Monthly Blog Assignment December: Building Connections

Hello, everyone. Benny here. Similar to my previous monthly posts, I'll be going over my initial thoughts and observations from whatever specific events(s) I came across. This month's post is pretty much about my "job"/mentorship. Once again, if you want a more descriptive paragraph about my mentorship duties, please refer to my Mentorship Log. Other than that, let's get started.

Through my works at both the California Science Center and Planes of Fame, I've had the chance to meet up with some interesting people. Some of them were friendly with me, some of them were ***s to me, but all of them made my job a little less boring. Here are a few of the many people I've met over the past few months.

Michael Adams

Within the California Science Center, lies a room named the California Story. The California Story contains within it various artifacts from the Endeavor such as Food hydrate and heater, Fuel Cell, Tires, Toliet, an astronaut's personal belongings, and the Rocketdyne Operations Support Center. A staff member told me that the room is one of the least broing rooms out of the entire center and that I was lucky to be assigned there. We'll I think that is true for the first hour, but anything after that I just want to go home and leave already. But one guy I meet last week made me change my perception of it. Michael Adams, an engineer at the disbanded Rocketdyne Operation Support Center, was forced to go to the California Science Center by his wife. I was previously warned of his coming by a staff member, but I didn't notice him until he was over the railing and on the Rocketdyne exhibit answering questions. For me, it was interesting to finally meet someone who worked in one of the exhibits which gave it a more human feel . He confirmed some of my suspicions such as the artifacts being fakes (they weren't), but at the same time leaving with more questions (are the videos on the screens real?). Though I may never know, it at least made things a little more interesting for me every time I go back to that room.

Michael V. Ciminera, Former Vice President Northrop Grumman

The title pretty much says it all, Michael was the previous vice president of Northrop Grumman. I had previously mentioned that I met him on October during one of Planes of Fame's monthly events. Since then, I see him every now and then such as last November when I met him during our book fair event. We talk about some stuff such as various colleges that I should go to. His appearances aren't really announced, but looking forward to whenever he shows him makes things a little interesting.

Muriel P. Engelman, Army Nurse at the Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge, one of the deadliest conflicts on the Western Front of the Second World War. It was during this conflict where Americans for once suffered a lot of casualties since the Battle for Monte Casino. Tending to the wounded was Muriel P. Engelman, one of several nurses who was located at an evacuation hospital which was later to change to a field hospital. During Planes of Fame's December monthly event, she talked about she spent the month hiding in trenches, avoiding "Buzz Bombs" / V-1 Bombs, tending to the wounded, and always worrying abouttu capture from a crippling Allied line. After her time speaking, I was able to aslk her for a picture. While I was waiting, she complained that she had a book that she signed with the wrong name and that she didn't know what to do with it. In a joking manner, I asked if I could take it. She said that its half price from $17 to $8.50. I told her that I only had $6 on me, and she grudgingly accepted. Until and even after I got my picture taken, she kept commenting that I better enjoy her book.

Picture of me with her and her book

Well with this I will end my monthly blog. Sometimes it is not the artifacts or the places, but the connections you make with people that can really make an experience memorable. Until next time, take care everyone.

- See You Later Space Cowboy - See You Later Space Cowboy

Monthly Blog Assignment November: My job

Hello, everyone. Benny here. Similar to my previous monthly posts, I'll be going over my initial thoughts and observations from whatever specific events(s) I came across. This month's post is pretty much about my "job"/mentorship. Once again, if you want a more descriptive paragraph about my mentorship duties, please refer to my Mentorship Log. Other than that, let's get started.

Some people ask me what do I do at an airplane museum. My usual response is that I clean airplanes, bombs. machine guns, and guns. Well it turns out that most of the bombs at Planes of Fame are shells ,disarmed, and hallowed out, the machine guns are all replicas, and the guns are all either demilled (permanently inoperable) or airsoft guns. With that the only things left that are authentic are the museum, the planes, the people, and well, anything that is not a bomb, machine gun, or gun.

