Blog 22: Mentorship

Literal

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California Science Center

Address: 700 Exposition Park Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90037

Phone: (323) 724-3623

Planes of Fame Air Museum

Address: Chino Airport, 7000 Merrill Ave #17, Chino, CA 91710

Phone: (909) 597-3722

Interpretive

     What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

The most important thing that I gained from my mentorships at Planes of Fame Air Museum and the California Science Center was the inspiration and theorization for my Senior Topic, EQ, and answers, based on my observations.

Applied

     How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain.

At Planes of Fame Air Museum, I volunteer as an Aircraft Detailer. At California Science Center, I volunteer in the Guest Services Department. Working two different jobs at two different mentorships has allowed me to analyze certain characteristics about the similarities and differences of two museums and the contributing factors to the museum experience. For example, while working at Guest Services Department at California Science Center has taught me the importance of communication and knowledge in the museum environment which led to my first answer. This relates to my own experiences at museums in which I got a better experience when I learned about something from a staff member. The opposite holds true when I got a bad experience when a person fails to communicate what I want. Another example is that in Planes of Fame Air Museum, I learned the importance of volunteer skills. Most of the planes preserved, conserved, or restored by Planes of Fame were done through volunteer labor and visitors are amazed at how much work had been done over the years. By working on the maintenance of some of these planes was what led up to my third answer. My second answer is on a management model that is based on the mission/goals of a museum. This answer was developed by analyzing the management approaches of both museums to dealing with visitor-related scenarios that affected their experience and how their approaches to those scenarios only worked in their respective museums.