Plants Program

This summer I am working on developing a new plants program for the museum.  Luckily for me, part of  creating the program is experimenting with seeds and determining which ones we want to use in the classroom.  

So far (with Esme's help) I've planted peas, carrots, parsnips, two kinds of sunflowers, cilantro, basil, and more.  They all have to be in containers so they can be moved out of my yard and into the museum, and I have to plant some more this week so I have plants in different stages of growth.  The biggest challenge is the lack of sunlight in my yard.  In a city neighborhood with 4 huge maple trees and a big Victorian house, we almost entirely in the shade.

Life Cycles of Frogs and Toads

For the last few weeks I have been working on this mural to be used as a game board at the museum where I work.  We have a special frogs exhibit and docents will use play this game with school groups who come to visit.  At first I worked on it in the office I share with the other educators, but I actually moved much faster on it when I brought it home.  Watched a few episodes of The Office on Roku, listened my daughter practice playing the recorder, and filled all the details.

At this point, I am thrilled to be done with it!  I do have to tweak it a bit now that we've tried playing the game, but at this point it is pretty complete.  One of the docents very kindly said to me, "So you're an artist?"  I wish!

Make Something Every Day: Day Nine

Yesterday was our long-awaited Native American program for Brownies.  I think Girl Scouts have always been interested in the way girls from long ago lived, and especially Native Americans.  I remember learning to cook Native American foods with my troop when I was in fourth or fifth grade myself.

The program was almost entirely hands on, which of course the girls loved, and one of the things they got to do was make their own modern version of a game Native American children might have played.   They also got to touch different furs, tools, musical instruments, and other artifacts Native Americans would have used, as well as visit Native American Hall at the museum.  I love an engaging program and was so happy to have the opportunity to teach it!

Some of my Best Friends are Reptiles

You might have heard, about a month ago, I started a new job that I love.  I am a Museum Educator, and for the last few weeks I have been learning all the school and family programs, etc.  I have already learned so much at this job, and had so great days there.

However, I have been dreading today since I first saw the schedule.  It didn't occur to me while I was interviewing that they might expect me to actually hold live animals.  I am not exactly afraid of snakes, but I am not exactly comfortable with them either.  Lucky for me, my boss said she is not going to force anyone to hold animals they are not comfortable with, and gave us all an out.  I wanted to at least try though.  Here is the video of me holding them for the first time today!

Focusing - Work and Girl Scouts

I am loving my new job.  For my first month, I am mostly training, so I have been spending most weekday mornings learning about school programs at the museum.  I'm learning about everything from Native American games to static electricity.  This week I learned to operate TAM, the Transparent Anatomical Manikin.  You might recognize her from the cover of Nirvana's last album - of course sans wings .

I have also been devoting lots of hours to Girl Scouts in the past few weeks.  The new Girl's Guides to Girl Scouting have been released and I have my copy of the Brownie level book.  It has many positive changes, including updated badges that are a little more challenging than the old Try-Its.  I've been thinking a lot about fundraising.  We're going to need quite a bit of money to get our troop to Washington DC this year, so we are planning a big fashion-related fundraiser for January.  Right now I'm trying to secure a location, but since I need such a big space on such a low budget, I'm struggling a bit to find exactly the right place.  Hopefully these hours on the phone, emailing, and visiting locations will pay off!

The New Job

I am really excited that I got to start my new job this week! I am working as a Museum Educator! In so many ways, this is the perfect job for me! I love Science, teaching, and working with children, but most of all, I know I am going to learn so much at this job! Isn't this the perfect job for a homeschooling mom?

 If it was just a few more hours, it would be perfect. I will still have to work at my old job as well. Oh and one more thing - the Live Animal Show. The fact that the snake is named Taco doesn't really make it any more appealing to pick it up! The hissing cockroach doesn't really do it for me either. (Wahhhhh!!! Run away!!!!) This photo is of Esme and TJ looking at the other snake I might have to hold - this one is really cool - it has a number 68 in it's pattern!

I feel so lucky that the job comes with a museum membership along with reciprocal admission to all kinds of cool places, and my employee ID gets me into even MORE, including free lawn seats at Tanglewood. If I have to hold the bearded lizard I'll just go to my happy place - sipping sparkling grape juice by candlelight while listening to the Boston Symphony Orchestra.