Two internships are available this fall at the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. See below for details and application info…
Family Programs Intern, Education Department
Project description: The Postal Museum is seeking a creative and enthusiastic intern to work on a family festival during fall 2009.
The intern will be paired with the most appropriate project based on the intern’s interests, experience, and goals. The project will include developing, planning, and coordinating a public program for a family audience. Topics range from “green ways to move the mail” to the Pony Express. Intern may work occasional Saturdays in exchange for a weekday off.
Highlights include learning about museum content, designing fun activities for families, establishing educational goals, working with other museum departments, and coordinating the efforts of museum volunteers. If time allows, the intern may also contribute to an online component for the program.
Curatorial research in support of exhibition development
Project description: Mail Call, a permanent exhibition in development for November 2011 at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum (NPM), Washington DC, will use artifacts, images, audio visual materials, and interactives to tell the history of military mail from 1775 to present day framed in three themes: operations, the changing mail piece, and the relationship between mail and morale. The internship project will contribute to research inquiries for the early stage of researching the background history, artifact locating, image and AV gathering, and stakeholder interviews.
Project may include:
– Contact individuals and institutions to develop relationships with stakeholders for supporting the research, fact-checking, audience research, and possible future public relations efforts.
– Conduct primary research including: locating images, audio and video assets depicting the role and use of mail by and for US military.
– Document and prepare all research findings, including images and potential loan information, for museum archiving.
– Attend exhibit team meetings with NPM staff.
To apply for Smithsonian National Postal Museum internships:
Include:
– Resume
– Cover letter (be sure to include title of internship that interests you)
– 1-2 page essay outlining your areas of interest, your goals for the internship, and how the internship would benefit you
– 1 recommendation
– 1 transcript (official or unofficial)
Materials may be e-mailed to Erin Blasco at blascoe@si.edu
You may mail materials to:
Intern Coordinator
P.O. Box 37012
MRC 570
Washington, DC 20013-7012
You may fax materials to: (202) 633-9393
Don’t hesitate to contact Erin Blasco (blascoe@si.edu) if you have questions about internships!
Erin M. Blasco
public programs coordinator
Smithsonian National Postal Museum
The National Postal Museum Education Department uses learning theories and techniques to provoke thinking about postal history and philately for diverse audiences.