[POSITION FILLED] Museum Education Intern

Title: Museum Education Intern
Location: Metropolitan Waterworks Museum, 2450 Beacon St., Boston, MA, 02467
Type/Status: Paid, Part-time, Temporary
Hours and Duration: Approx. 16-35 hrs per week over 3 – 6 months (depending on employee’s preferred schedule)

Preferred Start Date: May 31st, 2022

Main Project:

The main project for this internship will involve the creation of 1-2 curriculum-based education programs that can be offered to K-12 audiences on the topic of Water and Climate Change. Our existing programs relating to environmental science and modern water issues are some of our most popular with teachers. However, while they reference climate change, they do not delve deeply into the extremely important connections between the quality and quantity of available drinking water and our changing climate. The goal of these new programs would be to address climate change head on through interactive activities and demonstrations that help students learn about the challenges climate change creates for safe drinking water access and potential solutions that are being explored.

The Museum Education Intern would work to develop activities that would connect to aspects of the Massachusetts science curriculum, the scope and stories of the museum, the latest climate science, and modern water systems. Incorporating input from local Science teachers, the intern would work on the development of a program that would include hands-on STEM activities as well as facilitated discussions about climate and water issues. The majority of the intern’s workload would consist of performing research; soliciting, assessing, and integrating teacher input; developing, prototyping, and testing possible hands-on STEM activities; and developing a source list, outline, and potential script for the program.  Ideally, we would like the intern to work on a version of the Water and Climate program that is suitable for Middle/High School students, and another version more suitable for Elementary school students.

In addition to working on the development of these Climate Change programs, the Museum Education intern may be asked to assist with regular education duties including delivery of pre-existing programs to student and camp groups and staffing community programs.

Qualifications:

Applicants for the internship should:

• Feel comfortable speaking in front of groups of children and adults
• Be flexible
• Be able to think on their feet
• Be comfortable discussing climate change with people of all ages
• Enjoy performing research on historical and scientific topics
• Feel confident in their ability to develop hands-on educational STEM activities
• Be creative
• Be able to break complex narratives and ideas down into understandable concepts and analogies
• Possess solid writing skills
• Possess an eagerness to learn, adapt, and inspire

Preferred but not required:

• Knowledge or background in Climate Science/ Environmental Science, Museum Studies, and/or Education
• Experience working with children
• Experience working or volunteering with a museum or other non-profit organization
• Transportation Access – we aim to have the intern onsite at the museum for a good portion of their hours

How to apply:

All internship applications should include the following:

Resume/CV
Cover Letter
In 5 sentences or less, how would you explain the concept of a public waterworks system to an 8-year-old child?
Writing Sample – preferably research based (for example, a research paper completed for a history/English/science class; an answer or conclusion to a scientific question or lab) though less-formal types of writing are also acceptable
Contact information for 3 references

PLEASE EMAIL YOUR APPLICATION MATERIALS TO:

Tracy Lindboe, Education Manager: tracy.lindboe@waterworksmuseum.org

Please submit your application by April 24th, 2022.