A letter to my future self

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Dear Whitney of the future,

In the past few months that you have been at the DMA I hope you have learned a lot, worked hard, made new friends, and that you have had fun all along the way. There are a few things that I hope you accomplish by the time your internship is over.

These things are:

- Learn how a museum works!—who is in charge of what? How do the different departments interact with one another? How do departments vary in different museums? Do all museums have education programs, and if so how are they similar or different from the DMA’s program?

-Discover and hone your museum education skills—how is teaching in a museum different than teaching in a classroom or at camp? What are good teaching tools? What/how can kids learn differently in the museum that they could not elsewhere? How can you use these things to your advantage/employ these things for the benefit of the kids visit?

-Learn how to write lesson plans/programming and write some!

-Create good relationships with co-workers and visitors of the museum—learn from the wisdom around you.

- Understand and appreciate the different jobs within the museum.

-Ultimately, establish a few positions within the museum that you would certainly like to hold in the future. Know where those people have come from and how they got to where they are. How could you get there in the near or distant future?

Throughout the summer, make sure to blog about these different goals. Perhaps include answers to questions, helpful experiences you have had, as well as progress on your goals for the summer.

Xo,

Whit