Though I can easily go in-depth with the types of planes that are in the museum and how I clean them, today I am going to focus on the people I work with. The people I work with as a whole are pretty nice people. Most of them are veterans and are pretty chill talking to you about any topic (except their own personal lives). I can divide the people I work with into multiple categories: dosents, detailers, restorers, managers, veterans, visitors, special guests, senior citizens, youth, the owner, etc. Some of the people I work with fall under multiple categories, which means that they can fall under pretty unique subcategories. With that, lets continue on.

The Dosents - The Tourguides

Dosents are the most knowledgeable people in the museum, having to memorize the producer, famous flyers, service history, armament, speed, armor, development, range, and multiple aspects of a plane for multiple planes. Though they are the most knowledgeable, depending on what other categories they also fall under, they can be either extremely friendly or extremely ignorant.

The Detailers - The Cleaners

Detailers are pretty much the people whose job is to conserve a plane. Conserving can mean many things such as dusting, cleaning, polishing, etc. Detailers make sure that a plane doesn't get dirty and monitors a plane if it needs to be repaired.

The Restorers - WHERE ARE THE PARTS!!!

Restorers are pretty much the people who restore the planes and widely versed in the components of individual planes. Restorers have a wide range of tools to use at their disposal to fix a plane from riveters to belt grinders, but suffer from the lack of spare parts (due to some of their planes being one of a kind) or waiting for unique/museum/fabricated parts to fix a plane. Thus, what happens a restorer the most in restoring a plane is not the labor, time, or tools, but the parts for the plane.

The Managers - The Boss

The Managers are pretty much the people that run the whole show. Their job is to make sure that everyone is working at their best and communicates constantly with everyone. All volunteers agree that of all the people they work with, the managers are the ones that they respect the most.

The Veterans - The Original But Kickers

The Veterans are pretty much anybody who has prior military service. Veterans duties in the military vary from mechanics to pilots, to your average soldier to Navy SEALs. Most of the veterans are patriotic and aren't afraid to speak their mind. Talking about their military service with them can be very tricky as some have them have been mentally scarred during their service while others spent their days working and drinking.

The Visitor - Surprise

The Visitor is pretty much the bloodline of the entire museum. He or she can make the difference in a museum flourishing or failing. Visitors are pretty unique and come from a variety of backgrounds. Thus it is important to appeal them in anyway possible and help them make the most of their experience.

The Special Guests - Jack of the Various Trades

Special Guests are pretty much the people who give a museum new life when everything else has been overused. Special Guests, whether they be a veteran, a writer, or a businessman, give visitors a another reason to visit a museum. Though writers or businessmen are usually their to promote a product, they can be extremely friendly if you catch one by themselves and can go into pretty long discussions with them on various issues.

The Seniors - Whirlpool of emotions

Senior are pretty much anybody who is at or above the age of 50. Being the oldest, seniors are the wisest people of the entire place. Their wisdom comes from the various challenges and events that they faced in their youth and are firmly entrenched in what happened at the time. Their emotional state can vary depending on what they've been through, but overall, they're pretty friendly to talk to and shouldn't be dismissed.

The Youth - Physically strong, Mentally weak

Youth is pretty much anybody below the age of 50. Being the youth can come with its pros and cons. The first pro is that being young, the youth don't tire out as quickly as the seniors, meaning that they can do more work. Being small, the youth can also reach places of an aircraft that the seniors can't reach normally. The first con is that being young, the youth can be seen by the seniors as idiots. Not cleaning a plane properly, running into propellers which has the possibility of starting the plane (Planes of Fame suffered its first fatal fatlality/death because of this), tiring out easily if their below 13, etc.

The President - Not what you expect

The President is pretty much the guy that owns a huge portion of the museum. Though I have never met the man, you would be surprised to know that the owner is Steve Hinton, a famous air racer whose won various competitions from Unlimited to Reno. Though he's drastically different from the stereotypical image of a museum owner I have in my head, I guess that's what makes the place unique.

That is pretty much all the people I work with. With that,  I bid a farewell to all. Take care everyone.

EQ

1.

I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2.

a.  What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?

