As I wrap up my final week as an Oregon Sea Grant Summer Scholar, I am looking back at all that I’ve learned. With the exhibit banner sent off to print, I am focusing this last week on adding finishing touches to the touchtable portion. The touchtable has proven to be much of an endeavor between learning website design and making sure that the site is accessible for as many users as possible. Because the website we’re creating for the touchtable is temporary, we are working with Oregon Sea Grant to include a more permanent version. All the information included on the touchtable will also be included on the Newport Hydrographic Line (NH Line) Oregon State University website. This allows the information to be accessed on the OSU website to a wider audience, while also making it accessible to smartphone and tablet users.
During my time in Newport, I was able to engage in many different parts of science. I was able to do field work on NH Line cruises. I spent some time in the lab running chlorophyll samples, sifting through net tows, and running enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) to measure particulate-domoic acid (pDA) from NH Line samples.
For the second half of my internship, I focused all of my efforts on creating the Visitor Center exhibit, which was a nice introduction to outreach and science communication. This internship has allowed me to explore my passion for design, writing, and outreach and I am grateful for the trust that my mentors and the partnering organizations have put in me. This was a collaborative process that would not have been possible without the input of the researchers and exhibit experts. The project was an ambitious one, as there were so many little moving parts to keep track of and a lot of knowledge that I had to pick up along the way. Looking forward into the future, I am interested in finding more opportunities related to science communication that will allow me to leverage both my design and writing skills. This opportunity also taught me a lot about problem solving, from finding creative solutions to solve technical problems. These skills will be beneficial in my career and perhaps graduate school when the time is right. This process has been such a blast to document, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about the creation of my exhibit. This is Alex, signing off for the summer!
Alex Ang and her mentor Anna Bolm (OSU-NOAA) getting coffee on Alex’s last day.
