STATE COLLEGE — Discovery Space’s Spark Internship impacts local State High seniors Jane Bolton and Melica Kemanian-Leites.
“Spark has been my favorite experience out of anything I’ve done in high school,” said Kemanian-Leites.
Throughout her three years with Spark, Kemanian-Leites has assisted with Discovery Space programs like Stempowered, a program for fifth and sixth grade girls to explore STEM careers; and translated science center videos and materials into Spanish. Spark gave Kemanian-Leites the opportunity to intern with Discovery Space last year in summer camp programs and in the new Marine Life Center.
“Spark has been a unique experience. You really get to learn alongside your peers and really focus on what you are trying to get out of the experience,” said Kemanian-Leites. “It has helped me learn how to communicate to a wide variety of audiences and how to present myself in different professional settings.”
The Spark Internship started in the fall of 2018. It is an internship program for high schoolers to earn valuable experience in an informal science education setting. Interns work closely with science center and makerspace staff to develop programming or exhibits in their chosen STEM field. Each year the interns pick a project to complete by the end of the school year. In 2022, Spark has eight interns working on projects ranging from maglev train exhibits to preparing camp activities on topics such as deep sea animal exploration.
This year Bolton and Kemanian-Leites developed and pitched a botany exhibit as part of their “Dream Big” proposal to the organization’s development committee. The project includes creating planter boxes which would be used to teach kids of all ages about native plants. The exhibit will be built during Discovery Space’s Girls Leadership Opportunity Week (GLOW) camp, running later this summer, and the planter boxes will be displayed on the science center’s exhibit floor.
“It’s really a fulfilling experience to set a project (goal) at the beginning of the year and complete it by the end,” said Bolton. “You get to see the actual product of what you’re doing and see how it’s working and getting kids interested. It is really rewarding.”
“I have seen a lot of self-confidence and communication skills built through this unique program’s structure. Discovery Space staff and board members are always impressed with the projects produced by the interns and they are an invaluable part of our team,” said Anna Schurter, Spark internship lead.
Applications for the 2022-23 Spark internship will open in August for high school students. Discovery Space’s GLOW camp will run July 25 through July 29 and Aug. 8 through Aug. 12. For more information, visit DiscoverySpace.org.