• Does NOT meet the Rule of Three.
• This EQ does not meet the Rule of Three because it did not meet three of the three requirements. The requirements not meet are framework, stance, and format. The reason I believe this is because of how healthy weight loss was defined. Healthy weight loss is very broad as it can defer greatly depending on what kind of weight loss method is used along with the kind of person that is losing weight. Because healthy weight loss is not defined (meaning that it is not formatted correctly), it won't allow for a proper framework for in-depth research. At the same time, because this EQ does not specify a kind of healthy weight loss, the author cannot take a stance.

 b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?

• Does NOT meet the Rule of Threes.
• This EQ does not meet the Rule of Three. Because it did not meet one of the three requirements. The requirement that was not meet is stance. The reason I believe this is because of the nature of the topic and the question. The EQ talks about the most important thing to secure a conviction during a criminal investigation. In reality, the only way to secure a conviction is to win the jury's or judge's mind through speaking, reasoning, and evidence. Because there is already a firmly established answer to the EQ, the author cannot take a stance.

 c.  What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?

• Does NOT meet the Rule of Three.
• This EQ does not meet the Rule of Three. Because it did not meet two of the three requirements. The requirements that were not meet are format and stance. The reason I believe this is because the question did not define who the customer is. Different people want different hairstyles and this EQ did not define who those customers are. Are they middle-aged woman, working males, etc.? Because the kind of customer was not defined, the EQ is not properly formatted. Because the EQ was not properly formatted and specific, the author cannot take a proper stance with the EQ.

 d.  How can an anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?

• Does MEET the Rule of Three.
• This EQ does meet the Rule of Three. It has a proper framework because the author can research multiple topics and methods to discover the best treatment. The author can take a stance because the question format can allow the author to argue why his/her method is to treat chronic pain is the best method compared to other methods. The EQ has a proper format because it has no grammar mistakes and it defined a kind of pain.

3.

How can a museum volunteer effectively contribute to the experience of any type of visitor at a Aircraft and/or Science based museum?

Lesson 1 Reflection

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 1 Presentation and why?

What I am most proud of in my Lesson 1 Presentation was that I was able to immediately engage my audience and grab their attention with my introduction by dropping a book, taking off my jacket, and relating to them about a common experience (history boredom) without having to resort to a Q&A.

2. Questions to Consider

       a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 1 Presentation (self-assessment)?

AP+

       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 1 component contract.

Though I believe that my presentation is worth a P+ for being able to cite most of my sources and my good audience engagement, I deserve an AP+ because I failed to turn in the Lesson Plan Rough Draft in time. According to the Lesson 1 component contract, failing to do any of the P consideration requirements on time results in the loss of eligibility for anything above an AP+. Even though I don’t qualify for a P or above, I believe that my presentation content that is above a P level would qualify me for an AP+.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 1?

• I was able to grab the audience’s attention immediately with my introduction.
• I positioned myself at the front of the classroom rather than the side.
• I was able to cite most of my sources.
• I was able to relate my research to my mentorship.
• I remembered to talk about my prop.

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 1?

• Try to stay more relaxed. Because of my nervousness, there were topics that I forgot to go in-depth with such as museum engagement and airplane artifacts.
•   Don’t over prepare. I over prepared and when I forgot to say something during the presentation, it affected by tone and thought process.
• Remember to turn in the rough draft lesson plan. This affected my confidence because I became extremely paranoid about trying to salvage as much of my grade as I can.
•  Better eye contact. Though eye contact was good at the beginning, toward the end I started staring at one corner of the room.
•  Talk about my visual examples. I could have gone more in depth with a couple of items.
• Simplify my content so that it’s more understandable to my audience.

Blog 8 - Research and Working EQ

1. My working EQ is “What is the best way I can maximize the enjoyment of a visitor at an aircraft based museum?”

2. A possible answer to my working EQ is “Staff must be able actively engage with visitors by utilizing both communication skills and knowledge of their job and artifacts.”

3. My important sources for a possible answer to my working EQ are my interviews with Thomas Gallucci who is an aircraft Detialer at Planes of Fame and Mayra Aparicao who is the Volunteer Manager at the California Science Center.

