Second week at the Adler Planetarium & Story Time

   

  As I entered week two, I was excited and curious as to what I would learn next. The week started with talking to professionals. One woman really stood out as she worked for an organization that dealt with unaccompanied minors, usually those that have traveled to the US by themselves. This was interesting but became more intriguing for me when she spoke of the psychologists that also worked with the  children and workers. I didn't know this was an option or application of the psychologist field. 

 Later in the week, I was able to sit in on a meeting about an online exhibition through Google Arts and Culture. The exhibition was about for the upcoming opposition ( when Mars is closest to Earth). The meeting focused on reviewing the information and making sure wording was ideal for viewers. We focused on simple things such as grammar to the information on the slides as well as the orientation of the images. I was happy to learn about Google Arts and Cultures and how it can help further engage people. 

I also had the opportunity to sit it on a grant meeting. The meeting was focused on developing a plan for how the collections department would use money from a grant they were expecting. A variety of ideas were tossed around such as VR to a path finding software for within the institution. It was very interesting to see how meetings were conducted and the kind of future projects being discussed. I enjoy knowing that I am not only participating in a program for the present but also for the future.

I created more mounts for meteorites but also started a new project. I helped the curator of the collections department with a project for a future event. The project involved reading visitors letters to Jim Lovell (a man who participated in many Apollo missions and went to moon) to connect to the current exhibitions and displays. This was very inspiring as the letters were written from many different people. Some letters were written from children as they mentioned the inspiration they now felt to pursue science. Others mentioned the importance of Lovell's family as they supported you. Some of the writers were also college students that were perusing a major in physics or engineering. One letter that stood out t me described Lovell as an "American no - Global hero". This was important because it brought diversity and a perspective of not only Americans but those beyond America. Another letter that stood to me was written by a young girl and stated, "Thank you fro giving this girl a dream". It was easy to see how inspirational of a figure Lovell has become.

Last but certainly not least, I participated in story time! This was a very fun experience as I not only was able to work with children but I also saw how encouraged these young children were to answer questions and be engaged. I loved that I was able to read an inspirational book about courage and perseverance to children. I was amazed how easily the children were able to identify the main messages of the book. They gladly participated in the activities and made me grateful to be a part of their day. Some photos of the event are shown below.