As I enter my second month as an Art and Accessibility Intern at Rocky Mountain National Park, I wanted to share a little bit more about what I’m doing here, both professionally and personally. My primary mission here is to help support the East Side Interpretation Team, which means I primarily help staff visitor centers, giving educational talks and, my favorite, developing educational programming.
The creative process for designing these programs has been creatively rewarding and fun. It gives me the challenge of creating programs that are not only informative but also encourage critical thinking and understanding of why our national parks are so special and deserving of conservation.
An example would be a recent “RockyLab” workshop that I’ve been developing. RockyLabs are more hands-on, STEM-based activities. This particular one, which I call “Nature’s Negative” uses a cyanotype kit to create sun prints of historical places within the park. This is done when participants place a negative image onto a cyanotype-covered paper and then use the sun to develop the photograph. It’s a really unique process that allows people to both connect to the park’s history while also demonstrating the science of early photography, long before smartphones and digital cameras.
We’ve also started our Elk Bugle Corps, which is an intern and ranger-led program where we coordinate with volunteers to promote visitor safety and understanding of elk during their mating season. Through the corps, we help promote safe and sustainable viewing of the elk, along with making a better experience for visitors by mitigating traffic and providing interpretive talks on the elk themselves.
Personally, as well, this week has been strenuous but fun. I successfully summited Longs Peak this last Saturday, September 6th. Which took a very long twelve hours. Being able to experience and explore such beautiful places in the park always makes me appreciate our country and the beauty we have here. Along with how important it is for us to safeguard and protect these national treasures. Attached below are some pictures of the beautiful sunrise and summit of Longs Peak.
