The school began a week-long holiday in April, which is the busiest time for the aquarium. I chose to work all day on Thursday. It was the end of the Boston Marathon on Monday when I realized the real vacation week. Many families came to Boston from other continents with their holiday kids and came here to watch marine animals after the marathon. When my colleagues told me there would be more people on Thursday, I was already worried. I slept very early on Wednesday night and bought a large cup of coffee to prepare myself. There have been a lot of tourists since the early morning. In addition to our volunteers and employees, there are other department staff and former volunteers coming back to help. Every shift is almost rushed back to the office to drink coffee and continue to the next place, but I still find it very interesting. While busy, I am also learning how to deal with such a situation.
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I learned new things this week. I started the first environment change activity, a game about the impact of global warming on sea turtles. For the first time, I know that there are so many small games full of learning the meaning. We need to lead the kids to play this game and record how many people are involved. I think this game allows children to learn and think while they are playing, so the memory is deeper.
Although I always feel that I have a good memory, there are some concerns in the face of many things to remember. Fortunately, I have different colleagues to encourage me and remind me when I forget. And although we all use the same information, we can always learn something new and not in the material during their work. So when I explain it to me, I can hear different new knowledge from different people. Coupled with the different styles, there are naturally different ways to introduce the tank, and I can learn and improve myself. When I tried to tell the story behind each tank for the third time alone, I was told that I was certified. At that time, I was a little bit stunned. I thought I needed another exam or something similar, but my colleague just smiled and told me that she thought I was great. I can learn more from it later, no need to worry. After getting the touch tank certification, I added touch tank work to my schedule, which is very interesting. In addition to answering the tourist questions, I can also touch the animals I like. Gradually I can also find the common question. Occasionally visitors will ask questions that I don't understand, such as what the urchins of sea urchins look like. Then I will find or ask other employees, and I can learn more in it and also pull in the distance between us. After that, I started the study of the temperate gallery. From the time I read the documents, I will arrange a formal employee to introduce and answer questions for me. It was the first time I knew that there was a lot of learning on each floor. I used to look at the beautiful fish and never thought about the connections and stories behind it. Now I know that each different tank has a design meaning, and behind it, there is a lot of conservation knowledge we can share to visitors.
As the knowledge gained has increased, I also have the opportunity to practice alone. I can take care of a small area and occasionally answer questions when the staff is too busy. Those who have read the knowledge and the answers to the questions that are remembered are very useful and can prepare me before I am asked. Finally, I can try to start my "certification" on Thursday. I need to take a small quiz and a field test in order to be certified. After the serious review preparation, my exams got very good results. Although the field test was still a little nervous, it still passed! ! The employees told me that I will be more relaxed as I have more opportunities to work in the future.
In this week I was continuing work on my learning about the touch tank. It’s a combination of binder time and practice. At first, I can practice with a staff member and see how they handle their position and questions. Then on Thursday, it’s my first time to try to answer the question myself! When the visitor asks a question about our seastar, that’s what I just read in the binder. The staff encourages me to answer it, so I tried. And I made it! In this week I also start to learn about biofacts. I get to see a whole cabinet full of different biofacts, that’s just amazed me.
This is my first day at the New England Aquarium!!I can really walk into the staff area to see all the amazing people there that bringing us a happy visit at Aquarium, and I am honored to be a member of them. My supervisor gave me a plastic schedule card and my staff ID. Our day is basically full of many half-hour shifts (we only work on one place half hour, then we go to another place). At first, I was a little bit nervous about this job. I come with almost no pre-knowledge about sea animals, the only thing I know is their names. So when my supervisor led me through the office area and introduce me to all the staffs, I ask him about this. He told me do not worry, we are going to get you prepared before we throw you out to face visitors. I do not really understand at that time. Then on the next day of work, I saw my schedule has three periods as binder time. That’s the time I can read the binder and take notes about what the Aquarium require us to know. My first task is the Edge of the Sea touch tank. I am so excited to learn more about it.
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