Young Ambassadors 2022 Internship Blog

Time has really flown by. I still cannot believe this last week is already over. Now it is time to reflect on it all as a whole and begin the tedious process of packing and getting everything ready for moving off to college. The lessons, skills, and work ethic I learned throughout the duration of my internship, accompanied with the fun times I had, made it an unforgettable experience. I really am going to miss my coworkers, my office, and the tasks they made me do. I am also going to miss all of the fun events the staff would put on. Anyways, my last week was just as busy as the previous ones, with the approaching opening days for two new exhibits at the museum. These two new exhibits are named Pasos Urbanos, and Chicano Power. I spent most of this week either working in exhibit prep, or working with the summer camp hosted at EPMH.  The two pictures above depict the brand new Pasos Urbanos exhibit before it opens to the public! All of the pictures are lined up and ready to be mount...

 I cannot believe I am at the end of my internship!  I have had a wonderful time throughout these past 4 weeks, I have learned and embraced so much.  Last week was our final summer camp before the start of school. We had local high school students come in and work on a disability-friendly exhibit. The target audience was those who are visually impaired, as the museum collaborated with a local 3D printing lab to duplicate some artifacts so that everyone could touch them without jeopardizing their preservation. The campers were able to explore printing software and how to conduct object scans. They were also educated on accessibility and inclusivity, and many were enlightened to learn about ableism and how they can be more conscious. I was able to know many of them through conversation and by helping them with their tasks.   Students present their 3D avatar and learn how to use design software Students then began to put their exhibit together. They did everything ...

            My week started with packing some bags for the back-to-school event. The bags would be given out to kids and were filled with stickers and had a bracelet activity. After I was done with the bags, my supervisor had me shadow her at a meeting with the other department heads about the next phase of the museum. I do not know how much I can actually talk about, but the meeting involved new exhibits, activities, and redesigning some of the spaces in the museum. After the meeting, I spent the remainder of the day organizing the library. I found books that were about foraging and identifying edible and medicinal plants in North America and they let me keep them along with some other books I thought were interesting.   my new books I started reseraching tapetes de ar eña or sand rugs during Dia de Los Muertos. In Oaxaca, artists make a variety of tapetes with some depicting religious figures like the Virgen de Guadalupe or with dancing calacas...

Week 4 was bittersweet as I spent my last week with the other interns and supervisors I grew to love. The week started off with Gema (another intern), Liz (my supervisor), and I traveling to the flower district in L.A. We began gathering data there on the different prices of cempasuchi flowers and other materials that would need to be purchased in the future for the Ofrenda that will be put up during Día de los Muertos. This includes fake candles, cloth, cardboard, tree branches, and paint that will be used to build the Ofrenda.  Contact cards with merchants' names and phone numbers were also collected so in the future they could be contacted about La Plaza's purchases. All the flowers were so beautiful, and I learned that it is sometimes necessary and easier to discuss in person prices with others to collect more materials. I viewed this as a form of networking in a way as we talked a lot with the merchants, and I was reminded once again how beneficial it is.  Most of this we...

Week 3: Time flies! Two on-site visits and community outreach :) On-Site:  07/18/22 & 07/20/22  07/18/2022 :  It was finally the day I was going to shadow my fellow intern as they used the immigration cart around the museum. First, I did my regular commute: bus, metro, and walk to the museum. Although I did try a cafe nearby the Federal Triangle Metro Stations. Had a breakfast sandwich, which was terrific. Met with Magdalena and Gonzalo by the lowrider around 11:30, we went up to Magdalena's office as she explains that it'll be her last day with me as she was going on a trip. We decided to do some title-testing for the lowrider exhibit for about 30 minutes or so, Gonzalo and I. Then we wrap up the data we collected and head over to the immigration cart and set up near Presente! As Gonzalo tells me more about the bracero program and its importance in the Mexican-American immigration story, we exchange glances and smiles with museum guests. Due to it being a Monday, we ...

 Today was my last day with my folks at Arte Américas; they had one of the best send-off ideas! This week was a break from the summer camp we had with the kids, but that didn't mean there wasn't planning and projects to do. I had more of a one-on-one with the program manager, who showed me a part of the exhibit that includes her parents! I was honestly very impressed and it seemed like such a good idea for any Latino-related museum to have because it was a very simple explanation of their journey into the United States. Below you'll see images of a map that follows the story of Emma's Journey in a fun, digital, and interactive way.  When you click on the points of the map, it gives a brief  of Emma's story. One of my favorite things the program manager said about this form of storytelling is that this part of the exhibit  is something that won't ever die. I also attended a meeting along with the other board members to plan for the next exhibit, which has the goa...

  Week 4: July 27- August 2 One month at the Witte! ————————————————————————————————————— 7/27 DAY 17     I got to open up HEBBA after camp check-in. It’s great that all of our computers are working properly now, but I liked when I had to fix them :( None of the camps needed help again so I continued cleaning out the office supply closets. After lunch break and lunch coverage I worked on prepping some stuff for next weeks camp. Although most of the day was pretty normal,  the end of the day was very exciting:) Lessli and Rowley invited me to sit in on a Project Workshop meeting for a new science courtyard thats being built at the Witte. It was really interesting to see the planning that goes into these spaces. I got to see how many different departments come together to compromise on necessary details that will benefit the public and the museum. Speakers at the meeting included the CEO, various architects, a paleontologist, our STEM education manager, the manager of ...