I have enjoyed my internship extensively during my time here and would like to take time to thank the people who have helped me quite a bit:
Chris, Paleontology Lead Fossil Preparator, has taken me under his wing and given me the opportunity to learn a broad spectrum of skills when working with fossils as well as strategies on critical thinking and tips to become a paleontologist. Jim, Field Entomologist, for guiding me on distinguishing "bug" species, even when my questions were obnoxious, and how to appreciate even the smallest forms of life. Layla, Field Botanist, for taking the time to walk me through every step from collecting to examining to classifying and mounting a species. It's an amazingly detail-oriented profession that I can have a much larger appreciation for now. So far, working at the NAT has only sparked my inspiration towards the environmental sciences and has in no way diminished any of my ambitions. I have loved all of the work that I have been given so far and am excited to be able to pursue it for quite a while after as well. I am very excited to see what else is in store for college.
During my time at High Tech High International, I have acquired a large variety of skills that I have been able to use at my internship at the NAT. A great example would be using critical thinking skills as well as context clues. In my time at the museum, I have used these to be able to determine if a specimen is important, salvageable, distinguished, and how to go about preserving the specimen. This was useful in deciding which microscopic shells were worth sorting apart and which flowers were too delicate to be mounted like the rest. In entomology, however, context clues became the most valuable, seeing as how some insects may look like hymenopterans when they are actually dipterans because of the singular pair of wings with a small button-like haltere.
So far, I haven't encountered many challenges in the workplace. I've only been working in the Paleontology lab for the first part of this internship and it's been incredible! I've been able to work alongside some incredibly smart people and have been able to work on some fossils on my own as well. Everyone has been very supportive in teaching me more about fossil excavation, field skills, and overall education about paleontology. Below are some small projects they started me on!
Pictured: Whale vertebrae, fossilized shells in the cleaning process, and fossilized shells sorted and tagged. |
Sierra RoseThis is a daily blog about my internship experience at the San Diego Natural History Museum |