Stylized graphic of Northeast Maglev interns and Baltimore City

Topics: Events | Internship

Northeast Maglev was excited to begin a brand new Summer Internship Program in 2019, providing internship opportunities to local college and university students. The 2019 cohort hailed from the University of Maryland College Park, University of Maryland Baltimore County and Anne Arundel Community College. 

Our Interns put in a great deal of hard work this summer and made a huge impact! You can read here about Sam, Claudia, Lexi and Kali’s experiences while interning with Northeast Maglev!

Our interns also had the opportunity to experience Baltimore’s charm and learn more about its rich history in innovation and technology

Check out some of the cool places they visited below!

Top of the World Observation Level at Baltimore’s World Trade Center Institute

Three Northeast Maglev interns pose in front of the World Trade Center in Baltimore, Maryland
Northeast Maglev interns pose in front of the World Trade Center in Baltimore, Maryland

If you’ve spent any time exploring Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, you have probably noticed the world’s tallest regular pentagonal building located at 401 E Pratt Street. That building is home to the World Trade Center Institute. Take the elevator to the 27th floor, and you will reach the observation deck, better known as Baltimore’s Top of The World. Managed by the Baltimore Office of Promotions & The Arts, the observation deck offers breathtaking 360-degree views of Baltimore City. The gallery features guide maps that offer a before-and-after view of the modernization of the city over the years.

Looking over the city skyline, the interns were able to take in the incredible views while imagining Baltimore’s past, present and what is in store for the city in the near future.  

Baltimore Museum of Industry

Three Northeast Maglev interns pose in front of the Museum of Industry in Baltimore, Maryland
Northeast Maglev interns pose in front of the Museum of Industry in Baltimore, Maryland

To learn more about how the city of Baltimore became a center for industrialization, our interns took a trip over to the Baltimore Museum of Industry.

The museum features exhibits and collections that celebrate Baltimore’s strength in manufacturing and innovation. The Museum is located inside of an old oyster cannery dating back to the 1860’s and is home to information about a lot of firsts for the country, such as the nation’s first passenger railway, The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and the nation’s oldest gas company, Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE).

Our interns were able to take a step back in time and visit an early 20th-century machine shop, an 1850’s pharmacy that featured a recreated soda fountain and a print shop that housed a working 1936 vintage printing press! The interns were also able to visit the communications gallery, where they learned about the evolution of telecommunications methods in Maryland. 

B&O Museum

Three Northeast Maglev interns pose in front of the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland
Northeast Maglev interns pose in front of the B&O Railroad Museum, Maryland

Innovation in transportation has always had major impacts on the way people and goods move around the world. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, transportation in the United States was limited to animals pulling wagons, sleds or just walking. This process was slow and often very difficult depending on the conditions of the weather and the land being traversed. It could often take weeks or months to get from point A to point B.

The Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad changed all of that. The B&O Railroad was the birthplace of American railroading and the first common carrier railroad in the United States. Beginning in 1830, the B&O transported freight and passengers the 13 miles from Baltimore to Ellicott’s Mills (now known as Ellicott City). The line soon connected 13 states, stimulating our nation’s economy and making Baltimore one of the country’s largest commercial ports. 

This field trip to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum allowed our interns to reflect on Maryland’s rich transportation history and truly begin to envision where SCMAGLEV technology can fit into the future.

Canvassing 

Focused photo of Northeast Maglev interns canvassing Baltimore's Inner Harbor
Northeast Maglev interns canvassing Baltimore’s Inner Harbor

When our interns weren’t busy learning about Baltimore’s history in innovation, they were working hard to spread the news of future innovation: the fastest train in the world, and how we plan to bring it to the Northeast Corridor!

Our Interns this summer were tasked with finding creative ways to build awareness about Northeast Maglev by generating web and social media traffic. To do so, they educated the public on the project through canvassing and planning sponsorship events. Together they made and distributed surveys around the harbor and visited the 10th Annual Fairmont Sustainability, Health and Safety Fair. 

We’re looking forward to the summer of 2020 and continuing our internship program with a new group of local students!