A Summer Odyssey: Uncovering My Professional Self in the Rainiest City in America

Abstract

I spent the summer of 2022 interning at the Exploreum Science Center in Mobile, Alabama. Although originally hired to work for ten weeks with the first two weeks in exhibit development and the remaining in the education department, my job evolved into a 19-week internship across the administration, education, and exhibit departments. During the internship, I spent most of my time researching and developing an exhibit that would eventually become the center’s new permanent winter exhibit, Subzero: Discovering Life Among the Ice. I also worked closely with the director and helped with minor administration tasks as well as was a backup summer camp educator when needed. Because the center is a smaller institution, it was necessary for me to work in multiple departments and switch my roles at a moment’s notice. The report talks further about the work done at the Exploreum as well as how the internship allowed me to utilize knowledge and skills from my coursework, how it deepened my knowledge of the museum profession, and how it deepened my own personal knowledge.