ROMKids

“Early Life” of My ROM Internship

Hi! I’m Rachel, and I’m a Teacher Candidate studying at Trent University. Back in the day, I used to volunteer with the ROM Summer Club and I had a fantastic experience. When I had to leave I couldn’t get the ROM out of my head, so when I was presented with an opportunity to complete my internship at the ROM, I couldn’t say no! This opportunity will not only let me continue working with children, but will also allow me to explore different types of jobs that I could branch out to (hint: I’m currently looking for a job, so if you’re interested let’s talk).

This week was the first of my 4 week internship, and this first week was action packed!  After being introduced to the crew (shout out to Kiron, Chris and Suzanne) and being given a tour of the museum (before opening hours I might add), I had the opportunity to help out with creating the activities for Family Fun Weekends. This week’s theme: Early Life. 

My tasks leading up to the weekend included painting a mural and creating the crafts for the children to come in to use as an example.  I haven’t touched paints since my elementary school days, so when I was given the task to paint I was worried I would make something that was not presentable to the public. Luckily that didn’t happen, and it turned out better than I thought (everyone was very nice about it too).

Interesting facts I’ve learnt this week that I’d like to share.

• Here are some of the prehistoric animals that lived before the dinosaurs: Trilobite, Eurypterid and Anomalocaris. 
• The Trilobite has its name because it’s made of 3 parts
• the Eurypterid is also known as the sea scorpion
• and the Anomalocaris was the length of your arm.

Though these are not as famous as some of the other creatures that have lived (I’m looking at you dinos), they are just as interesting and important to learn about.

I’m used to seeing the how the museum works as someone who visits on a weekly basis. But the next weeks will open my eyes to see how the museum works behind the scene. I sure hope these weeks don’t go by as fast as this first week did. 

Rachel is currently finishing up her Education degree from Trent University by completing her intership with ROMKids. With her background in Archaeology and Education, she is all prepared for her eventual time travel experiences