Lesson 2 Reflection

1.What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

The thing that I was most proud of about my Lesson 2 was how I was able to cover most of points within the 25 minute time period. I was also proud that I was able to get a majority of my audience's attention as I saw few of them on their phones.

2. a. What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

AE/P

     b. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

I think I deserve a AE/P because I was able to do the P requirements on time, engaged my audience, was creative and organized with the material I had, justified my answer with research and my mentorship, and my engaging activity.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

I was able to get majority of my audience's attention.

I projected my voice.

I shifted my view between my audience.

My activity was engaging.

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

What didn't work was that I should have done less yelling, smile more, and that my points didn't transition as well as I thought they would be. If I had a time machine, I would have fixed and/or implemented the above for my presentation.

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?

Based of my research, my answer #2 will probably be "An effective museum/volunteer system."

Monthly Blog Assignment January: Observation

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.

Every now and then at my work at the California Science Center, I come across some interesting people. Engineers, single parents, annoyingly rude tourists, etc. But every now and then I meet some interesting people that help give me a new perspective on things. This is another story of some of the people I have meet.

It was during the end of my shift that I met him. I was trying to make my rounds in the room before I took my leave. As I was, I noticed this family taking a picture of one their elderly members holding up a jewelry box and that they were taking pictures of him with it. I noticed that the inside contained the patch of the first Endeavor mission along with a piece of jewerly that looked like the picture on the patch. Curious as to know whether it was somebody involved in the space program or just a family that took a picture of some jewelry that they bought from the giftshop I approached them with my usual zeal. I asked who they were and they said that they were visiting the Endeavor exhibit and that the elder in their party was a jeweler for the astronauts. Yes people, of all the people involved in the space industry a jeweler would be one of the last things people consider. From there, the elder introduced himself to me. His name is Paul Dimitriu and he told me that on the first Endeavor mission, the crew approached him to make jewelry for them. Following that, astronauts began to approach and ask for jewelry for themselves and their family members until it became a tradition. I don't remember exactly what we talked about, but I remember that when the family mentioned that their 10 year old grandson wanted to go the Endeavor, I responded saying that he isn't the only person who worked directly with the space program to visit and proceeded to tell him about the support center engineer that I met a few weeks back. I asked him to take a picture with his jewelry and after that said my goodbyes and left. After about 2 minutes, I looked at my camera and saw that the quality was bad. Thinking that I needed a new picture, I looked for him again and saw him taking pictures again, this time with the Endeavor missions on the background. I asked him again about taking a picture and he agreed to take a picture with me and his jewelry. He also gave me his business card and we said our goodbyes again. After 2 minutes, a thought came up to me. I remembered that at Planes of Fame, people who worked in the aircraft industry donate their own stuff. With that in mind, I thought about emailing Mr. Dimitriu about my thought, but was surprised to find that he was still there. I asked him if he was interested in donating his jewerly to the California Science Center since we were going to open a new Air & Space wing in 2018. Mr. Dimitriu and his family loved the idea and he told me to secure him some contact about this potential deal. I told a fellow staff member about this and he referred me to Mrs. Stephanie. I told Mrs. Stephanie my story and showed her the business card as proof. She made a copy of the card and wrote a note on it for the Air & Space Collection Manager to give during the weekday. She told me "good job" and I left the building. As I made my way to the parking lot, my mom came and said she needed to go to the bathroom. While I was waiting, I went to the movie theater lobby to wait but was surprised to see Mr. Dimitriu again. I told him that I talked to management and that they would contact him within the week. After a final goodbye, I left the area.

Reflecting on this event, made me realize a few things about working at guest services.
1. Observing the smallest details is important
2. Be creative when engaging anything
3. Know a few guys to advise you on what to do.
4. Take the initiative.

Well, that's the end of my blog. Even if Mr. Dimitriu does or doesn't decide to donate his collection, this was certainly helped me a reflect a few things. I'll be looking forward to the next developments. Until next time, take care everyone.

- See You Later Space Cowboy

Blog 12: Mentorship 10 hours check

1. Where are you doing your mentorship?

I am doing my mentorship at two places. My first place is at Planes of Fame Air Museum at Chino, California. My second place is at the California Science Center at Los Angeles, California.

2. Who is your contact?

My contact at Planes of Fame is Volunteer Director Mrs. Cindy Novak and my contact at the California Science Center is Volunteer Manager Stephanie Hicks.

3. How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?

At Planes of Fame, I have about 63 hours and 40 minutes. At the California Science Center, I have about 40 hours.

4. Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.

The 10 hours I have done in both places have been a mix of various duties. At Planes of Fame I am an aircraft Detailer which means that I am responsible for conserving and cleaning the planes along with helping clean the museum. At the California Science Center, I work at the Guest Services Department where my job is to assist guests with any questions, comments, concerns, etc. that they may have.

Blog 11: Holiday Project Update

Note: This Blog Post may be subject to change prior to the January 6th deadline.

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?

The answer to that question may depend on what kind of Senior Topic one is dealing with. But as a whole, I believe that it is important that any consistently work on the Senior Project. It is important that one constantly sharpens their skills on their project so as not to dull or forget important points about it. Even if you aren't physically doing anything for the Senior project, merely thinking and reflecting about it during break can allow for better approaches when you start working again.

During break, I was working on my Senior Project at the California Science Center and Planes of Fame. I also used the break to reflect on my current progress so far to see if I am heading in the right direction.


2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

The most important thing I learned from what I've did is that in order to heighten the visitor's experience, you need to have a mix of the following considerations:

• Your knowledge about the contents of your museum.
• Your knowledge about similar contents being housed in other museums
• Your knowledge of other museums.
• Your appearance/presentation.
• How you approach a guest.
• How fast you can stereotype/size them up.
• Your tone of voice.
• Eye Contact.
• Body Language.
• Use of vocabulary.

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers for your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

If I were to have a 10 question interview on questions related to answers for my EQ, I would ask Mr. Ed Maloney from Planes of Fame. Ed Maloney is the founder of Planes of Fame Air Museum, America's oldest independent air museum. He knows more about the museum industry than anyone I will ever encounter, and will probably give me better answers than anyone else I know.