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.