EXPLORATORIUM
Summer/Fall Internship
My internship was at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. The Exploratorium is an interactive science museum where visitors can learn and view all types of different sciences and arts. I worked as a High School Explainer. High School Explainers are the Exploratorium’s youngest employees, a diverse group of students who engage visitors at exhibits, lead demonstrations, and run many museum operations. In keeping with the Exploratorium’s philosophy, we built our own skills while learning to help others. The High School Explainer Program makes students part of the museum staff, giving us the important responsibility of being the museum’s primary point of contact with visitors. Some employees call us the ”face” of the museum; visitors rarely talk to any other type of employee. The Explainers learn about exhibits and facilitate visitor-exhibit interactions; open and close the museum; run daily demonstrations (including cow’s eye, heart, and flower dissections); find lost children; evacuate the museum during emergencies; and more. I was trained in a variety of subjects and given a lot of responsibility for handling complex interactions and museum operations. Two or three times a week, we met with science educators, exhibit builders, and other staff. We were trained in many subjects and are given a lot of responsibility for handling complex interactions and museum operations. The training is focused both on science content and exhibit facilitation. As part of museum operations, I also learned how to effectively respond to visitors’ needs and safety.`
Schedules
Substitute for Journal Entries & Hours Log (approved by counselor)
Cow Eye dissections were a fun (and a little gross) way to teach the public about the anatomy of mammal eyes. I would pair up with another Explainer and we would show the audience all the different parts of an eye. I memorized all the bits and how to cut them. This was probably my favorite shift.
Speaker demo was a shift where I would explain how ears, sound, and speakers work to our visitors. I would show people how to make a speaker and about ear anatomy as well as all the different ways sound travels using fun props. This was the only shift where we were allowed to use our phones (to play music)