4. I’m doing my mentorship at both Planes of Fame in Chino, CA and the California Science Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Monthly Blog Assignment October: FIRST DAY AT PLANES OF FAME / Reflection Pictures

Hello, everyone. Benny here. Similar to my previous monthly posts, I'll be going over my initial thoughts and observations from whatever specific events(s) I came across. This month's post was about the Planes of Fame monthly event where I was able to meet Michael V. Ciminera, author of The Aircraft Designers A Grumman Historical Perspective which is one of my research check books. Once again, if you want a more descriptive paragraph about my mentorship duties, please refer to my Mentorship Log (9/20/14). Other than that, let's get started.

As I stated previously in blog #7, one of the things I planned on doing for Independent Component #1 was to take a design class to help me with my mentorship at Planes of Fame. My mother suggested to me that in correlation with my independent component  I should attend the Planes of Fame monthly event which would have Michael V. Ciminera as one the speakers. Michael V. Ciminera was the former Vice President of Northrop Grumman. He joined Northrop Grumman 50 years ago as a college apprentice and gained insight into aircraft design from famous airplane designers who were alive at the time. Michael helped design various Northrop Aircraft and was eventually in charge of several Northrop Grumman aircraft Fire Scout, UCAS and the X-47B. His book, The Aircraft Designers A Grumman Historical Perspective, details the background of various Norhtrop Grumman engineers, designers, founders, and aircraft since its start during the early 1900's.

On the day of the event, Michael V. Ciminera was the first speaker. He talked about the various sections of his book and the work and effort he put into it to represent the men and women who worked at Northrop Grumman. After the event, I was able to speak to Michael V. Ciminera about my senior project. He gave me his business card and to contact the number if I needed additional help. After he signed my copy of his book, I returned back to my work station and continued dusting airplanes.

Well with this I will end my monthly blog. It was a change of scene for me to meet one of the guys who may have designed or trained under the guys who designed the aircraft that I clean. Hearing Michael speak and also reading his book had also opened my eyes into how aircraft is designed and it how it incorporates multiple fields. Well with that I bid a far well. Until next time, take care everyone.

Michael during his presentation.

Michael signing my copy.

A picture of me and Michael.

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

1. For Independent Component #1, I plan on taking an Introduction to Computer Aided Design (CAD) at Citrus College where I will learn how to render drawings in various dimensions on paper and on computer.

2. Aside the required mentorship log, I plan to show evidence of my work by submitting both evidence of work I have done in my CAD class, along with a step by step guide in which I rendered a drawing. I will also provide a transcript from Citrus College to prove that I actually took the class and got a grade for it.

3. Through both my mentorship at Planes of Fame and the California Science Center along with the Research Check, my senior topic is narrowing down from museums in general to airplane museums. Based upon my research, aircraft museums are unique in that the museum workers (mainly the Restoration Team) consult various manuals and blueprints to keep their aircraft maintained or else the aircraft will break apart and rust. As the Restoration Team at Planes of Fame relies heavily on blueprints, I believe that with my knowledge from this class, I will be able to transfer their blueprints onto a computer so as to make it easier and more accessible to the team.  My second reason for taking the class is that by learning the process in which aircraft are designed, it would allow me to get a better understanding as to why airplanes in the museum are designed in a certain way.

4. Updated.

Monthly Blog Assignment September: FIRST DAY AT PLANES OF FAME / Reflection Pictures

Forgot to post these pictures with my Monthly Blog Assignment September.

Me with my work clothes and two California Dusters

Me dusting the Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket #1

Monthly Blog Assignment September: FIRST DAY AT PLANES OF FAME / Reflection

Hello, everyone. Benny here. Similar to August's blog post, I'll be going over my initial thoughts and observations from Planes of Fame compared to what I have done or seen before. Once again, if you want a more descriptive paragraph about my mentorship duties, please refer to my Mentorship Log (9/20/14). Other than that, let's get started.

