Collections & Archives Management Intern, Boston Children’s Museum, Boston, MA
Posted November 28, 2017
INTERN TITLE: The Elvira Growdon Internship for Collections and Archives Management
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Assists with multiple projects involving collections and/or archives materials at Boston Children’s Museum. These projects include, but are not limited to, inventorying, cataloging, documenting, researching and appropriately housing materials; taking digital images and scans; developing finding aids and/or search terms; preparing and entering catalog records into the PastPerfect database. The intern will divide their time between specific research projects and more general collections/archives work. In consultation with the supervising collections manager, the intern will develop a concrete project intended to complement personal research interests. Projects may focus on natural history specimens, cultural and ethnographic materials, archival records, or a combination of these areas.
Interns will be welcome in all areas of the Museum’s collection, including American History, Native American, East Asian and Japanese, Dolls & Toys, Natural History, and Institutional Archives.
LEARNING COMPONENT: The Museum’s Collections Internship provides in depth, hands on training for graduate students interested in gaining collections and archives management experience in a museum setting. The intern will be introduced to BCM’s collections policies, registration procedures, and collections and archives management practices.
In addition, the intern will have ample opportunity to learn about many operations of the Museum, attend meetings, and meet with staff in various departments.
SKILLS REQUIRED: Students in Museum Studies, Library and Information Science, Archival Studies, Historic Administration, Cultural Studies, Natural Sciences, Anthropology, Archaeology, Art History, History and Historic Preservation programs that have had coursework or experience in collections care and management, cataloging, records management and/or historical research methods are encouraged to apply.
The candidate should have excellent PC skills with knowledge of Windows applications; be familiar with database systems and digital imaging; have excellent organizational skills; be detail-oriented, responsible and dependable; have working knowledge of office procedures and equipment.
Candidates must be registered students during the term of the internship; Graduate students preferred.
TERM: The intern is required to serve for a minimum of 150 hours distributed over a minimum of 10 weeks. Service hours will be organized around the student’s class and/or work schedules. Intern hours must be completed Monday-Friday. A stipend will be awarded to support the work of students selected for this internship.
The selected candidate must coordinate with their degree program/institution for the internship to be credit-bearing. Please note that internship applicants are responsible for providing copies of the internship description to their advisors, and for making all appropriate arrangements with their schools to receive credit for the internship. Interns must provide documentation showing that course credit will be given for completion of the internship.
One intern will be selected for the fall, spring and summer semester.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: Must be able to lift 40 lbs.
About the Museum: Boston Children’s Museum engages children and families in joyful discovery experiences that instill an appreciation of our world, develop foundational skills, and spark a lifelong love of learning. The Museum is a welcoming, imaginative, child-centered learning environment that supports diverse families in nurturing their children’s creativity and curiosity. We promote the healthy development of all children so that they will fulfill their potential and contribute to our collective wellbeing and future prosperity.
Since 1913, Boston Children’s Museum has been using objects to help families better understand the world around them. BCM has collected and exhibited natural history specimens, ethnographic artifacts, as well as those objects most closely associated with children’s museums: dolls, toys and games. The Museum’s humanities collection totals approximately 35,000 cultural artifacts and the natural history collection holds 15,000 objects. Although our exhibit experience was transformed in the 1960s and 70s to concentrate on hands-on and interactive opportunities, collections continue to play an important role in our exhibits and educational programs.
To Apply: Please send your resume and cover letter as a Word document or PDF attachment to Rachel Farkas, Curator of Collections, at [email protected]. Please include “Growdon Intern” in the subject line and reference in the cover letter where you found this posting.