I enjoyed the small, tight nit environment the small museum was able to provide in this internship experience. Being in a smaller institution allowed for more inter-department interactions and allowed for the intern to handle more tasks that required some level of responsibility. The staff in the office were friendly and willing to assist the intern with any questions they had. It was a one of a kind experience -- the part of the internship I enjoyed the most was having access to the museum's collection of objects and artifacts, and then being able to curate cases and design interactive activities for the museum to excuse and put into use.
What I wish was different
I wish that the staff was able to plan out our time at the museum better -- there were times where the interns sat there doing nothing, because of the leadership had to approve our plans and what we were there at the museum to do -- even thought the museum president knew months ahead that there were going to be interns coming into to do collections and curation work.
Advice
Be open minded to new ideas and concepts, especially at a children's museum and at a place of learning and growth. Be receptive of suggestions and be adaptable to any situations that may show up -- working at an institution this small scale means that when any department encounters something difficult, all the departments have to come together to handle the issue because there is simplify not enough man power to go around the museum.