Reaffirming my previous preconceptions, most of the volunteer staff at Planes of Fame is around 50-70 years old. Most of them come from either military or aviation backgrounds and have been volunteering at the museum long past the 6 month requirement. Also reaffirming my blog post from last month, the exhibits at Planes of Fame are not as interactive as those in the California Science Center and not as visitor safe (I heard from one of the volunteers at the brake room how a boy scout, despite the opposition of the scout master, went under the wing of an aircraft and bruised his head on the wing) whereas the Science Center focuses on interactive exhibits and whose aircraft based artifacts are either suspended beyond visitors' hands or heavily encased and or closed of by heavy plastic or railing. For the work policy, as a cleaner, my job isn't heavily enforced as my responsibilities are knowing how to correctly clean an aircraft, however unlike the Science Center, since most of the aircraft at Planes of Fame are flyable and fatalities have occurred, the museum has a very strict safety policy with safety officers patrolling the campus.

Unlike the science center, where I had to utilize a lot of my skills that I learned from iPoly as guest services, as I was a cleaner I only had to use my social skills when interacting with a few visitors and coordinate / work together with fellow staff.

Well with this I will end my monthly blog. There are unique challenges that I must now face in both museums, Planes of Fame as a cleaner in a under-funded museum that pursuits in keeping history alive and as guest services at a highly interactive heavily-funded museum. These unique challenges over time will allow to explore more aspects of a museum then if I were to stick with one. Well with that I bid a far well. Until next time, take care everyone.

Blog 6 - Second Interview Preparation

1. For Interview #2, I plan on interviewing John Watkins who is Lead Detailer at Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, CA.


2. Interview Questions

1. I'm interested in studying, museology. What can you tell me about it?

2. From your perspective, what could I study that would be significant?

3. Who else would you recommend I talk to?

4. What kinds of places or activities do you recommend I do for the mentorship component?

5. What books should I read in this field?

6. What do you define a museum as?

7. What questions are often raised in your job field?

8. How did you come across your job?

9. What are the most important aspects of your job?

10. Why did you decide to work at Planes of Fame instead of other museums?

11. What kind of skills did you have prior to entering your field? How did those skills help you?

12. What kind of knowledge did you need to learn in this kind of field (museums)?

13. How has working here changed your perception of museums?

14. What was your initial perception of your job prior to working?

15. What is it like to work in a facility of this scale?

16. How long have you worked here?

17. What motivates you to come to work at a museum?

18. What is the main goal of a museum?

19. How does your job help with the guest experience?

20. Describe your daily duties as a ________?

21. How has your job changed adapted over these past few years? How have you adapted to these changes?

22. How do your work with other project managers or coordinators?

23. How do you deal with people outside of the museum for work?

24. Tell me about Planes of Fame?

25. What kind of a museum is Planes of Fame?

Blog 5 - Mentorship Reflection

1. 

For my senior project, I am or will do my mentorship at two places California Science Center in Los Angeles and Planes of Fame in Chino, California.

The first time I found out about volunteering at the California Science Center was a few weeks after I came home from Europe. One of the first things I did after coming home was to sign up for the volunteer program at the Planes of Fame museum as my sole mentorship. I got the idea to volunteer at Planes of Fame after watching volunteers work there when my dad and I visited the previous year and also because I heard a senior from the Class of 2013 did his mentorship there. I applied to Planes of Fame as a cleaner, but the Detailer who was supposed to train me was gone for several weeks. While I was waiting for the Detailer to be available for the orientation, my mother gave me the idea to volunteer at the California Science Center as a second mentorship so that I can start working on my senior project and expand the scope of my project. I filled out the appropriate paperwork and drop it off at the California Science Center. Though I am still waiting to begin my training as a volunteer Planes of Fame, I had already become a volunteer at my second mentorship at the California Science Center.

2.

The most important article that I have read so far was Museums and History by Alex Werner, a Curator at the Museum of London. The article discusses that, even though the purpose of most museums “traditionally revolved around collecting, preserving, researching and displaying objects”, how each museum chooses approach history makes no two museums completely the same. Take for example the British Museum and the British Library. Though both museums contain content that are of historical significance to the history of Britain, the former focuses on the actual history of Britain while the latter portrays itself as a “‘museum of the world’”. I have always classified museums based on its contents, but after reading this article and how even museums categorized under the same type can have completely different messages, approaches, interpretations, management, despite having similar artifacts made me rethink my perspective of what a museum is. This was later reaffirmed during my mentorship at the California Science Center. While both the California Science Center and Planes of Fame contain air and space related content, the California Science Center portrays itself as a learning facility while Planes of Fame focuses primarily on the preservation of its artifacts.

