Undergrad Kelly Scandone’s Summer Internship at the British Museum

Kelly Scandone, a senior Art History and International Affairs student, spent the summer of 2016 working as a Digital Learning Volunteer with the British Museum’s Samsung Digital Discovery Centre in London, England as part of Florida State University’s International Programs. The Samsung Digital Discovery Centre provides museum education programs for infants, children, teens, and families using advanced digital technology.

Scandone had the opportunity to participate in every aspect of the museum’s educational programming, from conducting weekly museum sessions for schoolchildren to developing several programs already being offered at the British Museum. She was involved in the development and execution of the museum’s Stories of Krishna session, which was created for the museum’s Krishna in the Garden of Assam: The Cultural Context of an Indian Textile exhibition. Stories of Krishna allows students to develop and use their coding skills to create an interactive video game based on the stories from Krishna’s life depicted on the Vrindavani Vastra. Scandone also created a coding session for teens, based on the museum’s collection of Maya lintels from Mexico, and conducted research for the museum’s BBC micro:bit session.

Working at the British Museum has by far been one of the most rewarding and enriching experiences of my undergraduate career. It was a true honor to work alongside some of the museum world’s most accomplished individuals and to work in a department known for its innovation and leadership in using technology for  museum education. From executing weekly school sessions to working behind the scenes developing future education programs, I was able to contribute to the British Museum’s daily and long term educational goals, something I did not think I would have the opportunity to do until much later in my career.