National Museum of Natural History Unearthed

Teens at the Intersection of Design and Science

The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) recently served up an interesting challenge for local students—design mobile education “carts” for our new state-of-the-art Education Center, currently under construction here at NMNH.

The students, part of the National Building Museum’s Design Apprenticeship Program (DAP), are involved in a seven-week course in which students learn about design by designing and planning a product and then building it. For the last 11 years, the program has been giving middle and high school teens a chance to learn about designing, building, working as a team, and working for a client. 

To be successful in their building design, the students learned about what kind of work is conducted at the National Museum of Natural History. DAP students met with scientists, educators, volunteers, and exhibits staff from the museum to learn about how and what NMNH scientists study, how science information is conveyed, and how the museum uses carts to give visitors an up-close view of objects and conduct demonstrations.

Supporting the program’s core values of teamwork, research, and peer communication, the DAP students met with NMNH’s Youth Advisory Board (YAB). YAB, a group of local teens working with NMNH to develop new ways to communicate science to their peers, provided the DAP students a perspective from other teens on what happens at NMNH and gave them an opportunity to exchange ideas.

Exposing the students to both museums has played a real role in helping students understand the intersection between design and science. “Design and science are interconnected. Design is all about how people perceive something, to the point that it really is a science…” said Vangie Hakes, a DAP teen.

“And in science, design is really apparent. Everything in the universe, whether it's natural or man-made, is designed in a certain way, to serve a certain purpose. The way a thing works is based on its design.”

Since NMNH is in the midst of building its new education center, the design project has been very timely. The new education center will be a 10,000-square-foot space designed for students, families, teachers, and life-long learners to get up-close to the science behind the science at the National Museum of Natural History.  Visitors will be able to handle and learn about 20,000 collection objects, attend lectures and events in a new theatre, and participate in activities in the classroom.

The new space will house activities focused on thousands of collection objects, education programs, and public programs that are designed to be happening simultaneously. The complexity of the Education Center space and program design is an important project component for the students to better understand how their education cart design will fit into the bigger picture.

Stepping up to the design challenge, DAP students understood that integration of the Education Center design was critical in creating a successful product. “This program teaches us how to listen to other ideas, patience, and compromise.  At DAP I learned more cooperation skills and mixing skills meaning taking my ideas and the ideas of others, mixing them together to make one big design,” observed DAP student Taylor Hicks.

The collaborative effort between the two museums and their youth programs not only taught the students about design and building, but it also helped the students understand the value of communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity.

“Working with the actual client and meeting their needs really helps see what would happen in the real world because you have certain specifications you need to meet and if you don’t, they won’t be satisfied,” says DAP student Sumaiyah Liggans.

The collaboration between the National Building Museum and the National Museum of Natural History has been a successful pilot project.  The DAP students are continuing to learn about design and building, while serving real community needs. Students from each of the Museum’s teen programs are also learning how transferrable their new skills are between the building and science disciplines.

On Saturday, April 28, 2012, from 1-3 pm, the National Building Museum will host a reception where the teens will present their prototypes. The event is free and open to the public, with refreshments after the presentations are complete. Come out to the National Building Museum to help these students celebrate their accomplishments. 

Maggy Benson, Partnerships Manager, Office of Education & Outreach

 

Editor’s Note: DAP is open to 12-18 year old students in the Washington, DC metro region.  There are two, seven-week semesters of the program per year, held in the fall and spring. Registration information for the DAP program is available on the National Building Museum’s website.

 

Images: Design Apprenticeship Program students work as a team to design and build mobile education “carts” for the National Museum of Natural History’s new Education Center. The students worked closely with National Museum of Natural History staff to understand how the mobile education “carts” would be used, to better inform their design and prototype, seen here being built. All images courtesy of the National Building Museum.

Winter Break Interns 2012 - Michelle Daniel

Where are you from and what brings you to the Museum?

