My name is
Heather Mortimer and I major in Interdisciplinary Sculpture. I first
experienced the National Aquarium as a child who loved the ocean. This led me
to volunteer through their Student Summer Program while attending High School.
I enjoyed the experience so much that I continued as an adult volunteer after
the program ended. Of course, it seemed like a no-brainer for my first
internship to be through the Aquarium. It was hard to choose which internship I
wanted to apply for but I eventually decided that I was most drawn to
Conservation Education. I was asked to answer a few more questions and then
informed that I would be completing an internship for the Summer of 2014.
Despite
already spending a year volunteering with the Aquarium, I didn’t quite realize
how large their education department was. My supervisor, who works in Formal
Education, informed me that I would also be working with Visitor Programs and
School Programs. I started out primarily in Formal Education because it was
“Field Season.” In other words, almost every day they were taking students from
the Aquapartners Program on field trips to either Fort McHenry or Sandy Point.
After spending a week with Formal Education, I started shadowing with Visitor
Programs, the department that teaches visitors inside the Aquarium. I was
trained on Water Safety, Animal Handling, Interpretive Teaching, and a variety
of Carts and other Educational Tools. I was also invited on special trips such
as Osprey Banding and kayaking, as well as Shadow Days, where I spent the
morning with another department such as Exhibits and Design or Australia. It
felt like every day I was doing something new. I even completed a teacher
workshop for the Project WET Activity Guide. I had the opportunity to teach an
activity and received my own copy of the guide by completing the course.
I’ve learned
so much these past few months. I can now calmly handle a Madagascar Hissing
Cockroach while talking to visitors, keeping the animal safe, managing the
crowd, watching the carrier with the other cockroach, making sure people use
the hand sanitizer, and getting to the conservation message. I know how to
reassure a child who is concerned about endangered animals that there are
adults working to protect that animal and that they can help too just by
shutting the water off while they brush their teeth. I can get a group of
excited 5th graders to focus their attention on a discussion about
oyster reefs. I think the
most important part of my internship was learning where my interests fit in,
and what opportunities are out there. I was able to experience teaching in a
variety of settings, as well as see firsthand what goes into creating an
institution like the National Aquarium. From the big idea for a multi-million
dollar exhibit to how we’re going to interpret a model of a shark with a
conservation message. I’m sure that my interpretive training will benefit the
effectiveness of my art and that what I have learned will appear in its
content.
