smittenbyu | Volunteering at the Smithsonian

I started volunteering at the Smithsonian a few months ago now. I have been averaging just twice month. It's really fun! The interaction with people. I started just two weeks before Labour Day weekend and my first day was so packed with people at the exhibits, it was crazy. Now the crowds have reduced and I can spend more time interacting with people about the exhibits, instead of just instructing them not to do this and not to do that.

It's always interesting to see the different parenting styles as we get a lot of kids below the age of 10 to the exhibits where I am stationed. Part of my job, as our exhibits are very fragile, is to give four set of simple instructions - watch your step, don't touch, don't pick, and don't take them with you. Some parents make the kids listen, some make them repeat the instructions, some just read the posted signs and don't let me do what I am supposed to do, some just don't care and want to carry on and go. For the last group, I have to remind them that it's the law for me to tell them the following instructions, and it's the law for them to follow it. That usually brings them to a halt and listen and some still couldn't care less.

There are also two types of kids. One who completely freak out with nature around them. We have had screaming kids and mind you our exhibits are not tarantulas or snakes, they are the friendlier kinds. Then the other type who are just thrilled with the sights. It makes the day so much brighter to watch the kid just stop in his/her tracks, and look up in amazement and go, "wooooow".

Then there are kids who are quiet and observant through the whole time there. They like to listen to what we say about the exhibits but they just listen. Then there are kids who actively participate, who do more the of the describing about the exhibits and are so thrilled to know so much about it!

But the biggest thing is the camera craze! The craze is not limited by age. I have seen in some cases each kid having their own little camera and the parent carrying one big fancy one; some where the kids are the one using the family digital camera. It's just madness. I see less and less people just learning and seeing the exhibit and more concerned about the lighting of the place, the difficulty of capturing the picture. I have heard a 5 year old complain that the macro setting wasn't working right. How times have changed! ;) We have had people coming up and saying that we should do something about the lighting so that they could take better pictures!! right.... it's a museum, not a photo studio.