Adler Planetarium - Week 4

This internship went by so fast and it’s hard to believe it’s over! My last week at the Adler Planetarium hit me with bittersweetness. I was ecstatic to go into my last week and enjoy every bit of it, but this would also be my last week. My driving also improved (seriously, driving in a city can be stressful). With that being said, I grew as a person, learned about myself, and I’m really proud of everything I did outside of my comfort zone! The Adler will always have a special place in my heart. 
During our usual Mondays we focus on career exploration. This past Monday, though, was a “free day” meaning the other teen interns and I could go explore around Museum Campus (this holds five of Chicago’s museums/attractions). So we all agreed to spend time at the Shedd Aquarium. After lunch break we headed over to the Doane Observatory to work on our Community Bash event. I, along with three others, were in charge of event productions. We worked on figuring out the last minute logistics like contacting catering for estimates, figuring out what other things the other groups needed from us, and so forth. By the end of the day, we finalized some things for our Community Bash. We’ll be featuring every teen intern on one of the theatres in the Adler, have a Q&A, serve food, and host activities/games. 
Tuesday through Friday consisted of me finalizing and editing the interview I had with Dr. Ellen Ochoa. In addition to this, I took advantage of my lunch breaks and would explore the Adler Planetarium within those last thirty minutes of my break. I had never been so fascinated by space exploration before my internship. After having finalized and edited the interview, I began a second project. I helped my supervisor look for documents in the archives, which described Philip Fox’s (first director of the planetarium) trip to Europe, and his observations of other planetariums. Every little detail in the letters, pictures, and even the wrinkled and yellow paper, made me feel like I was present in that certain situation or time period. 
This same day, Friday, my supervisor talked to me about college: the next big stop. She made me feel at ease with my initial worries about college, major, and life in college overall. She even recommended places and restaurants to check out once I’m in Champaign, Illinois (she went to UIUC for graduate school). Not only did I receive advice from her, but also received advice from another Adler employee and UIUC alumnus; this helped me feel relieved.
Finishing my internship at the Adler Planetarium has been both rewarding and bittersweet. Something big that I’m taking from this experience is how crucial it is to have exposure to certain fields at an early age. It’s also important to see representation in those fields, as this might encourage other underrepresented minorities to pursue a career in those fields. By having worked at the Adler, I can say it certainly influenced me a lot and really sparked an interest in me I didn’t know I had. I’m certainly considering a degree in a field I had initially crossed out. This experience is one that I won’t ever forget and I am extremely grateful for it! 
I hope you all have enjoyed your internships and learned from them as much as I have. Thank you for coming along this journey with me! Special thanks to the Smithsonian Latino Center for allowing me to be a part of this program. It has been humbling. Also, I wanted to give a special thanks to my supervisors: Rosalia, Amanda, Jessica, Chris, and Pedro.
Les deseo lo mejor,
Brenda
Atwood Sphere (this was the first planetarium in Chicago)










Location: Chicago, IL, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 4: History Colorado Center

The last week of my internship was also one of the bests (and I apologize for the lack of pictures again, I'm honestly really bad at remembering to take them). As the last four weeks came to a close, I spent my time putting the finishing touches to any work I was doing. Whether that was meeting about the after school program or getting a few more sketch ideas in for the illustration book, I didn't want to leave anything undone or untouched by the time I was finished.  But, I didn't just work. That isn't to say that I sat around and didn't do anything, either. The last four week, however, was spent hanging out with my supervisor and a few others. On Wednesday, they took me out to lunch at an amazing phở spot on Capitol Hill. The lunch was spent having great conversations and some realizations too. Although I learned a lot  about people in Colorado and the roads that they mapped out, I also learned how it felt to be valued and appreciated for my ideas and c...
Read more

SAMA - the last week

July 29 - August 5th On Tuesday, I was also able to take a mental break from computers and art and had a refreshing storytime at the San Antonio Public Library - Las Palmas branch. Even though our participation level was low (two kids and a grandmother), I still had an incredibly fun time with them. After Criztian and I read the story and did the drumming activity, the kids wanted to show us the songs and dances they learned from the librarian, including If you’re happy and you know it, Frogs on a Log, and Shake the Sillies Out. Seeing how well the children interacted with music and dancing was such a great experience, which fit perfectly with the theme of Tito Puente and his music during storytime. Seeing how well they interacted with the music and the stimulation to their young brains was so inspiring.  On Monday the 5th, the other intern and I paired up for the gardens presentation. In case you aren’t up to date here’s a recap of last week: I had an idea to expand the...
Read more

Giovanna Ferreira - WEEK 3 at S.C.C.

Image
Third week of interning at Smithsonian Institution Building has been an adventure. Since we had meetings every single day at every single hour plus doing translations and working on the website for about two weeks, my supervisor decided to give me a little break and sent me to different Smithsonian museums (and the zoo). National Museum of African American History and Culture Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Smithsonian National Museum of American History One of my favorites was the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, which is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport, VA. The location is, in my opinion, the coolest, because while you are going around exhibitions you can also observe real planes flying over the museum.  Lockheed SR-71A “Blackbird” was by far my favorite of the whole center. It was a spy plane operated by the United States Air Force and it set a speed record by flying from L...
Read more