I come from Toronto, Canada, where I study Forest Conservation and Environmental Biology at the University of Toronto. Travelling to DC meant more than escaping the cold weather! I was drawn in by the excitement of the national museum environment and the opportunity to contribute to a project and an institution that is nationally and internationally meaningful. Interning at the Museum gave me the chance to combine what I have learned in my classes with participating in real research projects.

How did you get "Behind those Doors?"

I heard about the Winter Internship program a few months ago and kept a close watch on the website until the projects were posted in October. It was hard to choose just one! I applied to the Conservation of Bureau of Land Management's Botanical Voucher Collection project, which sounded exciting and likely a good fit for my interests. Once I contacted my staff sponsor, Andrew Clark, we were able to discuss the project further, and he and other NMNH staff made the rest of the process easy.  Soon the paperwork was complete, my flight was booked, and I was on my way!  

What is it you're doing back there, behind those doors?

I came to help with a project called Seeds of Success. Plant specimens and seed have been collected from all over the country to organize a seed bank (housed in Alaska) and a collection of the specimens as vouchers, which are joining the herbarium colelction at the Museum. While I was visiting, we started using the database that will enable us to organize the collection and the information we have about the specimens. This will allow scholars and land management professionals to study the specimens and to use them as vouchers to access seeds in the future for regeneration and other initiatives.

In addition to those directly associated with the Seeds of Success project, I had the opportunity to explore the collection and participate in many of the aspects and functions of the herbarium during my internship. I was amazed at how many specimens there are! It was important to learn how the collections and other herbaria are organized and maintained. One of the things that I enjoyed most was working in plant mounting. The staff and volunteers who do this are like artists, and many of the specimens they prepare are very beautiful. Watching this and other aspects meant that myself and the other interns on this project were able to learn about the journey that a plant makes after being collected in the field. It's exciting to know we worked with specimens that are now part of a historically significant collection that we expect will continue to be valued and protected for hundreds of years to come.

What's been the most amazing or unexpected thing you've seen, experienced or discovered while being part of the NMNH academic community?

I think everyone would agree with me that the Museum is a very exciting place to be! I could have happily spent much more time in the exhibits, on behind-the-scenes tours, and at nearby sites. A particular highlight of my time had to be the behind-the-scenes tour of the paleobiology collection. From the tiny specimens to the dinosaurs, everything was so cool, and it was awesome to be shown around by an expert! For me though, the most amazing part of my internship was the sense of commitment across the Museum community to making this a great experience for me. I encountered a wide range of scholars who made every effort to ensure that I learned as much as possible through the project and even beyond the Museum - making my visit to DC a wonderful experience.

Michelle Daniel, Winter Break Intern, Seeds of Success Project

 

 

Image credits: All images courtesy of Michelle Daniel

Behind those Doors: Internships and Fellowships at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History

As a child, I was fascinated by places like the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) but found it difficult to imagine as a real place where people could participate in and contribute to its activities and operations.  And then there are those doors - the ones that lead beyond the public exhibitions.  What’s behind them?

I got the chance to find out when I became a summer intern, which was also when I discovered my passion for facilitating this kind of experience for others.  As the Head of the Office of Academic Services and a former NMNH intern, I can assure you the place is real, the staff are amazing, and through our academic opportunities, people like you can contributing their time and talents toward our endeavors. 

Still a bit curious about what internships and fellowships are like at NMNH and wondering how you can apply? Through our series "Behind Those Doors," you'll take peeks behind-the-scenes with stories about our academic opportunities, the people participating in them, and links to more information about how to apply.

Winter and Spring Break Internships

So what did you do over winter break?  Hang out with family?  Eat  too many holiday cookies?  Did you know we have a special internship program specially designed to place interested and motivated undergraduate and graduate students, in short-term internships during their winter and spring breaks? During these short internships, you can gain practical experience by working in a museum setting, develop new skills learned from our staff, provide a service to the organization by contributing your time and talents, create professional partnerships, and pursue your fields of interest.

This year we had 36 students participate in our 2012 Winter Break Internship Program.  They came from 16 different states, joined 18 different projects, and engaged with us for a combined total of nearly 5,000 hours.