Monthly Blog Assignment August: MISSION 2: FIRST DAY AT THE CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER / Reflection

Hello, everyone. Benny here. Today's blog is going to be a reflective blog post about my first day at California Science Center. I'll be comparing my work and observations from the California Science Center with that of Planes of Fame and Imperial War Museum Duxford. If you want a more descriptive paragraph about my mentorship duties, please refer to my Mentorship Log (8/30/14). Other than that, let's get started.

Work at the California Science Center is a lot different than from I expected coming from Planes of Fame and Duxford. One of the first things I immediately noticed was the age group of the workers that comprised the Science Center. Most of the workers at the California Science Center were around their early teens to early 30's whereas Planes of Fame had workers from all age groups and Duxford  had workers in their mid-30's to 60's. Another thing I noticed was the different level of guest engagement that the California Science Center had compared to history museums. While exhibits at the science center were more family orientated and interactive, volunteers jobs were generally limited to meet and greet. At Planes of Fame and Duxford,  the volunteers and staff would be more than happy to tell you about the various display pieces, as long as you approach them first that is. The work policy / system of the California Science Center was also something that I noticed. In Duxford and the California Science Center I noticed that the massive scale of the facility, the stable income, and the large amount of staff and volunteers, that there was ALWAYS a staff member located in every exhibit. I also noticed that in the California Science Center, they were strict about what workers can or cannot not do such as smiling at all times, strict break times, and pointing with one finger. Contrasting with this, as Planes of Fame is a smaller and relatively understaffed and under-funded facility, some of the exhibits were poorly maintained such as the unrestored aircraft that rust next to the Fighter Rebuilders building and the little amounts of staff outside of weekends and airshows.

During my work at the science center, I also noticed that a lot my traits that I acquired from iPoly appeared to show when I engaged my audiences. Following my job description, I did not hesitate to I greet anyone who made eye contact with me with a smile, a greeting, initiate a conversation, and / or offer guests any help. This was later confirmed when Mrs. Stephanie congratulated me later for my first day of work. I noticed that other volunteers and workers who didn't have the same background as I did, would often stay in one corner, with their back faced against the wall, reading the descriptions of the exhibits, and / or ignoring the guests that came before them despite their job description saying otherwise.

Well with this I will end my monthly blog. The unique challenges and differences between both Planes of Fame and the California Science Center will allow me to explore major differences and similarities in how museums can run. Until next time, take care everyone.

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1.

Who do you plan to interview?  Why?

Answer:

I plan to interview to either Ms. Mira or Mrs. Diamond from the California Science Center Volunteer Department because both women are in charge of volunteers at the science center and should have a deeper understanding / knowledge about the inner workings of a museum compared to a regular volunteer.

2.

You have to ask 5 questions.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?  Ask open-ended questions.  What are open-ended questions? Click here! If that doesn't help, try this one.  Click here!

Answer(s):

1. I'm interested in studying, museology. What can you tell me about it?
2. From your perspective, what could I study that would be significant?
3. Who else would you recommend I talk to?
4. What kinds of places or activities do you recommend I do for the mentorship component?
5. What books should I read in this field?

6. What do you define a museum as?

7. What questions are often raised in your job field?

8. How did you come across your job?

9. What are the most important aspects of your job?

10. What kind of knowledge do you need to work in this kind of field (museums)?

11. How has working here changed your perception of museums?

12. What was your perception of your job prior to entering?

13. What is it like to work in a facility of this scale?

14. How long have you worked here?

15. What motivates you to come to work at a museum?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

1.

My topic will be on Museums.

2.

What areas / aspects of a museum are common at ALL museums?

3.

Working Bibliography is posted on the right side of the blog.

