NIU STEAM Spotlight – Elizabeth Nowak
My Background
I am a third year Anthropology and Theatre Studies student. I first joined NIU STEAM as a camp counselor last summer and now work as a student worker with the team. I was drawn to NIU STEAM because I love outreach, hands‑on learning and teaching outside the traditional classroom. Science, education and creative thinking have always been passions of mine, so this role has been a perfect fit.
Before joining NIU STEAM, I worked primarily with elementary school students. Getting the chance to work with middle and high school students during the summer camps was a wonderful experience. I love that our camps give youth the opportunity to explore STEAM topics through engaging, hands‑on activities right here on a college campus.
Currently, I support NIU STEAM behind the scenes, helping with the facility and various programs. Working with students in informal learning environments has strengthened my love for outreach and education. I enjoy guiding young people through activities that help them build new skills and broaden their perspectives.
In the future, I hope to work in museum education and lead programming that inspires curiosity and creativity. My time with NIU STEAM is giving me valuable experience as I work toward that goal.
My Internship
Over the Fall 2025 semester, I interned at the James B. and Rosalyn L. Pick Museum of Anthropology. The internship combined my passion for education with my love for museum work. For my internship, I created an educational toolkit about dyeing processes for offsite programs. The toolkit is a portable collection of educational materials geared towards grades four to eight. The toolkit includes an instructional packet for the educator, a slideshow about dyeing processes, instructions for two hands on activities, an infographic of Midwest and Indonesian plants and the colors they can provide, physical samples of batiks and physical samples of fabric naturally dyed with native plants. My daily tasks included experimenting with educational materials and activities, researching dye techniques, creating digital educational materials and working with the collection of batiks. In addition to working on my project, I learned about the process of processing collections, different ways to store objects, and potential career options. I am grateful for the hands-on experience I received working with the Pick Museum.
The Work
One part of my internship that stood out was my hands-on dye experiments. To create dye recipes and gain a better understanding of the dye making processes, I made my own dyes with native plants. I collected black walnuts, elderberries and goldenrod. After researching how to boil the materials to make dye, I wrote out my own instructions, tested the processes and modified it. The result was swatches of dyed fabric and original recipes for making natural dye with plants native to the Midwest. Students, educators and the public can use my recipes to make their own natural dyes. My dye experiment is comparable to experimental archaeology, which replicates ancient tasks. My project is currently featured in the museum’s gallery.
The Pick Museum
The James B. and Rosalyn L. Pick Museum of Anthropology is located in Cole Hall 114. The museum is free to visit, and open Tuesdays-Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Saturdays 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Pick Museum’s mission is to “To inspire activism for social justice and promote understanding of human diversity through engagement with museum collections, exhibitions and programs.”
My work can be seen in the exhibit “Collections Work: Recent Student Projects at the Pick Museum of Anthropology”, running until April 18, 2026. The exhibit features work conducted by NIU students, bringing light to behind-the-scenes work.
Outcome
After completing my internship, I have a better understanding of collections work. Before the internship, I knew I liked designing educational materials and wanted experience working within a museum. My goal was to get museum experience, which was achieved by the internship. This internship solidified my passion for outreach, education, research and museum work. I would like to pursue museum education as a career. Because of this internship, I am looking into museum education graduate programs to continue doing outreach and education for natural history museums.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Christy DeLair, Ph.D., Director of the Pick Museum, Margaret Alway, Curator of Collections and Abigail Deeward, Graduate Assistant, for their support.
