Looking For Lucy: Where's Waldo at The British Museum (part 2)

Luciana Machado
4 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 12 hours ago

I can relate to Waldo more than I'd like to admit. Always moving, always somewhere new, and half the time people don't even know where I've gone until I'm already there.

But one thing stays consistent: I show up in my uniform, ready to work, eyes open. Same person, different worlds, built entirely with free tools, because representing complexity shouldn't require complex budgets. (Sorry, Veo 3.1.)

Crowded museum with diverse people exploring exhibits. A large dinosaur skeleton and Egyptian artifacts stand out. Text: "Where's Lucy now?".

I can relate to the Where's Waldo books more than I'd like to admit. He's always moving, always somewhere new, and half the time people don't even know where I've gone until I'm already there.

Side Quest Unlocked: A New Personal Project

Person wearing a cap and backpack takes a selfie with a phone. White background, tattoo on arm, casual outfit, relaxed expression.

This is Looking for Lucy, a personal series where I'm experimenting with prompt engineering, asset manipulation, and visual editing. I'm hacking Where's Wally scenes through AI and Canva to build my professional travelogue, the places my work has taken me, documented through the visual language of search and discovery.

The first piece was Looking for Lucy Up in Space, and I had a great time creating it.

For this second piece, I'm at The British Museum, a place I hold closely to my heart. Like me, the Museum is driven by an insatiable curiosity for the world, a deep belief in objects as reliable witnesses of human history, a commitment to sound research, and a desire to expand and share knowledge.

The First National Public Museum in the World

The British Museum was founded in 1753 and opened its doors in 1759. It was the first national museum to cover all fields of human knowledge, open to visitors from across the world.

Making Memories at the Museum

While studying at King's College London, I was selected as the sole intern from the University of London network for a competitive three-month placement in the Press Department. I worked three days per week directly with the Head of Press Communications.

At the time, I was almost 24 years old. It was my second degree, and I was considered what the Brits call a "mature student", which I suspect helped secure my position. During my time there, I:

Monitored and analyzed media coverage from major outlets including the BBC, The New York Times, and national press
Compiled daily press clippings and developed systematic archiving processes to track Museum coverage and media sentiment
Supported press operations for special exhibitions and events, assisting with media inquiries and press previews

An offer I couldn't refuse: the internship extension

At the end of my three-month internship, I was invited to stay at the British Museum—this time assisting the school groups programming.

I helped coordinate visits for hundreds of students, mostly between 7 and 11 years old, watching kids light up in front of the Rosetta Stone the same way I once did back in 1996, the first time I visited with my family.

My favorite part though, were the handling sessions. These are where children got to hold actual museum artifacts in their hands. Not replicas here.

There's something unforgettable about watching a 9-year-old carefully cradle a piece of ancient pottery, suddenly understanding that a real person made this, held this, used this. I believe the best kind of learning is immersive, and inviting, and through these sessions, we made history stop being abstract.

Museums in general are the best and getting to work there for a few months was magical. Super rewarding. I'll always be grateful this place took a chance on an international and "mature student" with too much curiosity and not enough patience for simply reading about things.

Cheers, mate!