A Sure Sign of Summer

From the desk of Kim Gough, Program Developer at the Royal BC Museum.













One thing I have always enjoyed about this time of year at the museum is when the summer students start working. They bring with them such new enthusiasm, energy and ideas that I find myself rejuvenated. Meet Kelli, Fritha and Emily, the newest temporary members of the Learning and Visitor Experience department at the Royal BC Museum.

Kelli, Fritha, Emily

When I asked them about a typical day at the museum, they replied “We don’t have typical days here!” Their jobs as the Camp Inside Out coordinators give them a lot of variety. They’ve spent many long, grueling hours searching for games and activities (and testing them) to make the camps the best they can be. They have been learning all sorts of neat facts about BC’s history and natural history and have had close encounters with Giant Squid and a live snake!

It's not a game - it is research!

The coordinators are now fully dedicated to the summer camps, but before that their extra hands were getting the Behind the Scenes exhibition open. They helped build the AmusEum (they literally assembled the furniture and the tents!) and continue to check in on it – occasionally getting distracted with the books, costumes and games. Some of their quirkier tasks have included: hiding a stuffed mouse in the mammal collection for visitors to find, collecting plants for making slides, and holding a bag of crickets while the frogs get fed. The fascinating people, objects and different opportunities at the museum, will hopefully make this a summer job they will learn from and remember fondly.

Emily reveals where she hid the mouse. Shhh, don't tell anyone.

Earlier this year I went to a museum conference and met a woman who was a summer student at a museum where I worked in 2007. I was thrilled to hear that she enjoyed her experience so much that she is now enrolled in a museum studies master’s program. What was your favourite summer job? Tell us about it.