Justin Saldivar
Reflection Paper #3
Date: 04/18/2026
ODU Spring 2026
Virginia Air and Space Science Center
Professor Teresa Duvall/TA Joshua Russell
As my internship nearly comes to a close, I have begun looking back at the last couple of weeks in finer detail to broaden my scope of understanding around the fields that made the museum possible to begin with, in addition. I have also begun to think about the circumstances or school programs that bring both families and buses to the center to start with.
Since my last reflection paper I have continued to operate the numerous educational stations found all across the center as well as I can alongside handling back room projects whenever needed. As was detailed in my last paper, I have continued to manage the science centers upstairs robotics lab. Admittedly, this has become a tad rarer as the backroom projects have taken up more of my time recently, however this does not mean that they have fallen to the wayside. I would argue that the stations have given me much more value in some ways compared to the work I do after most visitors leave for the day. The most important of which I would argue is the social factor of the job. I regularly interact with people from innumerable walks of life who each have differing levels of understanding of the science behind the exhibits. These unique circumstances force me to adapt on the fly to respond to them in the most effective manner, in addition. Sometimes I might have to lend them a hand in certain exhibits as they may not fully grasp how to operate them just yet, this is especially true during my tenures at the paper plane station as visitors often make the most mistakes there out of any station we have.
Despite the somewhat slower progress recently on account of factors outside my control, my last 150 hours have still been nothing short of bountiful in terms of social experience alongside whatever technical knowledge I picked up along the way. I hope the experiences and lessons from this internship can allow me to excel in other areas both within and outside my career going forward.