Cesar Martinez ‘21 Museum Of Science and Industry – Being a Wabash man has allowed me to experience something so exceptional in this current internship.  I’m interning at the Museum of Science and Industry at Chicago for this summer.  The reason why I was looking forward for this involvement was because I truly believed that it would have been a great first action towards my career as a student and as my career after I graduate from college.  I’m currently a Computation Math major and a Computer Science minor with the intension to become a Graphics and Film Designer, or a Programmer. While interning at this museum I have been gaining useful skills on software, 3D printing, graphic designing and communication.

When I started this internship, I was put on the Exhibit Research team and on the Fab Lab team.  Olivia Castelleli is my boss for the research team and we work together on newly exhibit research projects.  Currently, I am working on a Food Tally research project.  Food Tally is one of the exhibits that is on action today in the museum but the museum decided to make an upgrade.  This food tally exhibit consists on the balance of nutrition for every type of person.  My job has been to do research on signature foods for every state in order to create a wide spread of options for the guest when it comes to creating their own dish. With that, I have been working on spreadsheets involving the nutrition facts for every type of food that will be displayed in the exhibit.  Also, before putting this idea in action, a prototype must be developed.  I have been working on a prototype that will involve accurate facts about maintaining a balanced diet between healthy foods and foods that you like to eat on a daily basis.  This research project also involves a lot of interaction with people. In order to create valid points and facts towards nutrition and how people react towards the idea of healthy foods, I have been asking questions and creating conversations with guests around the museum about this topic.  This research experience has been making me like research even more now.

Daniel Meyer is my boss for the Fab Lab team and we work together on helping him with Fab Lab workshops and camps.  During this experience, I have been trained in how to become an expert on the following software’s: Flash Print, Sculptris Alpha, Inkscape, and Silhouette Studio. This variety of software deals with graphic designing, 3D printing, and vinyl cutting.  The reason for this training is, for of course, to gain experience but also because these were the software that we are currently using on the camps for middle schoolers and high schoolers.  These camps deal with helping kids gain computer, software, and communication skills.  This camp will help them develop faster skill sets for their upcoming future as college students.

I have learned so much and I truly believe that I have been gaining a lot of experience through this great opportunity.  I have been working with new software that I have never used before and it has created a better picture of how big companies like this one run.