 Some of the museum’s summer 2009 interns gather for a group photo after a meet-and-greet event.
Above: Some of the museum’s summer 2009 interns gather for a group photo after a meet-and-greet event.
 Smithsonian summer interns cool down with an ice cream social at the Postal Museum.
Above: Smithsonian summer interns cool down with an ice cream social at the Postal Museum.
 Yoshiko, an Education Department intern, created a “television set” for Dog Wild TV to help visitors understand the story of Owney the dog. Summer 2008.
Above: Yoshiko, an Education Department intern, created a “television set” for Dog Wild TV to help visitors understand the story of Owney the dog. Summer 2008.
 Sharon, a Preservation Department Intern from the Smithsonian Affiliations program, is preparing a stamp for exhibition.
Above: Sharon, a Preservation Department Intern from the Smithsonian Affiliations program, is preparing a stamp for exhibition.
 Abby, a History Department intern, performed valuable research but took the opportunity to help out at public programs. Above, she helps visitors identify a “suspicious package” at the Postal Inspectors Family Festival. Summer 2008.
Above: Abby, a History Department intern, performed valuable research but took the opportunity to help out at public programs. Above, she helps visitors identify a “suspicious package” at the Postal Inspectors Family Festival. Summer 2008.
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How to Apply
A standard Smithsonian Intern Online Application is available on the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies' (SCEMS) website.
The National Postal Museum has no deadlines for intern applications; internships take place during the summer, fall and spring terms.
For more information about internships at the National Postal Museum contact the Intern Coordinator at 202-633-5534.
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Public Program Intern
The Postal Museum is seeking an 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 the public program. Highlights include learning about museum content, designing fun activities for families, establishing educational goals, and coordinating the efforts of museum volunteers.
The intern's schedule will be flexible but the ability to work occasional Saturdays is desirable. The intern will be supervised by the public programs coordinator. The internship begins in September and ends in December. Dates will be determined through discussion between intern and supervisor.
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Collections Department
Collection Management offers projects in preservation and general management—object and accession research, cataloging, inventory, exhibit preparation and imaging. Projects can be tailored to meet specific training needs. Interns have the opportunity to explore museum career options through interaction with Museum staff members in other departments.
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Curatorial Department
Interns work with the curatorial staff to do in-depth research on a variety of projects relating to postal history that will culminate with the completion of exhibitions or publications. Research can be of a historical nature, or working with curatorial staff to determine and locate items for exhibition.
Interns will be required to use outside research facilities such as the National Archives and the Library of Congress, as well as the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Smithsonian Institution Archives and offsite storage facilities. Some projects culminate in exhibitions (from a display of mail service in the Alaskan Gold Rush era, to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service). Others have resulted in online published articles on the history of letter writing in America and the history of African Americans and women in the postal system.
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Education Department
Interns in the Education Department may assist in any of the following areas: audience research; planning public programs, such as lectures, family activities, workshops and demonstrations; teaching student groups; volunteer recruitment and retention; or developing outreach materials. Interns are actively involved with the public and play a vital role in the research, development and testing of educational materials and activities which are both used at the Museum and distributed nationally.
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Exhibit Department
Interns will be assigned to work on one specific aspect of an exhibition's development while being part of a team that frames an exhibition's content, oversees its design and works closely with fabricators and installers. Interns should have computer skills (MAC or PC) and a familiarity with Quark and Photoshop.
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