Over the summer, IMSS had the privilege of working with two, bright young Chicago-area students through our Summer Youth Internship Program. As we look back at our past year at IMSS, we wanted to share with you our Intern’s reflections on their time working with the Museum.
Student Interning at IMSS: an Experience I’ll Never Forget!
Throughout my time in highschool, I prioritized interning and volunteering towards the career I wanted to pursue in the future: neurology. Sadly, my school fell short in providing opportunities to help me reach that goal. I fought tooth and nail to at least get a specialized internship in neurology but the most they gave me was a generalized hospital internship. While I cherished the skills I learned during those internships, I knew I wanted something more.
I spent a lot of my free time scrolling on the internet after graduation. In the midst of my days doom-scrolling on social media, I happened to see that my favorite museum was hiring for the summer so I obviously had to seize the opportunity. After all that’s said and done, taking a chance at a different job was the greatest decision I’ve made this summer.
Learning the Ropes: Group Tours
Touring a group of people is definitely easier said than done. For me it was a learning curve since I’ve never had a museum job before. Thankfully, I had a lot of experience in teaching kids how to skate so I had a bit of a background in looking for attentiveness. At the beginning of a tour, I always talk to the group organizer to get a feel on the type of group I’ll be leading for the next two hours. It’s always nice when the group is interested to learn about the museum off the bat but the groups with the least bit of experience were more fun and challenging to tour.
The hardest part of the job was being able to spew out information about different artifacts on a whim since I get a bit nervous when I’m put on the spot. I eventually got over my nerves as I shadowed more tours with tour guides Siarra and Ed, so I’m more prepared to be thrown with whatever’s in store on a tour. I also had to be detail-oriented because I needed to look and document anything that looked misplaced or broken while on tours, which is a lot when you’re giving a tour at the same time!
I spent a lot of my free time scrolling on the internet after graduation. In the midst of my days doom-scrolling on social media, I happened to see that my favorite museum was hiring for the summer so I obviously had to seize the opportunity. After all that’s said and done, taking a chance at a different job was the greatest decision I’ve made this summer.
Getting Gory: Amputation Demonstration
Now having a few tours under my belt, I’ve noticed a few things that keep the energy up while guiding groups through the museum; one of which definitely being the amputation demonstration. This demonstration simulates a Civil-War amputation in a world where antiseptics and anesthetics weren’t created yet so the soldiers would be held down and amputated quickly to avoid prolonging their suffering. While it seems quite gory on paper, the demonstration is fun and educational for all ages. When I have groups try the amputation demo, they usually have a blast in simulating the process since we bring out bloody aprons and an array of amputation tools used during the Civil War. I also put a timer on for the amputation so the group can simulate and race on how fast they can chop their peer’s arm off which gets them pretty pumped up!
In all, I feel like my time at IMSS was well spent. I’ve learned a lot of skills to propel me forward in my major and I’ve gotten to experience an unordinary job as a worker at a museum. Not only did I attain these experiences but I also gained a good workspace relationship with my coworkers and learned how to be comfortable in my own skin at the museum. It’s been a pleasure working here and I’m sure to visit and/or work here again!
About the author:
Lin (they/them) is currently a first year student who is studying Neuroscience at the University of Illinois at Chicago. They are also a part-time employee at the International Museum of Surgical Science.