By Meaghan Rondeau, MA Anthropology 2018
There’s nothing like the feeling of skipping the long entrance line to the National Museum of Natural History and seeing the way the visitors look at you when you flash your badge at the security guard and walk right in. I’ve never felt so cool and important in my life! Visitors have this idea in their head that all employees of the NMNH are like Indiana Jones, or Ross from Friends, just off to clean his next dinosaur bone. They look at you with such envy for having the coolest job in the world, and I don’t blame them! Being a Smithsonian Intern has been one of my most valuable educational and life experiences thus far. I thought I’d take you into a day at the Smithsonian to show you just how cool it really is.
It’s a hot Monday in July at 9:30 am and the line to get in the museum is out the door and around the corner. I walk in *cue feeling of importance* and go right to Q?rius (the education zone) which is where I spent most of my time throughout my internship. As I walk in, I notice that Q?rius is completely transformed with new exhibits, decorations, and artwork. I then remember that the Maori tribe from New Zealand are taking over the museum this week! There are Maori men and women everywhere. The men are barely wearing any clothes (a small flap around their front), and the women have intricate skirts and jewelry. Both the men and the women are covered in tattoos (Ta Moko), including their faces. At first I am intimidated, as new experiences often make us feel. However, speaking with these incredible people was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
Lunch time rolls around and I am lucky enough to sit down and chat with some of the Maori women. One of them was my age, and I was mesmerized as she explained to me the details of her upbringing and life experiences. She is a member of a dance team (called haka) and it is her whole world. She dances every single day for at least 5 hours (ouch!). Her mom is a senior member of the haka group and it is her aspiration to be just like her.
The rest of my day was spent learning as much as I could about these amazing people. I was able to witness Maori men performing Ta Moko (the art of Maori tattoo) on museum guests, watch them build and decorate an enormous canoe, and listen to them sing songs in their native language. Experiences such as this are indeed extraordinary, but they are certainly not uncommon at the museum. As I left the NMNH for the day, I reflected back on how lucky I am to consider a day such as this, “Just Another Day as a Smithsonian Intern.”
Photos and Video courtesy of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History
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