Hi! My name is Natalie. I use she and they pronouns, and I am the new Education Intern at the Children’s Museum! I am a senior at Skidmore College, majoring in social work and minoring in studio art, and I drum after school and work hours with my found-object percussion group, Pulse.
Skidmore’s accredited social work program requires that students dedicate 400 hours toward putting what we learn in class into practice within the community. I have been lucky enough to spend those hours here at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga, where both areas I’ve studied at Skidmore flourish together in one place.
So far, I have been with the Museum for four weeks, and every day I come home with a new page of fascinating notes. I have learned how to talk to kids in a way that developmentally resonates with them, about the backend operations and collaborations of nonprofits, New York State education standards, program planning, and how the Museum runs outreach programs and field trips.
Alongside all of that, I have also learned that Banksy was the first artist to use stencils in street art, that box turtles are native to the East Coast, that brumation is when reptiles hibernate, that bread was toasted on metal frames held over fires during the colonial period, and that centripetal force is inward-acting and keeps objects moving in a circle. How vast one’s education can be when venturing to understand an organization that aims to nurture discovery 😉.
As my time here progresses, I am starting to see where the social work perspectives and practices I have learned in my classes could emerge in the Museum and be beneficial for both the organization and its visitors. Earlier this month, I helped our Director of Education, Briana Sullivan, design a mindfulness program, and in the coming months, I hope to create a body of programs centered around identity 😊.
One thing that became clear very quickly upon starting this internship is that the Lincoln Baths are the walls of the Museum, the exhibits and programs are the meat of the Museum, but the heart and soul of the Museum are truly the people sitting behind the desks. Their rich history of working together throughout the various stages of the Museum’s life, their trust and love for one another and for what they do, and their unwavering humanity fuel all that they offer the Saratoga community.
A core tenet of social work practice is to do people-centered work by always meeting individuals where they are. The Museum embodies this by giving kids space to explore and supplementing that freedom with facts that spark curiosity, imagination, and discovery. I love how social work is present in this untraditional way within the Museum, and I can’t wait to keep learning, helping, and creating here.
I will be interning at the Museum until the end of May (when I graduate from college!), so be sure to plan a visit before then so we can chat. And keep an eye out for my Instagram takeover next Tuesday for a day-in-the-life look at a college intern! ⭐️