GeekGirlCon Blog

Meet Some MoPOP Geeks!

Guest post by our sponsor, MoPOP.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

We at MoPOP look forward to GeekGirlCon every year. And this year is no exception. We’ve got our panel guide planned, our cosplay laid out, and MoPOP booth prepared for you to come visit.

When we were asked to write a piece for the GeekGirlCon blog, we got excited! But what to write about? There are countless topics we could have tackled, but when we got down to it, we thought it might be nice to pull back the curtain and introduce you to just a few of the many people who populate the world of MoPOP.

If you see them around the Con (or the museum or Seattle), feel free to say hi.

Jessica Lane, Education Specialist

What do you do at MoPOP?

I am an Education Specialist, and I focus on in-museum educational programs, which primarily serve K–12 students and their families. These include field trips, in-museum workshops, homeschool days, summer camps, interactive gallery experiences, and partner school programming. I create lesson plans, test activities, and find cool ways to use our content to support classroom learning.

What do you geek out about?

I am a total sci-fi dork.

Star Trek was my first sci-fi love. I was the smart, quiet kid who didn’t really fit in with most of my peers. I played in the school orchestra and ran cross country—neither of which put you in the “popular crowd.” When I discovered Star Trek, I could see something of myself in its stories—I felt represented by its characters and loved seeing a world where it was OK to be smart and quirky and strong and different. I went to my first conventions in high school, back when they were all led by the fans and it still wasn’t cool to admit you loved the shows. I burst into tears when I first saw the Star Trek exhibit at MoPOP.

I am drawn to stories with strong female leads. I watched Red Sonja (yes, the Brigitte Nielson one) on repeat as a child, and I once timed the countdown in Aliens to see if it was accurate (it was, within a few seconds). I’m a huge Supergirl fan, and I’m already in love with Jodie Whittaker’s 13th Doctor.

What’s your advice to women who want to do what you do?

Embrace your own weirdness.

Science fiction was always something I loved, but it was always separate from my professional life. I’ve worked in education for about 16 years now in everything from rural historic sites to children’s museums to graduate MFA programs. All of those have given me valuable knowledge about my own style of education, but MoPOP is the first place that’s allowed me to bring my personal passion together with my professional one. Now, my desk is proudly covered in toys and collectibles, I use Wonder Woman as a way of teaching students about the hero’s journey, and I can have deep, nerdy conversations with my co-workers over a cup of tea.

I would say my best advice is to put in the time to explore and find your own creative voice. Learn your own style and figure out ways to bring your passions into that. When I work with a group of students, I always remind myself that someone in that room could be just where I was—not quite fitting in, searching for something that represents them. I hope I can help them find themselves in our programs and content.

Chelsea Rodriguez, Volunteer Program Manager

What do you do at MoPOP?

I manage MoPOP’s volunteer and internship programs. I am based within the Visitor Services department and work on-site at the museum. I originally started with MoPOP in 2007 as their Education & Public Programming Assistant. Before that, I was also a MoPOP Collections Department Intern.

What do you a geek out about?

My pop culture interests are pretty broad—but without a doubt, my biggest passion is Harry Potter. I attended the midnight screenings, own the costumes, have read all the books countless times, am an avid viewer of the movies, attended trivia nights, have done some Hogwarts Running Club competitions, and even listen to the audio books during my long commute.

I love the characters and the sense of magic embedded in the series. And, of course the underlying messages within JK Rowling’s writing. I am also a proud Hufflepuff.

What’s your advice to women who want to do what you do?

Volunteer and intern!

Given my role, of course I would say this. But, I also really mean it. I knew I wanted to work in museums, so to get my foot in the door and understand the breadth of career opportunities, I interned a lot. These internships helped me on my career path. I also learned what I didn’t want to do. On a related note, volunteering is a great way to build contacts, be part of a community, and get exposed to career possibilities.

Chris Moore, Exhibits Production Assistant

What do you do at MoPOP?

Hello! My name is Chris Moore and I’m the Exhibits Production Assistant.

I help manage a shop of at least five fabricators and installers. I help design exhibits and make sure things are running on schedule. I help fabricate exhibits and install them. I paint walls and replace carpet tiles. I order supplies and keep track of upcoming needs. Sometimes I write documentation and organize content. Basically, if there’s an exhibit, then I know all the ins and outs, tops and bottoms of it, and I make sure the other departments are kept in the loop. 

But when I boil down my job down to its essence, I’m the shop mom and diplomat. There’s just so much interpersonal work that I do.

What do you geek out about?

Oh boy, a little bit of everything. I mostly love to geek out about making things with my hands; from art, scarves, bread, and jewelry, to tiny homes, furniture, robots, and mocktails. My Pinterest is full of different boards on things that I want to try making.

Oh, and SPACE. DEAR LORD, SPACE. Put on a good documentary about the big bang, or black holes, or the theory of relativity/everything/string/whatever, and I’m hooked. Tasty, tasty dark matter, comrades.

What’s your advice to women who want to do what you do?

Take classes on making stuff—particularly wood or metal. Get involved with your local art galleries/museums with helping install exhibits. There’s a group called Level It that helps underrepresented individuals in Seattle break into the museum world. Also? CONTACT ME. I’d love to hear from you and talk about it. Let’s brainstorm! Because I *seriously* lucked into my position and that shouldn’t be the norm.

Lillie Pulley, Event Marketing Coordinator

What do you do at MoPOP?

I coordinate MoPOP’s Marketing events and activations. I really enjoy bringing a small taste of MoPOP into the community and meeting new museum friends and fans. It’s especially fun when someone hasn’t heard of us and I get to explain all the cool things we have under our uniquely-shaped roof.

What do you a geek out about?

I don’t think it’s a bold statement to say we are living in the golden age of TV and these days I’m happy to take full advantage. It’s especially easy to indulge due to the fact that I have twins just under a year and a half and am forced get to spend quite a lot of time at home. I am unreasonably happy when Bob’s Burgers has a new episode in the queue.

What’s your advice to women who want to do what you do?

Being a planner of events is about learning over time how to  gracefully handle all the things that inevitably go wrong when you have lots of people in one room.

These events are almost always an all-hands on deck type of situation. If you are looking to get into events, this is good news for you, because there is always room for extra help. It may not be the most original advice, but volunteering at events is really the best way to get your feet wet, experience different situations, and see first-hand how the coordinators handle the snafus as they come up. And you really observe quite a lot about human nature when you spend an evening at a check-in table.

Thanks for taking the time to meet some of the people of MoPOP! We hope you’ll come visit us at the Con!  

GeekGirlCon
“Rock On!”