Rebecca Patterson at MASS MoCA Kidspace

I loved working at MASS MoCA this semester. My favorite part was the people i was fortunate enough to work with. The Education team at MoCA is so passionate and tight knit. The group dynamic is fun but professional and everyone is easy to get along with and pretty relaxed. Working Art Bar was also a great experience for me. I loved getting to work with our visitors of all ages, especially the children, especially the crazy imaginative children. The only sad part was when parents would do the art projects for their kids to hurry them up or make sure it turned out ”well” or the parents who either didn’t prevent their children from touching the art after I asked them not to, or the parents who actively help their children touch the art. I got to meet so many people in the community and had such a wonderful experience in that role. I even have a few souvenirs of little art projects children have presented to me as gifts! My favorite, and the most significant part of my internship, was camp. I loved the opportunity to make an entire month of programming. I got to decide on the themes for each day and everything that happened. I was able to work within a general framework laid out by camps in years past, while being able to use my creativity and problem solving skills to design 4 really tight knit weeks of camp tying together the weekly themes with the ideas of Art Ninjas, Courage and the place-MASS MoCA. The first week was Magic, which I revolved around the Harry Potter universe. I have the art ninjas making wands and casting spells in Turrell, and brewing potions and playing wizardly big games in Sol Lewitt. The second week is Color, and every day has a color with a theme to do with that color. Green day is outside under the upside-down trees with art making and found object collages. Week three is play, with the emphasis on performance. Ninja’s will do theatre games, make stories, costumes and sets and perform for their parents in a final showcase. Last is Week four-Courage. This week is themed after the exhibit Cavernous in Kids Space. Campers will recreate Wes (the artists) Hoosac Tunnel structure with recyclable materials, paper mache and paint. They will work together to make something Cavernous. I have gotten so much out of the experience. I have gotten to know most of the MoCA staff, and gotten a sense of how the place runs. I have gotten a peek into Laura Thompson’s educational methodology and the inner workings of her department. I have gotten to make some amazing friends with the other MoCA interns. All in all, this semester was exceptional. It wasn’t without a lot of stress and confusion, but I got through it and am better for it. I learned how to use another printer, which I believe is the most difficult one yet, as well as several frustrating copiers and paper cutters. I’m going to miss seeing everyone at MoCA, especially the girl at Lickety Split who gives my extra soup with my quiche.