Category: Internship Report

What are the current goals of your project?

I will be helping with the implementation of two other week-long camps: “Exhibit Exploration,” which is about the planning of museum implementation, and “Culture of the Cedar Valley,” which is about local history and culture. In the second half of my internship, I plan to finalize the preparations for both the space and engineering camp. Both camps are scheduled for August, so I will be running both the space and engineering camps towards the end of my internship.

What accomplishments has your project made so far?

So far, I have been running planetarium shows and science demonstrations which are meant to generate an interest in STEM for both children and adults. I also help run the Grout’s summer camps, which are each themed and oriented for children from ages 6 to 13. So far, we have finished two camps, which each lasted a week: “Paleo Discoveries,” which was dinosaur themed, and “The Art of History,” which was about how art has changed throughout history. When not running shows or helping with camps, I have been working on planning the programming for our final week-long camps of the summer which are “I Need Space,” a space themed camp primarily focused on NASA and it’s missions and “Rockets, Cars, and Planes, Oh My,” which has a focus on engineering and physics. So far, I have finished most of the planning for the space camp, and just need to work on camp prep (pitching the plan to the rest of the team, buying supplies, and physical set-up).

To learn more about Lexi’s internship, click here to view her website.

Describe what you did during your internship:

Most of my programming involved space-themed summer camps, both full-day and half-day. Each week covered different topics: planets, stars, meteors, and space travel challenges. Activities included building a to-scale solar system, creating water filters, simulating a Mars mission with a budget, and engineering spacecraft like balloon-powered rockets and lunar landers. I tailored the level of detail depending on the group’s interest.

I also ran a one-day Space Career Workshop, where I introduced kids to various space-related careers beyond being an astronaut, such as physics, engineering, computer science, and more. I emphasized the wide range of opportunities in space exploration.

Additionally, I compiled research on three main topics: the similarities between Antarctica and Mars/Lunar surfaces, meteorites found in Antarctica (including those with potential evidence of past life on Mars), and the Gateway, Artemis, and Orion missions, which represent the future of space exploration.

Did you achieve your goals?

My goals mainly consisted of successfully leading NASA-related programming and learning more about STEM education. As previously stated I lead many programs successfully. When it comes to STEM education, there were many parts of STEM education that I was previously unaware of. I had to learn how to plan developmentally appropriate lessons and activities depending on the age group. I also had to adapt and change activities based on what I felt was appropriate for each group of students. I also had to learn to manage a classroom with up to 20 kids. I got better at answering their questions in simple ways, even when the question had an extremely complex answer. Overall, I got much better at teaching and managing kids in a STEM education setting.

Describe positive lessons learned:

I most importantly learned more about myself during this internship. Upon personal reflection, I learned that working in this setting is exhausting for me, which in turn helped me realize my future should not consist of this same environment. I now know that I adore teaching, yet I do not love teaching young children. I also learned how to effectively manage classrooms and teach in engaging ways. Additionally, I got better at time management and professional communication with peers.

Describe negative lessons learned:

Overall, I had a wonderful experience like I have described. Despite this, I got overwhelmed easily during camps with many difficult students. Although it wasn’t noticeable, by the end of the day I was mentally exhausted. I struggled to send kids home who had behaved in a way more than warranting a call home. I had a lot of empathy for all of the kids and hoped they would behave with time; this wasn’t the case. Regardless, this internship was still very enjoyable for me.

What was the impact of this internship?

This internship affected both my knowledge of STEM education, but also clarified my path. Sometimes you need to experience things outside of your comfort zone to understand the path you are meant to follow. Originally, I believed I would like to be a professor at a university. This experience clarified for me how much joy I find in teaching. Looking back, my favorite part of this internship was answering all of the obscure questions kids had, and watching their curiosity grow. However, I do not see myself teaching groups of kids in the future. I would much prefer being in an environment of only teaching instead of managing a classroom as well. I have thought about starting to tutor, as I thoroughly enjoy helping students learn. While I was compiling research for the Putnam, I also realized that I love research, and working in research is a very viable path for me as well.

Describe what you did during your internship:

During my internship I planned and led half of the Grout Museum’s “I Need Space!” camp as well as the entirety of the “Rockets, Cars, and Planes, Oh My!” camp. I assisted in supervising the other week-long and day-long camps of the summer. I also helped run the planetarium as well as presented science demonstrations. Most of my work involved supervising children and encouraging them to engage in the material we were presenting. I also worked to teach children and adults about what engineering is.

Did you achieve your goals?

