Next Stop: Dublin, and the Science Gallery!

As a two-year graduate program, Göteborgs Universitet requires that their museum studies students do a practical portion of their studies as a museum intern for three to four months. Because it's an international program, placement of the students is also intended to be spread out as well as local. This has been the subject of talk and anxiety for the last few weeks for the program, as students are busy filling out application forms, getting references, doing interviews, and researching visa applications. I was right in the thick of it with them...until a couple weeks ago. I'm happy to announce that I've been admitted for my internship at the Science Gallery in Dublin, and I'll be living in Ireland starting September 2011.

I had a really hard time trying to find science museums that I wanted to apply to, mainly because I wanted to find institutions that were multidisciplinary---specifically in the realm of art and science. My experience at Kinetica Art Fair gave me a taste of what this kind of experience would be like, so when I managed to get an interview with the Science Gallery, I nearly screamed with delight (in fact, I think I did: Dad was on GooglePhone).

The Science Gallery is a young, one-of-a-kind museum that's been getting a lot of international attention. Not a science center and not a natural history museum, it's a rare institution that focuses on creating dynamic discussions between people from all different backgrounds about current science and technology issues not only through exhibitions, but public experiments, festivals, debates, and workshops. They aim and succeed with a target demographic of 15-29 years, and often many of their events get visitors deep into science while also being highly relevant and contemporary (the current exhibit now, Memory Lab, invites visitors to the exhibit and take part in a real, large-scale research experiment using memory tests).

As if that wasn't awesome enough, the Science Gallery also keeps a unique commitment to the interface between art and science, inviting artists to collaborate with scientists on a regular basis, and using art as a medium to communicate scientific ideas (their most recent exhibit, Visceral, featured works from Australian biomedia lab SymbioticA which essentially generates art in a laboratory).

As you can probably tell from my little description here, I am positively stoked. Not only was the Science Gallery my absolute top pick for placements with this program, but I've always wanted to see Ireland. I'm looking forward to weekend excursions to the countryside, especially...

The only downside of this whole internship placement, though, is the realization of how expensive it is going to be. Dublin is a hard place to live, financially; from what I've heard, rent is high, the Euro's strong, and to apply for the working-holiday visa alone will cost nearly $350. These things and more have been weighing on my mind lately, all signs that pointing to the large reality that I may have to return to the States in the summer to make some quick and dirty cash...

So much for my Swedish summer (sigh). But, hello Irish Autumn! :)