Farewell for now...

This Friday the two of us end our intenships here at La Casa de la Ciencia and we wanted to say our goodbyes, which you can also find in Spanish over at the other museum blog: http://casadelacienciasevilla.blogspot.com.es/

A bittersweet, unphotoshopped farewell from the interns

Irene

This Friday our experience as interns ends at the Science Museum in Seville (La Casa de la Ciencia). For the past month and a half I have had the opportunity to observe how a museum is run from the inside, learning of the important work the team does, and the imagination and openness to criticism which is needed for the whole operation to run smoothly. Up here in the offices the sounds from the outside hardly reach us, but the moment the door opens that separates the staff from the galleries, you begin to hear to the cries of enthusiasm from the school trips - and from those somewhat older - who everyday can be found exploring the upper floor, examining insects from the invertebrates exhibition, or off on their way to the planetarium. I bumped into them almost on a daily basis, on my expeditions to find something interesting to Instagram, a task which has left me with fond and amusing memories of the museum's visitors. 

At the same time, working here has served to remind me that unexpected rewards can always be gained from any experience. I, who came only with the intention of improving and developing my communications skills, am leaving having learned about astronomy, entomology, micology, genetics, and zoology...as well as about the Iberoamerican Exposition of 1929, for which the Peruvian Pavillion was built. As interns, we also took part in the workshop 'Murder in the Science Museum', turning into forensic 'experts' for one evening in order to solve a terrible crime. A crime for which, due to an unfortunate coincidence, Sasha became the object of suspicion, and we were almost decried as guilt murderers.

In this way, we bid goodbye grateful for the colleagues we have had over this time, who welcomed us and were never for a moment anything but kind to us. It has been an enriching experience, both personally and professionally, being part of a team which clearly works like a well-oiled machine. So this adventure ends here, but we'll be seeing each other again...even if from now on we will be coming back as visitors! 

Sasha

Three months have passed and my time here at the science museum is rapidly coming to a close. I will be hard pressed to find a more photogenic place of work, one where the day begins with a ride along the river to the doors of an architectural chimera, more Incan temple than anything else .The museum staff, the suspended cetaceans and the countless stone llamas the Peruvian architect Manuel Piqueras Cotolí chose to install around the building, all helped (in their own ways) to make my time at the museum a relaxed and stimulating environment to work in.

While working here, I was given the opportunity to create a number of new initiatives for the museum while also providing support on a number of existing projects. To name a few areas where I was put to use: I produced online content about the museum and its activities; I ran online social media campaigns; liaised with other European museums about future collaborations; and finally, I stood guard at the doors of the whale room on a day when half a dozen separate school trips overran the pavillion, pushing the building to maximum capacity. A few of the more unusual activities I participated in were an evening of whodunnit forensic Cluedo, an afternoon lecture on Spanish fire safety laws, and a talk about birds of prey, with hawks and owls as props to help the proceedings along.

Everybody working here has been encouraging about making new ideas and projects happen, and that creative freedom has allowed me to pair my skills and interests with the needs of the museum. It just remains to say that my colleagues here would have struggled to be more welcoming, which as a rule makes life a far nicer affair, and that the museum is worth the visit, even if it is for a matter of hours and not a number of months.