We offer internships in the Fall, Winter, and Summer for college and university students. Check this page for current opportunities and application instructions.

Photography Collection Intern

Objective:  The Chicago Academy of Sciences’ photography collection encompasses many different media from glass plate negatives and lantern slides to modern 35mm slides.  The goal is to increase access and usage of these materials through organization, re-housing, and digital records.

Responsibilities:  Intern will serve as part of the Collections Department and will work closely with Collections staff.  They will apply their knowledge of archival collections care, photographic media, and cataloguing as they work on this project.  Work will be conducted at the museum’s off-site collections facility.

The intern will digitally catalogue and inventory selected medium from the photography collection.  This will include, but is not limited to, glass plate negative, glass transparencies, and/or 35mm slides.  The internship will include:

• proper object handling and care
• preservation re-housing of photographic materials
• utilization of MS Excel and other computer software and hardware
• verification of data between object labels and catalogue records
• conducting research to confirm subject identification, including utilization of species guide books, maps and other geographic resources, and historic records

Final Product:  The final product will be the successful inventory of a set part of the collection along with the creation and population of a digital dataset that will be added to the collections management database and improved preservation needs for the original media.

Qualifications:  The applicant must be motivated and able to work with minimal supervision.  They must be meticulous, detail oriented, and able to follow directions. They must be familiar with MS Excel to conduct data entry.  Applicants should exhibit an aptitude for identifying subject matter and strong organizational skills.  Preference will be given to those with experience working with museum or archival collections and/or photographic media.  Applicants must be able to lift more than 20 lbs, climb ladders, and work within 32-inch aisles.  Preference will be given to candidates with some university experience. Preference will be given to those with a background in museology/museum studies, archives, photography, and/or the natural sciences.

Commitment:  Internship term is 11 weeks, with a minimum of 8 hours per week, in a minimum of 3-hour blocks.  Office hours at the Ravenswood Collections Facility are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 9am – 5pm and Tuesday, 9am – 7pm.  Hours and days can be flexible, but must be coordinated with the Collections Manager.  There is no monetary compensation for this internship.

To Apply: Send resume, cover letter, and one signed letter of recommendation to internships@naturemuseum.org.

Library Intern

Objective:  The Chicago Academy of Sciences and its Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum has library holdings to support its activities in conservation biology research and teacher education.  The intern will help target the Academy’s library holdings in these areas, and expand accessibility to library references.

Responsibilities:  Intern will jointly serve as part of the Collections and Education departments.  Under the supervision of the Collections Manager, the intern will conduct an evaluation of books in the museum’s reference library to determine materials that are better suited to its Teacher Leadership Center (TLC) or outside the scope of either collection.  They will utilize their knowledge of collection development to assess library holdings, incorporating such factors as the institution’s mission, the focus of each library collection, and targeted audiences for the materials.  Under the direction of the Curriculum Coordinator, the intern will catalogue selected references for incorporation into the TLC library.  They will apply their knowledge of library cataloguing and organization to make these materials available to the library’s patrons.  Duties include:

• appropriate handling and care of library materials
• utilization of MS Excel and other computer software and hardware
• verification of bibliographic information with online resources
• packing and transportation of references between facilities
• use of online service LibraryThing to catalogue materials for TLC library
• preparation of book labels containing Library of Congress numbers
• organizing and shelving library materials

Final Product:  Through the evaluation, transfer, and incorporation of library references from the Academy’s reference library into its TLC library, these collections will be better focused and provide users with more available references.

Qualifications:  The applicant must be motivated and able to work with minimal supervision.  They must be meticulous, detail oriented, and able to follow directions.  They must be familiar with MS Excel to conduct data entry.  Experience with LibraryThing preferred.  Applicants should exhibit an aptitude for identifying subject matter and strong organizational skills.  Preference will be given to those with experience working with library collections.  Applicants must be able to lift more than 20 lbs, climb ladders, and work within 32-inch aisles.  They must be willing to interact enthusiastically with the public and staff as necessary.  Preference will be given to candidates with some university experience.  Preference will be given to those with a background in library studies.

Commitment:  Internship term is 11 weeks, with a minimum of four hours per week.  Work will be conducted at the Museum’s off-site Ravenswood Collections Facility and at the Nature Museum.  Office hours at the collections facility are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 9am – 5pm, and Tuesday, 9am – 7pm.  Office hours at the Nature Museum are Monday-Friday, 9am – 5pm.  Intern’s schedule is to be approved by supervisors.  There is no monetary compensation for this internship.

To Apply: Send resume, cover letter, and one signed letter of recommendation to internships@naturemuseum.org.