Art has always been a part of the museum’s focus but I feel
sometime it gets lost among all the science. I interviewed one of our younger
volunteers. She has been coming almost every Sunday for a couple of hours to
help out in the Discovery Labs since fall of 2011. This volunteer has shared
her talent with the museum. She has helped Majia with “Drawing through Time”
and she has recently started helping me make new coloring pages for the Dino
Lab. She is a very bright and talented young women who I feel will do well in
her future endeavors. But I found out there is much more to this volunteer than
an H2 pencil.
Phoebe
Shalloway – Fossil Lab docent: “I volunteer at the museum because I
always liked it and felt it was the perfect way to help with my college
entrance.”
Phoebe is a native Ithacan and is a sophomore attending
Ithaca High School. She is an only child and is disappointed she has not been
able to have a pet. When I asked her why, she sadly explained her father was
allergic to every animal that has ever existed! As for her future, like
most young people, Phoebe couldn’t decide on one career. She hopes to be an
author, or maybe, a marine biologist. I did tell her, you actually do a boatload
of writing as a scientist; so maybe both careers are still a possibility. Her
college career hasn’t started, and it probably is a bit early, but she did say
her hopes for college right now would be Brown University. A lofty aspiration,
but I was not surprised after talking with Phoebe. This young volunteer doesn’t
sit around much. When I asked her what she liked to do as a hobby, she couldn’t
say just one thing. She enjoys reading and named several science fiction/ fantasy
books as her favorite. I felt like I was torturing her to pick just one. It is
really nice to hear a teenager talk so excitedly about books. She also loves
movies and her dream vacation involves one of her favorite books and movies, Lord of the Rings. She wants to travel
to New Zealand to visit and watch the new Hobbit movie being made. I could
definitely relate to that, a visit to Hobbiton would be wondrous. She also said she would also love to see
Greece because it looks so beautiful. Phoebe seems to follow her own path in
music, saying she really doesn’t like any of the pop music today.
One of her talents we have seen at the museum is art. Phoebe’s
drawings for the new coloring pages are fantastic. She has created six drawings
of Mesozoic animals that we will incorporate into informational coloring pages.
I am so impressed with the talent of our volunteers. They give of their time
and go over what is expected of them when I ask. It is unbelievable and
provides me with great pleasure. You definitely make my life easy. I stumped
Phoebe when I asked her about her favorite food. I assumed every young person
knew what their favorite food was, but all Phoebe could come with was bread;
Bread? I have to admit I like bread, but your favorite food? She had no problem
telling me all the things she did when she wasn’t in school or volunteering.
She plays drums and takes a writing class. She is an amazing young person. She
loves learning languages which lead to her fantasy life of traveling the world.
I know she will be moving on to other pursuits in time but it has been a
pleasure to have Phoebe as a volunteer at the museum. If you see her, ask her about
her latest book.
Science, to me is …
trying to figure things out.
