Internships (2) - Michigan Maritime Museum

Posted 3/3/25

Timeframe/Schedule:

3-4 days per week, 12-14 weeks, May-August 2025

Location:

Michigan Maritime Museum

260 Dyckman Avenue

South Haven, MI 49090

Compensation:

While our internship opportunities are unpaid, a $1000 scholarship will be awarded upon the successful completion of a 3+ month internship. College credit may be available through your academic institution.

Application:

For application submissions or for information/questions, email your cover letter and resume to ashley@mimaritime.org.

Outreach & Education Internship

Overview:

The Michigan Maritime Museum is seeking an intern interested in museum public program and education initiatives at the museum campus in South Haven, Michigan. This is a unique opportunity to work with a non-profit museum with a focus in public outreach for all age groups. Candidates should have an interest in historic interpretation, have strong organizational skills, and be comfortable working with the public in both organized and informal situations. This internship position interacts with the public on a daily basis and is expected to be able to inspire excitement and interest in Michigan maritime history and heritage, Museum facilities and exhibits, and programs. The intern must be able to perform the below responsibilities alongside museum staff, volunteers, and other interns and reports directly to the Director of Education & Programs. The internship will provide an introduction to standard museum practices and provide hands-on experience in museum public programming.

Responsibilities:

• Assist/facilitate Museum with the public programs at the Museum
• Assist/facilitate education programs, lessons, activities and camps for a variety of age ranges
• Conduct tours of the Museum exhibits
• Conduct informal public presentations and demonstrations
• Assist with preparation and delivery of Museum special events such as the Blessing of the Fleet, Antique & Classic Boat Show, and Fish Boil
• General duties assigned by Museum staff

Qualifications:

• Must have at least a 3.0GPA to be considered
• Strong writing and verbal communication skills
• Public speaking skills

Exhibits & Collections Internship

Overview:

The Michigan Maritime Museum is seeking an intern interested in assisting Museum staff with ongoing collections and exhibit management with a focus on the Maritime Heritage Center building and campus exhibit spaces. The Exhibits & Collections intern will work with existing and future Museum exhibits for basic care, maintenance, and interpretive material needs as well as the education and programs team to correspond programs with Museum collections and exhibits. This position will also complete various individual research-based projects for the Museum and respond to independent research requests. The intern will have the opportunity to work with a collections database for management and cataloguing of existing and new material. Interns will work alongside Museum staff and volunteers and interact with the public on a daily basis. Therefore, candidates must have solid communication skills and be able to instill interest and excitement for the topics they will be discussing. This internship will provide an introduction into working with Museum collections and exhibits during the creative process. While working on internship projects this position will also gain valuable and useful experience in various aspects of museum work, including helping with public programing, special events, and day to day museum functions.

The intern must be able to perform the below responsibilities alongside museum staff, volunteers, and other interns and reports directly to the Director of Education & Programs. The internship will provide an introduction to standard museum practices and provide hands-on experience in museum collections and exhibit management.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct a full collections inventory of all collections items present at the main Museum campus
• Create a detailed collections display layout plan for all locations displaying collection items and update collections catalogue locations to match layout
• Conduct basic exhibit and collections maintenance
• Develop an exhibit maintenance schedule plan
• Work with staff to implement plans for artifact displays in the Maritime Heritage Center
• Assist with the curation and installation of a new Historic Commercial Fishing exhibit
• Assist with cataloguing new additions to the collection and reconciling with the digital databases (Past Perfect and library collections software)
• Conduct research on assigned maritime topics for exhibits and public programming
• Respond to general research requests
• Interact with Museum visitors
• General duties assigned by Museum staff

Qualifications:

• Must have at least a 3.0 GPA to be considered
• Educational background in public history, museum studies, or related field
• Some familiarity with Museum collection policies
• Strong writing and verbal communication skills