2010 Internships
Ash Lawn-Highland
Charlottesville, Virginia
Interpretive guide and program development
TWO INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE
Terms: Upper-level undergraduate student with basic knowledge of early American history and a willingness to learn about the worlds of James Monroe. Excellent communications and public relations skills required. Need to be able to be flexible in terms of scheduling.
Goals: Primary responsibility will be to interpret the Monroe family and estate for visitors, serving as a tour guide through the busy summer season. In addition, interns will spend part of their time supporting other programs and needs. These additional opportunities might include one or more of the following: collections registration, research, writing, databank updating, office management, marketing, and special events.
Outcome: The intern will prepare a brief packet of information illustrating the accomplishments of the summer. This may include an overview of the docent experience, examples of research accomplished or of additional tasks completed.
Background: Ash Lawn-Highland is an historic house museum, 535-acre working farm, and site for the performing arts. President James Monroe and his wife, Elizabeth, owned the property from 1793-1826 and made it their official residence from 1799 to 1823. Ash Lawn-Highland remained a working farm until it was opened for public visitation in 1931 by philanthropists Jay and Helen Johns. Upon his death in 1974, Jay Johns bequeathed the property to the College of William and Mary. The site is dedicated to the humanities, arts, and historic preservation projects.
*Internship paid directly by Ash Lawn-Highland.
Web Address: http://www.ashlawnhighland.org/
Capitol Square Preservation Council
Richmond, Virginia
The Virginia State Capitol's 20th-Century History (Oral History and Archival)
Terms: The Capitol Square Preservation Council seeks a graduate student to conduct oral-history and archival research as part of an ongoing effort to capture the 20th century history of the Virginia State Capitol. The project will begin with a meeting with the Clerk of the House of Delegates and Clerk of the Senate to develop a list of persons to be interviewed and topics to be covered. The subsequent interviews will capture the recollections of such individuals as former legislators, the former Clerk of the House of Delegates, former tour guides, former governors, and current and former support staff.
In addition to conducting and compiling interviews, the intern may need to conduct archival research in the state papers at the Library of Virginia or other collections. The Capitol Square Preservation Council will also supply limited travel reimbursement for the course of the internship.
Goals: The 2010 Preservation Council intern will compile a collection of recordings of each oral history interview, along with a written report containing highlights and quotations from each interview and archival documentation as may be necessary. The oral-history interviews will add significantly to the body of knowledge of the Capitol’s 20th-century history. The interviews will also record individual recollections that might not otherwise be preserved.
Outcome: When the Capitol was restored and enlarged in 2007, new space was created to orient visitors to the history of the Capitol through permanent and changing exhibits. The 2010 interviews and final report will be used as the Capitol develops new exhibits for its visitor gallery, new publications, and new online content.
Background: Created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1999, the Capitol Square Preservation Council consists of fourteen persons with expertise in architecture, architectural history, landscape architecture, historic preservation, state government, and business. The Council advises in the planning and review of projects affecting the State Capitol, Capitol Square, and other state buildings on or bordering the Square. Its educational outreach includes participation in programs, exhibits, and print and online publications. The Council's work is coordinated by its Executive Director.
Web Address: http://virginiacapitol.gov
Gibbes Museum of Art
Charleston, South Carolina
Curatorial and Research
Terms: An undergraduate student with a particular interest in American art history. Background in art history, American studies, or museum studies is required.
Goals: Work with the Curatorial Department staff (Collections Manager, Associate Curator of Collections, Associate Curator of Exhibitions, Curatorial Assistant, and Preparator) on the following: 1) collections inventory of works on paper collection, research and re-house print and archival collections and designated deaccession objects; 2) gather and enter information on artists in the collection into computer database; 3) research, prepare or update exhibition and catalog records for on-line database; 4) conduct research for forthcoming exhibitions; 5) deinstallation and installation of exhibitions; and 6) catalog and condition report incoming acquisitions.
Outcome: The intern will be expected to complete specific tasks as outlined above, and prepare a brief report with representative samples of work.
Background: Opened in 1905 by the Carolina Art Association, the Gibbes Museum of Art represents a long and impressive tradition of cultural leadership in historic Charleston, providing residents and visitors with access to a distinguished collection and an active, schedule of exhibits, programs and events. The nationally significant collection of American paintings reflects Charleston’s past and present and is a source of community pride. From portraits and landscapes of the Colonial South to the era of Porgy and Bess and the preservation of America’s most beautiful city, visitors come face to face with Charleston’s history. Of special importance at the Gibbes is the country’s premiere collection of jewel-like miniature portraits. The Gibbes collection consists of approximately 10,000 objects ranging from paintings, prints and drawings, to photography, sculpture and archival materials.
Web Address:http://www.gibbesmuseum.org/
Institute for Public History
U.Va. Library - Charlottesville, Virginia
Lowell Weicker Papers project
Terms: Undergraduate student with excellent research skills in archival materials. Knowledge of American history in the twentieth century essential, and particular focus on political and social history highly desirable.
