Hello world!
Well, this is the second week of my internship, and I am enjoying myself!  There are times when things seem a bit hectic, but I just take one thing at a time and seem to do okay!  I have learned so much about some of the programs that Matt and I are going to be representing at the CNSF event next week.  I didn't even know that these programs existed, but now I am trying to be the expert on them, I am excited about the event!  I get to check out the Smithsonian this weekend, which I am stoked about, but I am really wanting to go to the Holocaust memorial and the Vietnam memorial because my uncles name is there.  There is so much to see around here and I want to go do everything, but time does not always permit.  I will probably check out the NASA giftshop this weekend, which I am also excited about!  I have noticed a definite change in the weather compared to Wisconsin, and it's tough to put up with all of the humidity at first, yucky, sticky, ewww!
I have learned that PhysTEC is a program to improve our teachers by improving our students and building out from there.  It seems like a wonderful program, especially for those of us who have had a baaaaad teacher or prof. I have also learned a bit about comPADRE and that is going to be an awesome project when it is expanded even more.  It is so great to have a resource like that that helps teachers, students, and the general public with physics and astronomy.  Very exciting!  I also learned about the demos I will be doing at the summer camps--very cool! I will be putting a pencil through a piece of plywood, looking at stuff in a vacuum, and doing the 'ol pull the table cloth out from under the plates and wine glasses! Well, I have very exciting and busy weeks ahead, that's all for now folks!

Under the stars,

Heather Lunn

Well, I've made it through the 3rd week and I am still alive!!  Matt Shanks and I had our big CNSF event this past Tuesday June 22, 2004, and it was really exciting and nerve-wrecking at the same time.  I learned that if you don't force yourself to go talk to all of the important people, they won't come talk to you.  That is how it is in many jobs and other situations.  So that is something that I will try to get used to as life goes on for me and I have to talk to more important people at school, work, and meetings.  I talked to the Science Adviser to the President of the US, without knowing it, and it was easier that way.  Although, I wish I would've known before hand so I could have been even more careful in how I worded things--you know first impressions are everything!!  I hope to go see the Vietnam memorial this weekend and find my uncle Gary on the wall.  I also have plans to see the Holocaust memorial and Lincoln, Jefferson, and JFK also.  I know there is so much to see here, but before I even know it, it is 10:00PM and time to do dishes and get ready for bed!  So I better get busy this weekend and see some of this stuff!  It sure does seem wierd, even for me now, to think about how I just picked up and left for 2 months, without knowing anyone or ever coming here before.  I thought something like that wasn't in me, but I honestly believe that it was something I needed to do for myself.  I am having a once in a lifetime experience here in DC and I would've been so mad at myself if I wouldn't have taken this internship.  Even though I had to go from my own apartment to living in a dorm, it really isn't all that bad!  I work in a really nice place, and it is about to get really exciting again.  I will be leading a summer camp at the U of MD and teaching girls physics!  I wish I would've had an opportunity like they do of joining these camps.  I am really getting excited and I hope everything goes well.  One thing that I really do miss (besides my boyfriend and my dog) is my FREE washer and dryer.  Who pays $5.00 to wash 2 loads of clothes??? I don't like it one bit!  Speaking of boyfriends, my boyfriend is coming down from Wisconsin (yep pretty cheezy there) next Friday--exactly one week and we are going to tour the town!!  So watch out Washington, DC!  Here we come!!

Under the Stars,

Heather Lunn

Well, what can I say??  I really blew last weeks journal entry...  The fact is that I have been swamped trying to get ready for the summer camp that I began yesterday.  The people that used to run it all quit, and I was flailing blindly trying to get everything ready.  There were so many people to talk to collect everything I needed.  But now I am doing better!  This weekend I went down to the mall with my boyfriend Ben and Allison and we saw the fireworks directly above our heads!  I really enjoyed it.  Also, I took my boyfriend to see the White House, the Capitol, the Vietnam Memorial, Korean Memorial, the WWII Memorial, The Natural History Museum, the American History Museum, the Reflecting Pool,the Lincoln Memorial and probably a few other things.  He really seemed to enjoy it.  Yesterday I made about 8,000 copies for my summer camp and it was nerve wrecking to make sure every thing was ready for 12:30--and it was!  Boy, those girls sure have a bunch of energy!! Some of them have already started building their roller coasters because they were so excited.  Others sorted the K'nex from last year because all the pieces were mixed together.  The 4th week has been stressful because I felt like I had 5 separate things to do and they all needed to be done NOW.  Again, that is my excuse for forgetting about my very, very important journal.  I don't mean that sarcastically either!  I am planning on going to one of my really good friends weddings in a week, and trying to find a plane ticket so that I won't have to miss work.  Missing time at the summer camp seems hardly possible.  Well, I have to get back to work!  Sorry for the delay!!

Under the Stars,

Heather Lunn

Well, I am finished with my 7th week and I think it has been a success so far.  The camps are going well, and the presentation is over.  We still have a lot of work to do, however.  I would still like to see Monticello and the Iwo Jima statue at Arlington Cemetary, but time is running out very fast.  I don't know how I will get to see everything that I still want to see, but I guess I will have to live with it because we have a week left in DC.  It seems to have gone by so fast, I can't believe I am almost on my 8th week!  I don't know where the time went!  Last weekend, Matt and I went to the Holocaust Museum and I was moved.  I think it is something that you only need to see once, and that is enough.  They give you these identification cards and it is like you are that person for the day and you follow a short story of their life.  Then, the very last page says if the person (you) lived or died.  Both Matt and I died, and it was depressing because I think of myself as a survivor, but under those circumstances, I guess it doesn't matter what you think.  I am going to end with that.

Under the Stars,

Heather Lunn

Well, this is the last journal entry I will be doing for my internship.  Overall, I have had a great experience working with SPS and MRSEC.  I definitely know about the physics behind rollercoasters and about teaching 30 13-year-old girls all about it.  In the beginning I felt a bit misinformed about what EXACTLY I was going to be doing and about how much work it really ended up to be.  In the end, everything has worked out.  I do feel pretty exhausted after a month of camp, and I am ready to go home.  Home is where the heart is (and the boyfriend, and the dog, and my very own apartment with a free washer and dryer!)  I have definitely become an expert on rollercoaster physics and total internal reflection.  I also learned a lot about programs going on at ACP that I didn't know about before like DBIS.  Even the 13-year-olds have taught me a few things about the light lesson that I taught them.  I also learned a few things about myself, but I am not sure they are appropriate to talk about here... I now know that I can leave home for two months without my world crashing down, which is good to know.  I think I will miss seeing all of the historic stuff in DC, just a couple of blocks away from the dorms.  I will also probably miss the other interns and working at ACP and U of Md.  I wish all of the interns could've gotten together more often as a group near the end for dinners and stuff, but it is tough trying to keep track of 8 people!  Well, gotta finish up work and packing, only 1 more full day here!

Under the Stars,

Heather Lunn