My second week at OMSI has continued to be both fun and deeply educational! This week, my primary projects were helping out in the Teen Tech Center, developing a marketing strategy for my event, and working alongside OMSI educators to create helpful materials specific to my event. Additionally, I helped out with and attended two after-hours workshops this week, which gave me insight into the different ways that the TTC helps improve digital equity for various groups in the Portland area.
On Saturday, my supervisor was out of the office due to medical troubles, so I took over her role as TTC facilitator during open hours (11 am - 5:30 pm on Saturdays, 12 pm - 4 pm on weekdays). I had the help of three amazing volunteers—all teenagers attending high school in Portland! They were super cool, and all of them expressed that they liked volunteering at OMSI due to their interests in technology and the sciences. I got to know them quite well during our time together and gathered their input on what younger teens would be interested in seeing at events like the Open House I am planning. We also spent some time exploring the technology offered in the TTC; one of the volunteers showed me a bit of code he had been working on, which is a realm completely unfamiliar to me. I also interacted with our visitors throughout open hours, and it was overall very nice to spend some time away from my laptop and engage with the space I am serving during my internship.
Although my schedule typically does not have me working on Mondays, I went in on Monday evening to help my supervisor, Dyllan, facilitate a workshop. The workshop was hosted by two organizations local to Portland: SHPE Oregon and Latino Network. SHPE—the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers—primarily works with college-aged Latino-identifying students in the STEM field. Despite Dyllan not being Hispanic or an engineer, she sits on the board of SHPE Oregon and is deeply involved in many Latino-serving community-based organizations around Portland. She introduced me to several members of SHPE, all of whom were incredibly kind and knowledgeable. They shared information with me about SHPE's goals and their outreach to the PDX Latino community. Latino Network is another community-based organization near Portland that serves Latinos in a variety of ways—from their Health & Wellness program to immigration navigation services and Youth Empowerment programs. They leverage Latino culture to help Latinos thrive in an environment where they are often underrepresented and their needs are frequently unmet.
The workshop on Monday focused on a program SHPE and Latino Network run together to improve digital equity for Latino youth in the PDX area. In exchange for attending a few workshops at the TTC, a group of middle to high school-aged Latino students received a free iPad or MacBook. Monday night’s workshop focused on internet safety and maintaining a positive digital footprint. Students were provided with devices, and Brian, who sits on the SHPE board with Dyllan, discussed challenges that students often face when it comes to staying safe online. Overall, I was pleased to meet and engage with these two organizations and learned more about the work they do in the area.
On Tuesday, Dyllan and I spent the morning meeting with OMSI’s marketing team to better understand the procedures and brand guidelines they use when creating promotional materials. I learned more about graphic design, the philosophy behind OMSI’s logo design, and how to effectively communicate tone and conciseness. Additionally, we had a stimulating discussion about the distribution of bilingual marketing materials. The team raised a point that Dyllan and I hadn’t considered before: the implications of placing Spanish below English in bilingual materials. They shared their experience creating a Spanish-first exhibit at OMSI a few years ago, where the exhibition materials and texts were initially in Spanish and then translated into English. The collaborators presented the idea that in certain contexts, placing Spanish below English or in smaller text might be worth reconsidering. As designers, they now aim to place English and Spanish translations side by side more often. It was an insightful conversation that I hope to delve deeper into!
On Wednesday, I focused on sending out the emails I had drafted the previous week to various community organizations. I also finalized the design of the flyer for my event. Dyllan and I ensured the design was as accessible as possible. After finalizing the design, I worked with Denise to create Spanish-language translations of the event description and the flyer. Wednesday was a longer day because Latino Network and SHPE were hosting another workshop with a new group of teens that day. I actually got to participate in this workshop, which focused on basic Python programming. I have no experience with programming, so it was incredibly fun to take a break and learn something new alongside the other teens. Representatives from SHPE and Latino Network were there, and we also discussed the Open House further. Both organizations agreed to participate and run activities at the event, and I have meetings scheduled with them next week to discuss this further.
Thursday and Friday were more of the same—popping in and out of the TTC, working on translation materials, and following up with the various organizations I had been emailing. I also had a great meeting with one of the OMSI educators, Marissa, on Thursday morning. She oversees a youth educational program called Playlabs, which targets minority families with children aged 0-6 for science education at OMSI. She shared her experiences doing outreach with various communities in Portland, including common challenges she faces. We had a broader discussion about educational access and how to engage with education in a culturally informed way, something she mentioned OMSI has struggled with in the past.
Overall, this week has been good, despite some longer hours! I’m having a lot of fun and I click especially well with my supervisor, for which I am grateful. I'm not afraid to ask questions and reach out for help whenever I need it, which is amazing. I’m excited for next week!
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