As I observed the setting of both the museum and the research center, I also observed the people who were visiting. There was a variety of gender, ethnicity, and age that I observed. I viewed mostly families with young children, but these families’ ethnicities included Caucasian, African American, Asian, Indian, and Hispanic/Latino. Other than families, I observed couples, teenagers with friends, and older adults in their 60’s and older who were with their grandchildren. Overall, the diversity of people in the museum was tremendous. I believe this is because the museum is free and provides an interesting way to learn about science. There is nothing that would stop anybody from visiting the museum. I also observed the employees, interns and volunteers that were working. I noticed that most of the volunteers and interns were young adults or teenagers, probably college or high school age. This is because most people in that age group are prone to intern or volunteer rather than have a job. They don’t have as much experience as someone older. They were giving guidance to the visitors and answering any questions people had concerning the exhibits.

 

I was able to send interview questions to one of the employees, Sunny Allen, who has worked at the Museum for 20 years. She conducts presentations at the “Windows on the World” programs. I found her answer to one of my questions very interesting. When asked, “Can you describe to me some of your favorite experiences you’ve had at the Museum,” she answered with “My favorite experiences are when a visitor nervously touches a live snake for the first time in one of my programs, transforming their fear and disgust to fascination and respect” (S. Allen, personal communication, November 17, 2015). This shows how beneficial the employees can be in educating the visitors. It also shows why the employees love their job. They are changing the visitors’ preconceived notions about animals and the natural world.

 

I was also able to interact with one of the security guards working on Saturday. She was pleased to have me there and gave me two magazines and a brochure for the museum. I find that this pleasant attitude helps keep people coming back to the museum. Lastly, I observed the scientists in the research labs. The scientists in the Paleontology lab were answering questions for small children and many of them looked like they were college age or older. They might have been students from North Carolina State University. The scientists seemed pleased to answer the questions for the children. There was a variety of people I observed at a very diverse museum.