I was sitting in a Museum Operations meeting on Tuesday and Debbie said “I’m so excited about the new phone system and changing our fiscal year”. It made me chuckle to think that someone could be excited about the dates of a fiscal year. I know different people find different things exciting so I asked the rest of the group what they found exciting. Here are some of the answers I received. (some answers more silly and some more deep and meaningful than others):

• Elizabeth, Director for Learning Environments said “buying sheets and chairs for the Forts! Pop-up exhibit”
• Trish, Manager of Innovation and Learning said “the number of girl scout cookies available right now at the Museum”.
• Nancy one of our Education Specialists said “the place, the people, and coming up with fun activities for the lab”.
• Uli , our Butterfly House Director said “Science of Sweet“
• Leslie, our Communications Manger said “We just got done producing some snazzy new shirts for summer camp and just started shooting our next round of Know Wonder creative for our branding campaign”.
• Maureen, our Human Resource Specialist, gave a heartfelt and meaningful answer:

First, there are numerous things that excite me about my job. However the primary piece is the reason I came here in the beginning; working at the Museum gives me the opportunity to be part of something that matters.  What I mean about matters, it is a place where the purpose to exist isn’t to make money for the shareholders.  It is about community, it is about educational opportunities and the mission reaches out to many not just a few.  The other big part of my job that excites me is the diversity I am exposed to on many levels here at the Museum.  There is the diversity in my daily tasks.  There is diversity found with people I work with.  From the type of work each of us perform, to the personal interest and backgrounds we all bring to the Museum, we have a great pool of individuals.  However the most fascinating part for me is the diversity in the way each staff member approaches problems and opportunities differently. Having the opportunity to work alongside people that bring a different perspective then my own has been refreshing as well as an education for me.

The best of all the emails I got back was from Darcy, Director of Family and School Experiences. She said the following:

I just yelled, “I’m so excited!” and then remembered your email 🙂   I am so excited about Peep jousting! We just tested this activity for our Science of Eats: Sweet AfterHours event on Thursday. Two Peeps are put in the microwave, each “holding” a toothpick. The goal is to be the first to stab the other Peep with your toothpick. Pictures attached 🙂

Let us know “what excites you”!