So, I missed a few weeks

There were a few weeks when, to be quite honest, I was not doing anything very exciting. Most of the time that I wasn't at the museum I was spending my internship writing my ideas or transcribing the interviews; transcribing took up more time than I had ever imagined. Through the process I was able to learn more about the docent's experience and compile their suggestions as well as work on my typing skills.

What a great semester

This evening I had the pleasure of attending the Volunteer Recognition Ceremony and Reception at the Field Museum and, most excitingly, my name was included on the program. Yes, it was among many others but I still felt very proud to be a part of something like that. The ceremony recognized the hard work of the volunteers at the museum over the year and had special recognitions for those who have committed 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years to the museum, as well as being hosted by John McCarter who gave a speech he called "15 years at the Field Museum in 15 minutes....or so" which was inspiring and surprisingly funny. The presentation outlined how much the museum has accomplished in the last decade and a half and how widespread the museum is. The Field has research on all 7 continents, more conservation projects than any other museum, has lent out exhibits all over the world and adds roughly 500 new species to it's catalogs every day. The reception served as the perfect ending to the semester, I feel I have learned to much about museum education, the docents themselves and how to effectively convey information to the general public. I was only able to take a few pictures during the evening as I had to hurry home to my looming final papers but I was so glad to be able to take pictures with my favorite docent (Dennis Kinzig, who was recognized for having volunteered more than 400 hours of service over the year), with Dr. Johnson, a picture of John McCarter giving his speech and, of course, the dessert table in front of Sue the dinosaur.

April

The past few weeks have been filled with a lot of writing, I am working on putting my experience with the docent tours into a meaningful piece of writing. The title for my work has been giving me a bit of trouble but hopefully Dr. Johnson will have some suggestions for me. The writing has helped me process my time with the docents and realize that my views on museum education and museums in general have changed after getting a more intimate look at how they work. The docents themselves are a collection of diverse individuals who make public education their passion in retirement (generally), I feel that those who seek out the position of museum docent are highly motivated people who were committed to their various careers and in retirement they turn that commitment to their tours. While they are all extremely different and have different career backgrounds they all have common elements that make them successful docents. Prior to the project I had never taken a tour with a docent, I felt that I could gain all the information an exhibit had to offer on my own. Once I started taking tours I realized how much information the docents add on their own, mostly due to their own research and interest, and how valuable they are to museums. I will continue writing about and analyzing the docent experience and expect to end up with a well thought out piece to turn in to Dr. Johnson.