Why offer such short internships?  In the words of intern Jeremy Azurin, from Virginia Tech, “It's a fantastic time to explore different areas of science and possible career options, meet other interns and professional staff, and most importantly, gain valuable experience within the Museum.” 

About her Winter Break Internship ShuMing Huang, a freshman from Smith College, commented “As the introduction says, '…because at Smithsonian, the possibility is endless!' My experience at Smithsonian really proved this statement.  I have not only explored the endless possibilities, but also inspired by the people I met, the exhibitions I visited, and the projects I worked on. Every day is a new adventure.” 

Can you really make a contribution during such a short internships?  You bet!  Arthi Aravind, from the College of William and Mary, working in our Division of Birds, puts it in perspective for us all.  “Someday, a hundred years in the future, a researcher might pick up one of the birds I worked on and count it as a data point, and it will have done its part to help further the mission of the Smithsonian Institution, which is to 'increase and diffuse knowledge.' In its lifetime, it’s difficult to predict just how many projects this one specimen will be involved in, but when you consider how many specimens the Smithsonian Institution has as a whole—that’s 137 million—it’s mind-boggling to imagine the importance of the collections to the cause of advancing human scientific knowledge. What’s important is that museum visitors are aware of this, so they can truly understand the mission of museums and all that they do."

Spring is just around the corner.  What are you doing over spring break?  We’re now placing students in our week-long Spring Break Internship Program. 

Mary Sangrey, Head, Office of Academic Services

Image captions and credits (top to bottom): In addition to contributing to a project, winter break program participants have the opportunity to join special tours of NMNH's research facilities and collections areas; Arthi Aravind with the study skin of a Yellow-Headed blackbird that she prepared during her winter break internship. Images courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution.

Teens Focus on Ocean and Climate Issues for National Summit

Students from the Suquamish Tribal Early College High School, part of the Seattle Aquarium Delegation to the Third Student Summit on the Ocean & Coasts, are working on a project to raise community awareness of how ocean acidification impacts the Suquamish community–economically, environmentally, socially, and culturally. They will present their plans in Washington, D.C., tomorrow in a program that will be webcast live from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Learn more about the Student Summit and webcast, and enjoy their video!

Ocean Portal Team

Video courtesy of: Coastal America

Want Your Students to Take Active Roles in Global Environmental Issues? Just Shout!

A week from tomorrow, three of our staff will take part in a free online event for students and teachers called Study the Land. Study the Land is the second in a six-part series connecting experts in environmental sciences with you and others around the world - both during these live webcasts and through ongoing connections with Microsoft’s Partners in Learning Network, the Smithsonian Institution, and TakingITGlobal's online community.

Put together, this rich array of resources coalesces around themes about environmental responsibility known as “shouts.”  These six themes – Live, Study, Change, Sustain, Value, and Celebrate - make up the Shout Learning Project, and as described on its website:

Shout gives participants a framework for success, with resources and tools for exercising social responsibility while building the 21st-century skills of collaboration, innovation, and critical thinking. When students are connected through technology and empowered to build activities in their own way the learning experience extends far beyond the four walls of a classroom ...take your own stand in making the world a better place. Now that’s something to Shout about!

The NMNH staff participating in this second “shout” come from our Botany Department and bring their expertise in a variety of areas including plant conservation, scientific illustration, and systematic biology. Explore their profiles linked below:

• Gary A. Krupnick, Ph.D., is the Head of the Plant Conservation Unit [link to his staff bio]
• Alice Tangerini is a Staff Scientific Illustrator [link to her staff bio]
• W. John Kress, Ph.D., is a Curator and Research Scientist, as well as the Director of the Smithsonian's Consortium for Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet, and Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Yunnan [link to his staff bio]

We hope you’re now brimming with questions and excited to join them on January 26th. Don’t forget! Registration is free and only takes a few seconds. Can’t watch it live?  Watch the archive, follow the tweets, and join in their Facebook community.   We hope to see you there and at future Shouts.

