Trunks and Tyrannosaurus Rex

One thing to remember when being an intern is that you are the lowest on the totem pole and sometimes you just have to pay your dues. Today was more of a “grunt-work” kind of day. But although I wasn’t necessarily doing any high-profile projects, I still had a good time getting to know some of the staff members better and getting accustomed to the museum rhythm. As an intern, if you have the attitude of “what can I learn from what I’m doing” any project you embark on – from organizing cabinets to filing – will be beneficial and rewarding to you. Just remember that you are here to see the in’s and out’s of museum life and even from the floor while you scrub out stains you can get a glimpse of that.

Today we did some organizing of cupboards and clean-up projects around the classroom. One project that I actually found very therapeutic was peeling labels off of our trunks. Let me explain the trucks. Throughout the year the Nevada State Museum lends out trunks to teachers in the area. There are three different types: women, mining and centennial Las Vegas. Inside are various historical objects and items that teachers can use as aids to teach Nevada history. It is a really neat program that the museum offers. And free!

Since its summertime, all of our little trunks have now found themselves back at the museum – and you know what that means – prep work for their next adventure in the Fall. So today I worked on peeling old stickers from each trunk so we can paint anew and taking inventory of the pieces in there. I’ll go into depth next time about the specific contents of each trunk.

Today was also fun because for the first time since interning this summer we had some kids come into the classroom, yeah! We had the children color on various coloring papers that we had made up which displayed various parts of Nevada history: gold miner, Nevada state seal, indigenous animals, Native American pottery etc. Although I am lost when it comes to working with children, it was fun to hear about their experience at the museum. When I asked what they saw at the museum today I heard a choir of cries – “mammoth!” “wolves!” “dinosaur!” “bobcat!” Although the children were a little too young to tell me about the first settlers of Las Vegas or the Atomic Test site, they really seemed to enjoy the museum and looking at all of the interactive displays. I am looking forward to working more in the education department and seeing how they work to excite children of all ages about history.

I think I’m also going to have to go home and brush up a little bit on my natural history. As the children were telling me all about the fossils they saw and dinosaur this and dinosaur that, I realized my memory of the subject is a little fuzzy. I guess even for a history buff like me, there is always more to learn.

Maybe I’ll start with a rousing viewing of “The Land Before Time” to get me started. I’m off to pop the popcorn. See you next time.

Allison