Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015 | ' ‘

 

Museum of Science 8 Industry offers
volunteer, internship positions for students

Kori Downs
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The Museum of Science and Indus—
try (M51) is the largest science museum in the
western hemisphere, holding over 35 thousand
artifacts and nearly 14 acres of interactive ex-
hibits and experiences. The museum’s home is
the former Palace of Fine Arts building from
the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in
Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, and it
opened in 1933 under philanthropist Julius
Rosenwald’s vision to create a hands-on indus-
try museum in the United States. Each year, the
museum works toward achieving its mission to
“inspire the inventive genius in everyone” with
the help of several Illinois Tech students.

Each semester undergraduate stu—
dents from IIT have a unique service learning
opportunity at the Museum of Science and In-
dustry through the MSI Internship Program.
Students apply to spend a few days during the
semester volunteering at the museum, lead-
ing science demonstrations to the museum’s
general audience. Volunteers who complete a
required minimum number of volunteer hours
at the museum also qualify to apply for a paid
internship at MSI over the summer. Last year’s
eight internship students learned a variety of
demonstrations and presented them to over 30
thousand museum guests.

In order to become eligible for the
internship, students must first attend an in-
formation session held early in the semester

 

and apply to volunteer at the museum over the
course of the Fall or Spring semester during
the academic year. During the semester, these
students learn to present three interactive and
hands-on demonstrations to museum guests.
Volunteers work alongside lead interns, who
were summer interns in previous years, to re—
ceive coaching and support as they learn more
about presenting to different audiences and
speaking in public. Demonstrations done by
volunteers cover topics including sound, elec-
tricity, and Newton’s Laws.

Twelve volunteers are accepted to
the program each semester. Upon comple-
tion of 20 total volunteer hours in a semester,
the volunteers qualify to apply for one of the
summer internship positions, where they learn
larger programs and work full-time.

The MSI-IIT internship partnership
is now entering its 8th year. This partnership
began with a common trustee between IIT and
M81, and the program aims to foster commu-
nication skills in students while making sci-
ence education accessible to the community
through the delivery of several fun and inter-
active live science demonstrations at M51.

“1 have been looking at the program
since my freshman year,” says Cassie Godette,
5th year physics major and 2014 M81 summer
intern. “It’s a little intimidating to do demon—
strations in front of a ton of people, but its re-
ally great once you try.”

Christina Castillo, 4th year applied

math major and 2014 intern, adds her thoughts
about the feedback that volunteers and interns
receive at the museum to help improve their
programs. “In our shows, we learn how to give
positive reinforcement and how to stay posi-
tive with our guests. Those traits translate into
the feedback we get from other facilitators at
the museum. Our feedback is never negative;
it’s always positive and constructive. We always
learn about what we do well and get sugges-
tions on what to work on. There’s always some-
thing that you do well and there’s never a truly
bad show. The museum is an awesome place to
learn how to take feedback and practice pre-
sentation skills that you’re going to need for
the rest of your professional career.”

Students who complete the intern-
ship and volunteership also report increased
confidence, more comfort with public speak-
ing, and positive experiences in working in a
team.

Lynne Meyer, Director of the Office
of Spiritual Life, Diversity, and Service at IIT,
who acts as the liaison between the museum
and the university, also offers her wisdom. She
says that the MSI volunteership and internship
can be a positive and important experience
for anyone, regardless of their major. “What-
ever field you go into, you’re going to have to
communicate with people who are not in your
area. Whether it’s your boss, a customer, or a
colleague in another department, being able
to confidently and concisely explain difficult

concepts to somebody who doesn’t share your
background is a real valuable skill.”

The MSI Internship Program has be-
come a highly competitive opportunity for IIT
students over recent years. Meyer says there
are usually over three times as many students
applying than there are spots open for the vol-
unteership portion of the program, so students
should also remember not to get discouraged
if they don’t get selected on their first try. With
so many passionate and qualified applicants, it
is very difficult to narrow them down to the 12
who are chosen to volunteer each semester. Al—
though this program is a very unique partner-
ship between MSI and IIT for undergraduate;
students, one should also know there are many
other ways to volunteer within the museum if

( they’d like to have that experience. Students are

also heavily encouraged to try again and apply
in upcoming semesters should they not make
it on their first try; several successful volun-
teers and interns in the program have applied
more than once before being accepted to the
volunteership.

In order to apply for the MSI-IIT
volunteership and internship program, inter-
ested students must attend information ses-
sions being held this week on Tuesday, Febru-
ary 3 and Wednesday, February 4. All of the
information sessions will be held in the Her—
mann Hall Crown Room at 12:50 p.m.. Con-
tact Lynne Meyer at lmeyer2@iit.edu with any
additional questions.

Photos by Kori Bowns