End of Junior year. Beginning of Zeum Summer.

My junior year has come to a close. I made it through finals. This past year was stressful and very busy, and working at Zeum only added to my crazy schedule. Although my Saturdays were always occupied from the hours of of 10am to 5:30, I'm glad I had Zeum this year.

It's hard to believe that I've been at Zeum for an entire year. The time has gone by so fast partly because working at Zeum is so much fun. The kids are great, the staff is even more amazing but I cant lie though, it is hard work. Overwhelming crowds made me question how much I wanted to work with kids. Some days were crazy, running from room to room, trying your best to please every visitor, pay attention to every creation, always an impossible task when the numbers reach the 500 mark.

The only way I was able to survive and have such a good experience was because of the other staff, seriously. We made the hard days go by faster by laughing.

Saturday mornings at Zeum are always fun. We'd spend the first few minutes before morning meetings trying to catch up and explain what had happened during the past week. Eventually Christian would summon us to "Animators" for our morning meeting. That never stopped us, we would still be telling our stories from across the table. We have our own inside jokes, our favorite songs, and Angee is the founder of the ZeumMaster hand sign. (see me demonstrating in photos)

Like most Zeum Masters, this is my first real job, and working on a team is not new to me, but not something that I've had a ton of experience with. A big part of life at Zeum is teamwork. We work together with the common goal: to try to make the best overall experience for the visitors, most of the time that includes making a fool of ourselves. We perform all the time. High School musical is a favorite - we'll act as silly as possible to embarrass ourselves and try to encourage shy kids to perform.

People constantly ask me "What do you do at Zeum?" That question often stumps me. I have to think about it for a while, but eventually say "We help kids perform and create art." and they just give me that puzzled look and I know they're thinking "thats all." But the truth is it's so much more than just helping kids with art.We ZeumMasters facilitate and practically run the museum with the help of the educators. The ZeumMaster team helps with not just the art and the performance, we help make the overall experience an amazing one, a hard but possible task.

I now look forward to another busy summer at Zeum. This summer I can call myself a senior staff member and have the pleasure to help the newest Zeum Masters. The summers at Zeum are always with swimming with camps of kids and visiting families. The most exciting experience is meeting all the new Zeum Masters.

I met so many new people this past year and at times we had just as much fun as the visitors. Summers at Zeum bring out the kid in all of us.

Hello, it's Summer

Summer at Zeum can be crazy. Instead of being here one day a week we practically live at Zeum working weekdays also. Oh my God waking up early going to work everyday how BORING!!!! Actually coming to Zeum for my first summer made my summer so much more fun and interesting. Coming into my first work experience ever I wasn't too ecstatic about that I mean I wouldn't get to spend my summer sleeping in bed all day.

Zeum isn't the typical white collar job. Starting my first summer I have to say it was confusing after all the fun and games of the scavenger hunt and games it was time to get down to work. All the exhibits all the buttons. Going through various workshops and trainings I felt like I was going to forget all the things when and why I suppose to push things turn on things.

It was so hard recording people the first time I even forgot to tell somebody to use the microphone at the main gallery and you couldn't hear them on the video. After some bad tapes, changing floppy disks in DW, and learning pretty good animation I can be proud to say I'm a certified expert (there are still slight mistakes here and there) in all the rooms.

This month it will have been one year that I've worked at Zeum.

Yesterday, I graduated from high school. Because of Zeum, I have experience in the work field so that when I get another job (hopefully one as fun as this) I will know the basic groundwork for working.

I also got to use my performance skills at Zeum. Being here helped me develop my talents while working. Having fun while working - I never thought that was a possibility.

So now I want to go to AMDA American Musical Dramatic Theater Academy to study musical theater. for now, I'm going to San Francisco City College to study musical theater - I guess I'm still going to stay in San Francisco for a while.

Now that this is my last summer at Zeum I plan not to totally forget what I have learned. I know that now once I get in front of a camera I'll be prepared for what do thanks to the production stage. Excellent.

On Performing, the Main Gallery and FINISHING a project

This morning at Zeum, I finished my final project: Fantasy Seder. I performed the one girl play I'd written about how I imagined my family members at a Passover Seder. I was really unsure as to how I was going to be able to act out my different family members and really show the audience different personalities that I was hoping to portray. Recording myself was a bit nerve- racking because I wanted the audience to see what I saw as I was writing the script.

I enjoyed recording myself because I was finally able to make a project that I help kids do everyday when I work at Zeum.

All the kids I work with take their performance so seriously and they really have a vision of how they want their performance to be. When I was recording myself at the production stage, I felt like a visitor, like I was new to the experience even though I've worked at the production stage so many times. I wanted my performance to be right what I wanted. I did a practice run-through, and then did another two more practice runs, until I was finally happy with it, and hopefully those who watch it will be happy with it too.

I've been working at Zeum for two years, and over this time, I've seen Zeum change. The production stage in the Main Gallery is one exhibit that has changed a lot, and where I have become a lot more comfortable working. When I first started working at Zeum, I hated working in the Main Gallery because I never felt like I was 100% prepared to help kids produce a performance.

With Zeum changing over these two years, I've changed a lot too.

These days, working at the production stage in the Main Gallery is never dull, helping kids make their own masterpieces. I have become much more confident, and I have much more to say to visitors and helping them make a great performance. Because I feel more confident working in the Main Gallery, I was able to make a great performance of my own, using the same skills I use to help visitors.

Watching my final project made me feel proud of performing something and I felt that I really portrayed what I wanted the audience to see.

No Fear on Stage

Hey this is MICHELLE F.. I want to write a little bit about performing.

I've performed in the plays and musicals at my high school for the past 4 years I am currently in the musical Meet Me in St. Louis.

I've been working here as a zeummaster for about 11 months soon to be a year. That's right. And there are many performance opportunities at Zeum.

Music Production Lab...Production Stage... music is a big part of my life something I can't live without.

I am able to use the skills I've been cultivating at acting at school here by making my own performances in MPL and at the Production Stage, and giving tips to kids who are shy. I come up with ideas on what they can do and even work with them if they need extra help ..so they don't feel so nervous. I like seeing them being able to perform something and really breaking out of their shells and being creative. The visitors have a lot of fun doing performances and are often ecstatic that they can take their work home and show their families.

Oh...and I have ideas for workshops that revolve around performing and making performances.

I think can help visitors learn a little more about what they can do. They can work on ideas for script and even go further and get a little technique like vocal warm ups to get ready for the show and performance technique they can learn a variety of things that can contribute to their video make it more developed then it normally would in a typical Zeum visit.

I have been performing for almost half of my life and it is a great thing. I never really took it seriously till about sophomore year of high school - that's when I decided that this is what I really love and what I want to continue for the rest of my life. Performing means to me being able to express myself. Performing helped me break out of being shy and sculpted me to be very outgoing and like one of the "drama kids" at school. Even when I am having a bad day I can always (even though it may be extremely tedious) rehearse for the current play or musical because on stage I can express my self let my anger out through song and whatever character I am trying to convey.

Performing has changed my life. It's given me a chance to be creative with myself and things around me. I have learned how to be different in a way that suits my personality. Usually with my friends I am the more outgoing and loud one.

I'm not scared to play any character. I'm able to get crazy. Like everything from the female basketball player in "Shooting Starts'' to a trumpet playing entertainer in "Gypsy". I'm learning what's possible, what I can do.