Sarah Banks, Audience Engagement Specialist, Education and Outreach

Image courtesy of the Shout Learning Project

Crafting for a Cause: The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Comes to the Smithsonian

This past summer, I was lucky enough to intern at the National Museum of Natural History as they prepared for an exhibit that is coming to the museum this weekend: The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef.  This project is a collaboration of Margaret and Christine Wertheim, two sisters from California who combine art, science, conservation, and mathematics to create a unique coral reef-like structure constructed out of crochet.  Unbeknownst to my supervisors, this project was right up my alley.  An avid craft enthusiast since childhood, I have always wanted to explore the medium of crochet, and the fact that this exhibit involves so many different disciplines made it even more fascinating to me.  What better way to raise awareness about coral reefs than creating one in our own community made out of beautiful and delicate needlework? (Plus: Who doesn’t like crafting for a cause?)

As part of my internship, I created a video podcast documenting the construction of the Smithsonian Community Coral Reef, which will be the largest part of the display in The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef.  In this podcast, I interviewed participants and shot footage of them crocheting individual pieces – called polyps - that put together will make up the reef.  Making this podcast was such great experience not only because of the unique nature of this project, but also because of the wonderful people I got to meet at events held at several D.C. area yarn shops as well as the Smithsonian itself.  Before I would film anything, I always sat down with the participants, a great majority of whom were women.  I was fascinated by hearing their stories of how they came to be involved in this project, from the woman who was crocheting in memory of her deceased, former-diver husband to a teacher involving her pre-teen students in the projects.  There was no shortage of stories.

Most of the participants came from the artistic perspective of the exhibit, avid crocheters who are always looking for a new project.  But along the way, they became interested in the science, mathematics, and conservation of aspects as well.  One specific image comes to mind of one of the workshops held at the Smithsonian.  As I came in, one woman was taking out a small stack of books she had brought with her from her local library to help educate her fellow crocheters on making their coral pieces naturally accurate.  Another woman had checked out books from the kids’ section of the library that included vibrant illustrations and pictures, inspiring her to branch out in crocheting different types of coral then the ones that had been initially suggested.

The sheer enthusiasm for being accurate in their designs was impressive enough, but the creativity of the participants was truly stunning.  As part of the Toxic Coral Reef section of the exhibit, one woman had the brilliant idea of using old videotape reels as yarn, resulting in a shiny and diseased looking piece of coral.  Along with her design, I witnessed many others crocheting with makeshift yarn made from plastic bags as additions to the reef, creating a stiff, captivating coral that must be seen to be believed.

All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better internship experience, and I’m so excited to make the drive down from Boston to see the exhibit.

Natalie Zarowny, Intern, Exhibits

 

Image captions and credits (top to bottom): Natalie Zarowny, courtesy of Natalie Zarowny; Polyps created for the Smithsonian Reef, courtesy of Natalie Zarowny; The Fiber Space Reef, courtesy of Jennifer Lindsay

