Czech Center Internship

Czech Center Museum Internship

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By

Julian Porra Parks

I chose the Czech Center Museum internship because it seemed interesting. I find Slavic and by extension Czech culture very intriguing. I have been studying European history and I felt this is was a great opportunity for me.

The Czech Center website: http://czechcentermuseumhouston.business.site/

“The Czech Center Museum is dedicated to the exploration, preservation and furthering the public’s knowledge of Czech and Slavic culture and heritage. In Texas, there are an estimated one million people who are of Czech or Slovak descent.”

More about the purpose of the center: https://www.czechcenter.org/about-1/

Saturday, November 4^th, 2017 – Finding the Czech Center internship

I was offered an opportunity to go visit the Czech center by my internship coordinator. I contacted them immediately via e-mail and made an appointment.

Tuesday, November 7^th, 2017 – Interview and tour

Today I met with Mrs. Samolik at the Czech center. We took a tour of the center.

The exhibit rotates, it is currently about a Czech paper in a German concentration camp.

I also learned what my job is. I am going to be working on making the exhibits more child friendly. I seem to have a lot autonomy.  

Monday November 13^th, 2017 – Researching the Velvet Revolution and getting acquainted with the center and museum

Today I walked to the Czech center from school. I spent the afternoon researching things. I was supposed to meet with my partner but she was unable to show up due to scheduling problems. I spent the day researching about the topics I would need to know about. One such topic was the Velvet revolution. Velvet revolution was a peaceful deposition of the communist government of Czechoslovakia in 1989.

The Czech center is very fancy looking, but it is not conducive to a working environment or museum environment, not to mention it is not very kid friendly. It simply does not have the right furnishings or layout and is always somewhat off. I’ll work on this when I make plans for children.

Tuesday, November 28^th, 2017 more research

Again my partner and I have scheduling conflicts. Our school schedules don’t match, when I can go she can’t and vice versa. I am wondering how this is going to work out. I did more research. This time I studied the governmental structures of the Warsaw pact countries.

Tuesday, December 5^th, 2017 – and more research

I am at the Czech Center once again without my partner. I did yet more researching. This is the last time here before the Holidays. Christmas break is starting soon and I still have not been able to meet with my partner at the Czech center due to our different schedules.

Thursday, April 5^th, 2018 - Reflection

It is now April and the internship has ended. During my internship I came up with some ideas on how to make the Czech center museum more child friendly

For example, there could be children’s book and story events, where children could become familiar with different aspects of Czech culture and hear folk tales. There could be children’s drama club, choir, folk dance group, Czech arts and crafts group, Czech history lessons for children.

What strengths did I have for this internship?

I am good at researching history and I have an extensive knowledge of history of Central Europe so this internship was right up my alley.

What are some areas for growth?

Working in a group. Planning. Timeliness.

What challenges did I undertake?

My partner and I both persevered through the difficulties in making our schedules work. We both kept going to the Czech center to work on our project. We were from two different schools and had different schedules. At the end I decided that it was too difficult for us to continue to work together at this point.

What new skills did I develop?

I made a plan and kept my weekly schedule. I walked from the school to the Czech center and kept working on ideas for kid friendly museum.

How did I demonstrate initiating and planning of fieldwork in this internship?

I initiated the contact with Mrs. Samolik, organized the interview, I figured out my schedule and transportation entirely by myself. As I worked at the center and researched history I came up with ideas on how the museum could be more child friendly.

How did I show commitment and perseverance in this internship?

I kept my schedule and worked on my project even when we could not team up.

How did I demonstrate skills and recognize benefits of working collaboratively?

This project was an eye opener for me about the importance of having people around to collaborate with. Not only was it difficult to connect with my partner, there were very few people at the Czech center at any given time to ask questions or help in the project.

How did I demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance?

Czech center is about advancing and preserving Slavic culture in Houston. I feel that learning about other cultures and helping children to become interested in them will enrich their understanding of their neighbors.  

How did I consider the ethics of choices and actions?

I want to improve the Czech Center without wasting money or other resources.