As summer unfolded, I embarked on a year-long adventure working at Papalote Museo del Niño Monterrey. Nestled in the heart of Monterrey within “Parque Fundidora,” Papalote Museo del Niño is a cherished destination for both locals and tourists alike.
For many locals, Papalote Museo del Niño holds nostalgic memories from childhood. As the largest children’s museum in Mexico, with three locations across the country, it has been a cornerstone of educational exploration. Among these locations, the Monterrey branch stands out with its innovative focus on sustainability.
Nobody warns you about the sheer amount someone has to learn to start working at a museum. We tend to imagine museums as mere repositories of static artifacts, primarily focused on historical subjects. Luckily, that’s not the case in PMN. Monterrey is known as the industrial capital of Mexico, so shining some ecological awareness to the inhabitants is of utmost importance.
Right from the opening day, two particular situations began to happen.
- Foreign tourists started to visit the place.
- Coworkers from different backgrounds asked me if the information they were sharing was correct in the science exhibitions.
These two situations were not mutually exclusive events. One day, someone asked how to say “____” word in English for a particular exhibition. Another day, the front desk called me to go upstairs and welcome in English a large group of people. Many of these situations were done as favors and I was very happy to help.
While proficiency in English was not a prerequisite for museum staff. The other branches did not have formal programs to implement museographic content in English. Discussing this point with the Operations Department I proposed the following:
Evaluating the English proficiency of museum staff and determining their ability to hold extensive conversations with individuals from diverse age groups using vocabulary suitable for each age range, I developed interview questions and activities structured around the CEFR framework.
Once the new members got familiarized with the content and gained some confidence with their three weeks of training, a month later I would announce that I would conduct voluntary interviews with new and prior members to asses their English. If the member passed the interview they would receive a badge that visitors could easy identify
The screening process was not perfect no one was expected to talk at a native level. In conjunction with the Contents Department, I worked to translate the museum content in stages to support the members of the English Program.
The museum was apertured with 5 sections: Art, Broadcasting & Media, Biodiversity, Activism, Science, and Early Childhood. Later on, two more sections joined the museum, the Polinization Garden and the Dinosaur Hall.
Unlike traditional museums, PMN is low on written text on the exhibits as it is met for kids of all ages. Therefore tour guides must provide the information in a comprehensible and compelling way.
In each section, two members were assigned to oversee the main exhibit. While all members received training across all museum areas, they were encouraged to present information in their own unique style, provided they covered the key points.Hence listening to the best “scripts” was very important to produce the Museums Rosetta Stone.
Just like the original Rosetta Stone discovered in 1799, this project aimed to create a tool for cross-referencing keywords and vocabulary between Spanish and English for every exhibit! The accompanying image depicts members of the English program utilizing the Rosetta. This initiative successfully closed the vocabulary gap among English program participants, resulting in enhanced confidence to engage with foreign visitors on a deeper level.
Words included in the MSRS span from synonyms for different age gaps to scientific terminology. This latter category required extensive research in local libraries and cross-reference concepts with English material through books, research papers, regional databases from the south of Texas, and interviews with Monterrey local experts. As both regions share some ecological similarities.
Additionally, this program had a continuous improvement plan. Biweekly I hosted a conversation club at the museum’s opening hour, where members gathered to exchange activity ideas, tips, and reading materials to refine their speaking abilities. This dynamic exchange also provided an opportunity for members to provide feedback on the materials I was developing if they noticed any discrepancies.
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