the lesson plans that teachers can use online.

Blog Posting-

Upons completing my internship, I plan to write a post (per my site supervisor's request) about my experience of working at a museum as an educator.