Learning and Discovery as a Y.E.S.! Intern

    Working in the FossiLab was an exciting experience because it put me in a room where the public can watch me work and see all kinds of cool objects. During my time there, I saw scientists work on a 5 million year-old whale skull, the cast of a 36,000 year old Gray Whale jaw, Mammoth leg bones, million year-old camel bones, a brontothere jaw, prehistoric owl pellets and many more. I loved being able to work beside such kind and knowledgeable people of whom I could ask questions; I learned a lot just from our conversations.
    I also learned a lot by investigating evidence from prehistoric ecosystems as part of my overall project, which was to find and measure charcoal in 73 million year old fossil soils to get an estimate of the presence of wildfire.  Undertaking this kind of work can tell scientists a lot about what these prehistoric ecosystems were like and being a part of this real world scientific process was a key part of being a Y.E.S.! intern.  As part of this program, myself and others worked on projects with actual scientists who wanted our assistance and were figuring out things on the way, rather than already having an outcome in mind. With my scientist, we went through many trials and errors; the vacuum wasn´t working as we thought, the rocks weren´t dissolving, some samples had huge chunks...but that´s what made it real, the fact that we had to put our heads together and actually figure out something that would work better.
   Another aspect of my internship, and one of my favorites, was having the chance to talk to visitors while working alongside staff and volunteers from the Office of Education and Outreach.  One day, I displayed a Discovery Station with a whole bunch of fossils that people were drawn to like a magnet.  After learning about everything on the cart, I enjoyed answering questions and interacting with these visitors. Another time, I was able to help out at the Insect Zoo, where I held Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, Australian Stick Insects, Lubber Grasshoppers from Georgia, and Tobacco Hornworm Caterpillars. It was so interesting to see the range of reactions the bugs sparked among people, and I loved trying to encourage the public to hold them. The insects themselves were fascinating and holding and talking about them was a great way of learning.  Finally, in the Forensic Anthropology Lab, I enjoyed the many cool facts about the way Forensic Anthropologists can use bones to figure out information about people’s lives. For example, hipbone structure can help determine sex and teeth can lend clues as to age. With this information, I sat at one of the lab tables with real human jaws and was able to answer everybody’s questions.  l liked how passing on the information to others really engraved it into my mind. All three of these experiences were exciting and taught me about different areas of science, as well as helped me communicate better with people. I feel like I’m a lot more confident and have a lot of fun when I talk to people.
    Overall my internship with the Smithsonian was amazing, educational and so far has been the best method for developing my science skills. I am thankful the Y.E.S.! program selected me as one of their fifteen high school interns and was able to work six weeks at one of the greatest science research institutions in the world. The program encouraged us to learn, and in the Museum you discover for yourself how amazing it is and it develops an excitement within you for the subject. This internship not only exposed me to different fields, but it solidified my interest in science.  I would like to focus on environmental science to help solve many of the issues we have today and have a career that would take me to different places in the world like the scientists at the Smithsonian. I excited to continue with the Y.E.S.! program in the fall for 12 weeks of college preparation.  I’m also very excited to be part of the museum’s one hundred year anniversary and feel so grateful to have had this inspirational opportunity.  I hope to continue to be a part of this community in the future by volunteering my time at the museum.

Camila Moscoso, Intern, YES! Program

Image caption and credit: Olivia Persons (left) and Camila Moscoso (right) at work in the Fossil Lab.  Image courtesy of Smithsonian Institution.

My Amazing Experience with the YES! Program

    This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to be an intern in the Youth Engagement through Science (Y.E.S.!) program at the National Museum of Natural History as we celebrate its Centennial. As part of this internship, I got to work alongside a real paleobiologist on part of a current project involving 73 million year old fossilized charcoal. Not only did I learn about this exciting project, but I also discovered a lot more about the Museum and different fields of science.  I was exposed to so much during my internship!
    The Museum's collections, for example, are massive and so much more than what you see on display.  In fact, less than 1% of its inventory is on public view out of over 126 million specimens.  Before my internship, I thought the purpose of the Museum was to educate the public with this 1%, but the Museum does so much more! It is a major research institution, with a large variety of projects in action all the time. I was amazed to see what happens behind the scenes and all kinds of interesting artifacts stored in the basements, like real mummies, shrunken heads, skulls, and ancient pottery shards - to name just a few.
    I could not be more impressed with the mind-boggling amount of collections, and the fact that almost all these specimens serve a purpose for research today is just amazing!  Like in the Feather Identification Lab, I wondered why they would need so many stuffed birds, eggs, and nests today. Well, research using collections like the museum’s egg collection helped scientists build a case against the use of pesticides that were bad for the reproductive success of birds, especially eagles. By measuring the thickness of eggshells from eggs that were put into the museum before the widespread use of DDT and after the pesticide was commonly used, scientists determined that DDT was causing eggshells to thin. Eagles are no longer listed as endangered due to the great come back after the ban of these dangerous pesticides. And that’s just one tiny example, using eggshells!

Stay tuned next Tuesday for the conclusion of my post!

Camila Moscoso, Intern, YES! Program

Image caption and credit: Camila Moscoso at work in the Fossil Lab.  Image courtesy of Camila Moscoso.

