Behind the Scenes: Community Engagement Intern Spotlight with Kaleigh Weickert
“Working at the Rossland Museum has given me a fantastic jumping-off point for my career— the amount of learning and professional development I have been able to achieve in a relatively short time has been amazing. I am so excited to see what’s next for me career-wise; whatever it is, I know I have valuable skills and experience in my back pocket.”
The Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre would like to thank the Government of Canada and the Canadian Museums Association Young Canada Works program for contributing to this paid internship opportunity.
Program Execution & Development
Since starting at the Rossland Museum, one of my primary responsibilities has been the planning and implementation of the museum’s various youth programs. At the time of my arrival, the Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre (RMDC) had four weekly programs for youth: Young Naturalists, Cub Club, Rockhounds, and S.T.E.A.M. I have since taken over the coordination of these programs, planning fun and educational activities for local kids and families to partake in. This has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of my job, as I find it immensely rewarding to see children excited about learning, and, of course, about museums! In addition to running these pre-established programs, I have also had the opportunity to develop a novel youth program designed to supplement the learning of local homeschooled kids. This project has been a ton of fun to work on; getting to explore a variety of subjects linked to the social and ecological history of this region has been incredibly enriching. I think it’s fair to say I’ve learned just as much as the kids have (if not more!) during these past few months.
In addition to weekly youth programs, the RMDC also offers day camps during the summer, spring break, and professional development days when kids are off school. I’ve yet to experience the whirlwind of summer camp season; however, I have had the chance to plan spring break and Pro-D day camp activities. Whereas most of our weekly programs run based off of pre-established themes and structures, I have been given a lot of autonomy over the planning of spring break camps– which has made me very excited about them! I have, admittedly, indulged in some of my own passions and interests in their planning, but I’m confident Rossland kids are going to have just as much fun during these camps as I had organizing them! In the first week, a history themed camp will take us from the Ice Age to the mid 20th-century. Then, moving from time travel to… well… actual travel, our second camp, ‘Around The World in 4 Days’, will take kids on an exciting journey all the way from North Africa to East Asia and beyond! Why limit your experience of the world to the time and place that you live in, am I right?
Event Planning & Coordination
Halloween at the Museum 2023
Another element of my role as the Community Engagement Intern involves planning ways to engage the community through special events and celebrations. Since September, I’ve had the chance to help out with a few museum events; I planned crafts and games for our Halloween celebration and assisted with Winter Carnival activities. I’ve also had the opportunity to come up with a few fun events of my own, including “Santa’s Workshop,” a craft/toymaking-themed event for Christmas, and a drop-in cookie decorating workshop for Valentine’s Day. Both, I’m pleased to say, were very successful and made for excellent learning opportunities. I really believe that putting on fun, engaging events (especially for free or at a low cost) is an amazing way to engage a museum’s local community. One of the things I’m looking forward to the most in the coming months is helping brainstorm ideas for more interesting events. Additionally, I hope to continue collaborating with local businesses and institutions– the end result is always better when communities work together!
Educational Outreach
One of the things I love about museums is that our mission to educate doesn’t necessarily start and end within our own walls. The RMDC prioritizes educational outreach and finding ways to enrich our community with educational opportunities that can be accessed off-site. In the Community Engagement Department, my manager and I work to foster our relationship with local schools and homeschool groups. Not only can teachers/educators sign up for guided, themed tours of the museum (a few of which I have led and had a blast!) but they can also borrow ‘discovery kits’ from us. These kits provide educators with an array of hands-on activities, objects/artifacts, information and resources to teach their students about topics of local interest. I have been working with my manager on revamping the Indigenous Basketry of the Region Kit, and we are planning on adding yet another kit, on the subject of renewable energy, to our already awesome collection!
Another project related to educational outreach that I was involved in is our Senior Memory Kits. This project aims to engage local seniors through nostalgia and memories, showcasing objects, photos, videos, and audio from bygone eras with hopes to encourage reflection and storytelling. I contributed to this project by coming up with discussion questions for each box so the seniors could have a more engaging and reciprocal experience with the content. Including a few strategic discussion prompts can help seniors draw out some precious, long-lost memories and share them with others– a win for everybody! In addition to helping make the Senior Memory Boxes more interactive, I also took them out into the community during the trial stage to get some constructive commentary and suggestions. After sharing the WWII Memory Kit with the seniors at my church, I was able to report back with some meaningful feedback– most of which, I’m happy to say, was very positive!
Working at the Rossland Museum has been an amazing learning experience for me. I feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to learn and/or improve many of my professional skills and to have met so many awesome, inspiring people. I know the personal and professional growth I’ve experienced here is sure to benefit me far into the future– and the memories I’ve made will stay with me just as long.