My name is
Nilam Sari, and I am a rising junior at MICA studying Graphic Design and
Interdisciplinary Sculpture. During the spring semester of 2016, I was looking for a graphic design internship opportunity
somewhere in Baltimore. I attended the Career Fair where I saw the Science Center booth and found out they were looking for an intern skilled in wood fabrication.
Steven Valenziano, my soon-to-be-supervisor, explained the intern would help build their on-going exhibition and then be given the opportunity to design, plan, and fabricate their own exhibit. I showed him my portfolio we discussed my interest in toy design which made him encouraged me to apply because most of the exhibition is related to children’s interaction. I applied and went to the interview, and after two weeks I received news I and one other applicant were accepted for the opportunity to intern as an Exhibition Design and Fabrication Intern at the Maryland Science Center Museum.
During my internship, I learned more about materials, tools, fabrication method, and museum exhibition interactions. I got to learn a lot of things from being outside of the classroom in an environment more specific to my interests. For example, I learned about different kinds of fasteners and what each is best used for as well as how to choose materials for different
projects and ways to handle them correctly.
Most importantly, I learned how to use a CAD program, Solidworks, which is a important for me because its the most widely used program in the product and toy design industries. MICA doesn’t really have a dedicated class for this program but it is important for me to know how to operate it. I entered my internship with zero knowledge of 3D modeling and, by the end, was finally able to 3D model my own sculptures, set up a technical drawing, and have a clear blueprint readable to other fabricators. This was a great experience for me and I would recommend becoming an Exhibition Design and Fabrication Intern at the Maryland Science Center Museum to other people who are looking to learn more about design and sculpture.
