Welcoming sign for the Dinosaur Expedition exhibit

Good morning people of the world! It is I, Eugenia, one of the On-Site Coordinators for Science Giants! The weekend has finally arrived and I felt like sharing some of my thoughts from the program on this fine day. We are halfway done with the program and I feel as if time is flying by super fast. The students are doing a marvelous job at the museum. Although some are still shy and not quite yet out of their shells, you can tell that they are slowly, but surely being more open with the public. Their public speaking skills are improving and I am very impressed on the progress that they have made throughout these few weeks of the program.

There is one thing that I have noticed throughout my time here doing the program. During the time that I volunteered in the Field Museum, I was used to a large amount of people coming through the doors. Of course we had our slow days, but most of the days were very busy. The kids kept you alert and on your feet. Our shift was busy from the start all the way to the end. There were also a lot of other volunteers to interact with on the site. The program grew over the course of the years and not only did we have stationed activities to inform the public on, but we upgraded some volunteers to be actual docents in the Evolving Planet exhibit. The experience at the Field Museum was unique and quite amazing.

Now, in the Children’s Museum, there are quite a few changes. We have less volunteers now. Everyday, there are eight spots available for the student volunteers: four in the Dinosaur Expedition exhibit and four in the Inventing Lab exhibit. The rooms are not as large as the Evolving Planet exhibit, but it is big enough for kids to explore and learn about dinosaurs and engineering. The amount of visitors coming through the doors has drastically decreased compared to the Field Museum visitors. In the Field Museum, there were usually about 300 visitors or more. In the Children’s Museum, I have not seen the numbers pass 100 visitors. That shocks me a bit, but honestly, the Children’s Museum targets children and the Field Museum targets visitors of all ages. Don’t get me wrong, the visitors here still keep you busy and definitely wide awake.

So far, this summer has been fun! All the cute moments when kids correct their own parents about dinosaurs is hilarious. Even when they correct us, it’s good because we learn something new everyday and we learn it from someone younger than us. I can definitely say that my favorite part so far of this program is seeing the kids grow. It takes time for them to express themselves more loudly than before, yet you can see it in their faces that they want to be heard. They want to let all the nerves go and be more involved with the children.