Blast from the Past - Katherine Campbell, Museum Volunteer

Some of the advantages of working at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) are that there is always something new to see and that often, moments of childlike wonder come when you least expect it.  I began here as a volunteer in the IT Department this past Spring and my arrival happened to coincide with the unveiling of the exhibit to celebrate NMNH's first 100 years - Celebrating 100 Years at the Museum.  One day, I was knee-deep in code for the accompanying Centennial website when my supervisor offered me the chance to take a tour of the Paleobiology Department.  Along with a few lucky students from a local school, we examined fossiles and prehistoric sediment samples - just scratching the surface of the Department's vast holdings.  Our tour guide - a curator of Paleoentomology - all along rattling off scientific jargon that left my head spinning, and me wanting to find old episodes of Bill Nye, The Science Guy.  Words like frass, molt and proboscis elicited knowing nods from the students, and approving glances from their teacher.   The students craned their necks to see over one another as the curator produced fossil after fossil.

As they continued to study the fossils, I flashed back to a moment in my childhood with images from Jurassic Park filling my mind: the T-Rex’s thunderous steps causing ripples in the water, the scientists extracting dinosaur DNA from blood trapped in amber-encased mosquitoes. In 1993, I had watched that movie in complete astonishment.  Now, as an adult, I was instantly transported back to that time by seeing fossils in real life, and that’s one of the reasons why I love working at NMNH - in addition to learning and being exposed to new experiences, I am often reminded of older ones. Sightings like the stuffed animals in the museum shop and the kids the huddled in front of the Fénykövi elephant for pictures all remind me of a simpler time in my life. No matter what your age, there is moment you can take away from walking the halls of NMNH.

Katherine Campbell, Volunteer, IT

Meet Elena Ponds - the Summer 2010 Social Media Intern

As a teen growing up in the twenty first century, I, like many of my peers, spend a great deal of time on the internet. I find myself on sites like Facebook and Twitter, and watching silly YouTube videos for hours at a time.  Growing up in the DC metropolitan area, I have also repeatedly visited the Smithsonian museums, coming back again and again to check out the new IMAX’s and my favorite interactive exhibits.  It was not until I arrived here at Natural History to intern for the Social Media Manager, however, that I realized how much of both realms I was missing!

Did you know that in 2009, 30 million people visited the Smithsonian Museums and National Zoo while there were approximately 188 million website visitors?  The millions of people checking out the Smithsonian websites are not just there to plan a visit. They are also there to explore the endless learning opportunities available beyond the walls of the museums such as education resources for teachers, behind the scenes looks at collections, access to interviews with scientists, and much more.  While the NMNH staff and volunteers constantly work to make sure visitors have a great experience here at the Museum, the use of technology allows them to provide an enriched experience before and after a visit as well. 

Every day on the job here, I have been exposed to, and get to participate in, this effort and dedication.  A great deal of my internship this summer has involved researching information for the Social Media posts as there is always more to find in order to engage the thousands of followers on sites like Facebook and Twitter.  One reason I think Social Media is so popular and effective is because it goes beyond observation. Instead it encourages participation; followers are consistently giving their input on what they want to hear about, as well as sharing their own experiences visiting, volunteering, interning, etc. 

Like Social Media, NMNH's centennial celebration encourages us to reflect on the Museum's past and look towards its future.  In the last one hundred years, various departments - including the relatively recent addition of the Department of Education and Outreach - have continued to work towards bettering each visitor’s experience of NMNH; phasing in some of our visitors’ favorite features such as the hands on carts, Insect Zoo, Butterfly Pavilion, Forensic lab, Scientist Is In, and the social media pages.  It has been one hundred wonderful years of curiosity and learning that I have no doubt will continue to grow and strengthen!  Some of my most memorable moments from this internship will be the web seminars, meetings, and a panel discussion that I attended on ways to enhance visitors’ experiences through technology; all addressing the question “What will the next 100 years bring?” As a  college student caught up in the here and now of media and technology, it is refreshing to learn that great institutions like the Smithsonian are there to strengthen our futures.

Elena Ponds, Social Media Intern, Education and Outreach