I have been told several times by varying museum professional that it is the Education Coordinators who work the hardest and are stretched out the most in the museum world. At our Museum of Natural History, I have learned this rings true here also. Just sitting in the education dept's office, you can hear the phone ring and many people pop in and out working on varying projects or adding to the list of duties. The amazing piece of this is, however, that when I have seen and met with Sarah Horgen, the education coordinator, and Ashlee Gloede, the assistant education coordinator, they seem to love what they do. Sarah spoke with our Intro to Museum Studies class about her job and I could tell that she is enthusiastic about her job, even in trying to describe all that she does and in speaking of her 45+ hours work week. This semester, I've been able to speak with and work alongside Ashlee a few times and she always seems to have a smile on her face. As you recall, last month, I attended and assisted with a "Night at the Museum" event. That event was themed after archaeology and I'll never forget the magical excitement of the kids as they learned and experienced atlatls for the first time and explored the museum after hours. An event like this does not come about magically, though. This week I was able to see and assist behind the scenes in preparing for a NATM event to take place on November 18, themed on dinosaurs. Remember, all NATM events must be pre-registered and you're about to learn why.
When I arrived to help Ashlee, she had a list on a clipboard. Parents had been calling to sign-up for NATM all month. They call and Ashlee has to answer questions and remember to ask the parents for their names, child's names, requested hat color and give them all the pertinent information and payment information for the $25 entry fee. Then, a list is compiled, this time there are 22 attendees. Now, with this list, Ashlee brought me a few boxes of items. All the children receive a fun bag of goodies and a miner helmet just for attending this event. So, these bags must be compiled. I was handed bags that already had a few items in it like education information, museum event schedules and more. Then, we added one of the coolest dinosaur rings I've ever seen, a MNH pencil, postcard and a necklace. These were little take home bags to remember the fun they had that night. After all the bags were full, it was time to make the children's name tags and prepare the miner helmets. The miner helmets can normally be purchased in the museum, but each child who attends a NATM will receive one to bring back with them again and again. The miner helmets come in varying colors and the kids get to choose their color when they register. To prepare them, we had to use a tiny screwdriver and get into the light to put in batteries. Once you get the hang of it, popping open the light, putting in batteries and putting it back together isn't a hard task, but it is very time consuming. After getting them to light, the children's names get put on the back so everyone knows who gets which ones. All in all, these tasks took about an hour and a half to complete for the event. However, I was happy I took the time to help, because Ashlee was so busy that she was in and out working and meeting with other people. Had she been taking all the time out to do this project herself, who knows what else could have backed up for her. When I was finished, I brought the large box back to the Education Dept.'s office. When I asked Ashlee where to put it, she almost laughed. The office is about half the size of a classroom and has 2-3 desks. To the left sat several varying wooden dinosaur models. These, I can assume, were in preparation for Friday also. There are shelves of books, educational materials and other objects throughout their space. Clearly, you have got to be a very organized and focused, yet flexible individual to work in the education dept in a museum! Although the work is long, sometimes difficult and exhausting, I can see how rewarding this can be. A museum is an institution on the basis of educating the public. An education coordinator must make that education entertaining and unique to enhance the experiences of each patron who attends. From what I've expierienced all semester, this is well worth the time and effort and creates a fantastic time for those who attend. I hope you all attend an event put on by this dept at our museum, you will not be upset that you did! To attend any NATM event, or for questions about any event like it (including adult events) please contact them at #319-335-0606.
Visit the MNH website to learn more.
Here's information from the website about the next Night at the Museum Event about Birds taking place on December 9 from 6pm-9pm; Call to preregister your kids before all the openings are filled!:
This month:
Soar through the Museum of Natural History after dark to learn about birds from Iowa and around the world. The group will have a fun evening of pizza, behind the scenes tours, games, and more!
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| Miner Helmet |
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| Bags and trinkets |
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| Cool Dinosaur Rings! |
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