Summer Mentorship Component

1.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_FVBNvaRJebURTPPPjO8IG3Ie5PPE8eUlh97jUNH7lM/edit#gid=0

2.

Cindy Novak, Director of Volunteers at the Planes of Fame Museum Chino, CA

Contact number: (909) 597-3722 (only available on Saturdays)

Contact email: cindy.novak@planesoffame.org

Bernard Olley, Museum Assistant at Duxford Imperial War Museum Duxford, UK

Contact number: +4407759341785 (Museum #)

Contact email: None

Gordon Turner, Conservation Officer at Duxford Imperial War Museum Duxford, UK

Contact number: +4407759341785 (Museum #)

Contact email: None

3.

The following questions were raised during my visits to both museums:

To Bernard Olley:

Q: What is your name?

Q: What is it like to work in a facility of this scale?

Q: You said you were a museum assistant?

Q: As a museum assistant what is the important thing to know about your job / or what to know?

Q: What did you perceive your career before you joined?

Q: What do you think of Duxford compared to other museums?

Q: Why do you continue to work here even though like you said there are more famous museums out here?

Q: I’m trying to focus more on the technical aspects of the pieces so how does knowing that play an important role with the museum experience of the visitor?

To Mr. Gordon Turner:

Q: What is your name?

Q: What do you do here Mr. Turner at Duxford?

Q: What do you think of your field before you joined here?

Q: What do you think of working in this environment with these kinds of people in this kind of environment?

Q: Why did you choose working at Duxford compared to other museums or why?

Q: What is something important to know for someone in your profession?

4.

The most important thing I gained from visiting the Duxford Imperial War Museum and Planes of Fame and talking with the staff is that museum workers can come from different backgrounds such as ex-air force, middle schoolers, art students, college graduates, and aeronautics engineers. Even though they hail from different backgrounds, their love for history and the fact they want to spread their passion through their work is what differentiates a volunteer who only works for a few weeks, compared to one who works for 10+ years.

5.

My senior project topic is going to be about museums and will focus on the many aspects that run a museum. I chose this because my travels to museums across the world have taught me that whenever a group of people take the time to preserve what they can for the future, the end result will be the preservation of their own history. Though I am starting as a cleaner, I hope to learn more about the process that goes behind a museum by working my way up.

2-Hour Presentations

1.  What presentations did you see?

The presentations I saw are as follows:

·         Dilan Desai - Pharmacy

·         Facundo Holzmeiser – Radio Frequency Field Engineer

·         Analysa Gallegos - Criminology

·         Carlos Cerrillos – Information Technology

·         Noah Nakielski – Defense Systems Engineering

·         Jeremy Ethridge – EMT (First Aid

·         Yesenia Martin – Sales Representative

·         Bradley Schott – Computer Science

·         Daniel Song – Physical Therapy

·         Issac Salas - Engineering

·         Hernandez Ralph - Pharmaceutical

·         Vanessa Pacheco – Marketing management

·         Juan Munoz – Business (Corporate Leadership)

·         Alfonso Esquivel – Internal Medicine

·         Lionel Arellano – Computer Technical Services

·         Wesley Wu – Structural Engineering

2.   What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? This can be about the senior project in general, any components or about a presentation topic you saw or what they said.

Questions I had that were never asked or answered are as follows:

To most senior presenters I saw– What were the difficulties of getting a mentorship in your chosen topic?

To half of the senior presenters I saw - Why did you choose to do your senior project on your topic?

Issac Salas’s Presentation– Why didn’t you define terms used in your question in the beginning of your presentation?

3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations?

The most important part of the senior project is to come up with an essential answers that can be explained clearly and simply to someone with no knowledge of your topic and can be tied into one’s essential question.

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?

As of now, I am considering doing my senior topic on aerospace engineering because I have always admired the innovation of airplanes since the 1900’s and a career in such a rapidly growing and innovative field will allow me to utilize my creativity and expand upon my knowledge.

5. What are you doing for your summer mentorship?

As of now, I plan on doing my summer mentorship with the Northrop Grumman Corporation. If there is no mentorship program available at Northrop Grumman, then I will do my mentorship at the Planes of Fame Air Museum.