I believe I achieved my goals, both tangible and personal. I fulfilled the tangible goals of planning and leading our “I Need Space!” and “Rockets, Cars, and Planes, Oh My!” camps as well as helping with other camps, running the planetarium, and helping with science demonstrations. I also met my own personal goals, which were to be a positive role model for young girls interested in STEM, generate an interest in STEM, and reinforce skills that are important in STEM. I believe my presence at the Grout Museum was a positive representation for women interested in STEM, but I also did my best to encourage young women to pursue the field. I helped to generate an interest in STEM by creating and presenting engaging science demonstrations and planetarium shows. Finally, I helped reinforce skills that are integral to STEM, such as teamwork, creativity, and critical thinking by building activities that require these skills into my planned camps.

Describe positive lessons learned:

One of the big lessons I learned during this internship was to consider why a person might be acting the way that they are. As adults, we often don’t consider this. However, after working with children, my thinking often shifts away from thoughts that blame the person toward thoughts that are more understanding of why the person is acting the way that they are. For example, when the children are being more rambunctious than normal, my initial thought is now to consider how hands on and engaging the activities have been rather than to blame the children for their own energy.

Describe negative lessons learned:

Some challenges I had during this internship was the space we hosted our camps in. Because we did not have a dedicated space for our camps, it could be a challenge to move supplies and be constantly thinking about what things we could and couldn’t do in the space we were in. For example, some of our camps were hosted in a conference room in the Grout Museum, so we had to be extremely careful to make sure the campers didn’t spill paint or anything else that could stain. The space issue was especially difficult for our bigger camps that needed to be split into to different groups as one group had to be outside for the other to be inside. This was difficult to pull off with variable weather conditions.

What was the impact of this internship?

Throughout the internship I gained experience in public speaking by presenting science demonstrations and planetarium shows. I improved my ability to be flexible under stress by leading the “I Need Space!” and “Rockets, Cars, and Planes, Oh My!” camps, where we were constantly adapting to the needs and energy levels of our campers. Finally, I improved my own problem solving skills by intentionally working through the steps of solving a problems with campers. This was intended to help them understand how to solve a problem, but by practicing it so much it actually improved my own ability to problem solve. All of these skills are things that are directly beneficial to my time as a student of engineering as well as in my future career.

Describe what you did during your internship:

My role as an intern at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium this summer was to create and deliver NASA related educational programming for the museum’s “MakerSpace”, an area for all ages to learn and explore various STEM related topics. The MakerSpace includes more “self-guided” stations that are meant to inspire curiosity and innovation. During my internship, I created multiple stations aligning with the many aspects of NASA and the museum. One of these stations was a “wind tunnel” that teaches guests about the Mars Helicopter “Ingenuity.” Guests educate themselves by reading posters with facts about Ingenuity and then attempt to make their own helicopter out of paper. These helicopters are then placed into this make-shift wind tunnel and fly up and out the top. I found that this attracted visitors of all ages and used the opportunity to talk about the use of wind tunnels in aerospace engineering.

Did you achieve your goals?

I believe I achieved both given and personal goals. I was able to inspire and connect with a number of visitors through the developed programming and had a really positive experience doing so. I was able to create a number of successful activities for the MakerSpace that increased the popularity of the area and helped define what the space could be. I also learned a lot of communication and education skills, plus a whole lot about NASA. I was even able to practice some technical skills which aligned with my major such as improving my CAD abilities. All in all, I learned a lot about technical communication and was able to connect with so many types of people which was a success in itself.

Describe positive lessons learned:

This internship has provided me with a lot of positive lessons. Of course, I learned how to communicate complex topics to those with less background knowledge, but I also learned how important working with others is. All of my co-workers were so nice, and it was when we put our heads together that we came up with some of the most successful activities for the museum. I also learned the importance of learning from your failures. Not every activity was a huge success, but it provided me the opportunity to look at what guests liked and what guests didn’t to fully tweak the station into something enjoyable yet still educational.

Describe negative lessons learned:

I think the hardest part of this experience was figuring out the system for the area. The museum’s MakerSpace is relatively new and has had quite a few changes in leadership so no one really knew what the space could be. I challenged myself to make things more in depth, interesting, and eye-catching through more involved activities. When I came to the museum, some unhopeful museum employees called the MakerSpace some not so nice names but by the end, we would get multiple compliments a day on how the area was improving, looked great, and was just so much more engaging than it had been before.

What was the impact of this internship?

As an aerospace engineer, I was always very interested in STEM, but because of my internship, I am so much more enamored with the space aspect of the field. I also feel much more prepared to achieve my goals of being a leader in my field as I feel I can work with others and communicate the scientific topics that I will need to so much better than I could before.