Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History serves as a capstone to Fort Worth’s Cultural District, featuring a collection of interactive exhibits and programs developed by the Museum’s staff and a team of nationally recognized designers in support of the Museum’s dedication to informal, discovery-based learning for all through creative, vibrant programs and exhibits interpreting science and the history of Texas and the Southwest. Fort Worth Museum of Science and History has featured Smithsonian scholars and hosted Smithsonian traveling exhibitions.

I found this in the storage closet. Maybe it will be used tonight for the adult event during after hours. 

This was made with Makey Makey circuits(technology). Instead of using actual computer keyboard, the kids would use the cardboard keyboard that would work because of the circuits. It was cool to see that one of the games they could play was Pac-Man. 

Inside the storage room is where all the demos and extra things are stored. 

I found this book inside of one of the rooms and started reading it. I really enjoyed reading about different Hispanic leaders and their success stories. The stories reinforce the ideas presented during Washington Week. 

I was amazed when I would find biographies of women being the first woman to do (career choice)...

This was created by one of my coworkers who is working on her Masters in Museum Studies, a career I had no idea existed. #DallasStars

I saw  a lot of kids making really creative cardboard games and they could take them home, but they had to leave behind any circuits or motors. 

I finally met a kid named Houston. 

This along with other baseball facts can be found in one of the Innovation Studios' room. 

Download an app on your phone and use your phone as a screen inside the VR glasses. In the museum, as a demo the VR glasses were made out of cardboard. 

Camp Fire students returned and taught little kids how to make inflatables. Later, I joined them to watch The Great White Shark film in the IMAX.

Coworkers

The ages of the people who work/volunteer in the Innovation Studios ranges from 16 to around 40 years old. At first, I felt that it was going to be hard for me to make acquaintances with them, but over time I got to know them and how they happened to be working or doing an internship at the museum. There is a bit of diversity in this area of the museum. It still saddens me though that I don't see many leadership positions at the museum where the Chief Director, etc is a Hispanic person. About three of my coworkers are actors, as well. One of my coworkers is from Houston but attended Baylor. Thanks to them, I have learned how things run around in the museum, the demos, great life lessons, and how Innovation Studios is a great area to let out your inner child. 

Museum

I don't know if the rest of y'all attended training before the start of your internship, but they asked me to do it so I did it. The training taught me about how the museum handles safety, how to dress, and what to do in the case of an active shooter. The museum is very strict with their gun policies. Furthermore, the next day(s) after the Dallas Shooting, some employees in the employee break room started talking about gun laws and how a gun show was happening right next door! After a few days of the shooting, I was still heartbroken and decided to spell out Pray for Dallas using the Bright Lights found in the Designer Room. (The day I found out about it, I was heartbroken because Dallas is already known to be the City of Hate since the JFK shooting happened here).

My favorite part of the museum is the Dinosaur Lab and two main dinosaurs on display. In addition, on the second floor there is an exhibit called Think, 75 Year Anniversary where you can find a very technological exhibit, the timeline of computers/technological advances, and the best part is a display where you can press the buttons and learn where specifically each body part is at!!!

Reel Adventures & Science On Tap

For today, I was signed up to help out and view one of my supervisors do a heart dissection and some other type of dissection. When I was told about this I was so pumped because the human biology and anatomy is the thing and branch of Science that I specifically like and I am passionate about. Unfortunately, I won't be assisting this even anymore, but tomorrow I will be helping out in Reel Adventures. 

Science on Tap, the museum’s newest adults-only event is coming up on Friday, July 22. Explore exhibits and galleries like never before with activities geared toward 21+.

Things Learned

Before I started my internship, I had no idea about all the different departments needed to make a museum happen. I also learned about how due to funding, the museum has not been able to do interactive exhibits like the one we saw in Washington, D.C. :(

I learned how the board of directors has to make huge decisions about what new exhibits to have and pass down the information to Marketing, etc. 

I am amazed how many of the employees of the museum have been there for a while, which is cool that they found their passion and love their workplace. I found one of my supervisors' stories unique because she was a great example of how there are many different paths to success. 

P.S. Check out my Snapchat stories where I post specific photos of things going on in the museum and how the rooms look like.