Goals: Lowell Weicker has served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1968-1970), the U.S. Senate (1971-1989), and as Governor of Connecticut (1990-1994). He has donated his Congressional papers to The University of Virginia Library. These papers are being catalogued for public use. They are voluminous and they trace a long and illustrious career of a man who challenged political party affiliations and expected behaviors. Senator Weicker wishes to enhance the documentary record of his political career through oral interviews carried out with members of his staff. The papers will be the starting point for preparing for the interviews.
Outcomes: The goal of intern is to prepare briefing books based on available papers to be used in carrying out the oral interviews with major staff members. Topics to research include the following possibilities: health care and the NIH, education, environmental concerns. The specific topics researched will depend partially on the interests of the intern. The full availability of archival papers will also be a major consideration. The intern will work closely with a graduate student and archivists with papers newly archived.
Background: The U.Va. Library and the Institute for Public History are partnering to complete a project that began one year ago. The project will be based at the Harrison Small Special Collections Library, and papers can be reviewed in the Special Collections research room.
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection at UVA
Charlottesville, Virginia
Collections Assistant
Terms: A graduate student or highly motivated undergraduate student, preferably in the field of anthropology, art history, and art, to serve as an intern in an Australian Aboriginal art museum and get hands-on training in the care of museum collections. Research and writing skills are required for this position. Good hand skills and the ability to learn how to fabricate storage mounts required. Experience handling art or museum objects is desirable. Experience with digital photography required.
Goals: The intern will work directly with the Associate Curator on the following projects, which will ensure the proper storage and conservation of objects in the Kluge-Ruhe Collection and allow them to be accessed by students and researchers.
- Assist with a major project to upgrade the storage of approximately 500 bark paintings.
- Assist with a major project to upgrade the storage of approximately 100 acrylic paintings.
- Fabricate mounts and supports to stabilize works in storage.
- Assess and document the condition of objects.
- Recording artifact information in the collections database.
- Assist with moving objects to off-site storage and rearrange objects in on-site storage.
- Assist in installing exhibitions.
Additionally, the intern will assist with office duties (mailings, answering phone) and other tasks necessary to running a small museum such as helping with exhibits and special programs, and working an occasional Saturday.
Outcome: Objects in the Kluge-Ruhe Collection will be properly stored to ensure their preservation and make then accessible to researchers. A short-term and long-range plan to conserve the collection will be developed.
This internship presents a unique experience for students to get hands-on opportunity to work directly with the Kluge-Ruhe Collection. The students will have the opportunity to work on two major projects involving acrylic paintings on canvas and bark paintings. They will learn about managing museum collections and conduct collections-based research. The interns will gain experience in the following areas: creating storage mounts and custom enclosures for museum objects; assessing the condition of museum objects; identifying future conservation priorities; current standards for storing museum objects; exhibition installation; and preservation and environmental concerns.
Background: The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection is the only museum dedicated solely to the exhibition and study of Australian Aboriginal art in America. It is located 10 minutes from UVa. grounds at 400 Worrell Drive, Peter Jefferson Place, off the 250 East Bypass at Pantops. Programs include rotating exhibits in the gallery, research, collections management, conservation, publication and public education. The museum is open to the public open Tues – Sat 10 am – 4 pm and Sun 1 – 5 pm.
Website: www.virginia.edu/kluge-ruhe
The Library of Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Preparation of educational resource materials for Civil War exhibit
Terms: Advanced undergraduate or graduate student with background in History and Education. The intern will play a key role in developing the library's educational resources for “Secession or Union?”, the exhibition relating to the American Civil War sesquicentennial.
Goals: Primary responsibility for producing a teacher’s guide to provide contextual information about the themes explored in the exhibition as well as instructional guides and tools that educators can reference either when visiting the physical exhibition with their students, or using the online resources for classroom instruction. These will include items such as timelines, biographical sketches, handouts, graphic organizers, suggested reading lists, and additional reference materials. The teacher’s guide will be available digitally through the online exhibition and in hard copy for distribution to educators.
Outcome: “Secession or Union?” will be on view from October 4, 2010, through July 31, 2011. The exhibition will seek to explain what Virginians from different portions of the state and different backgrounds thought about secession or union during the winter of 1860–1861, with a particular emphasis on the secession convention and debates. The exhibit focuses on the period between the 1860 presidential campaign and the First Battle of Manassas. It will treat how state convention delegates voted, what changed with Lincoln's call for troops, and how western Virginia withdrew from Confederate Virginia. The exhibit uses the words of Virginians from their diaries, correspondence, newspapers, speeches, and other records. The intern for the project will enhance the exhibit through the preparation of educational materials described above.
Background: The Library of Virginia, the state’s archival agency and the official research library for the state government, is a major research library with printed and archival collections that make it a comprehensive source for information on Virginia history and culture. The official repository for all state records, the archives also provides access to extensive county and city records, a wide variety of personal papers, business records, church records, organizational records, and maps,. More than 120,000 persons visit the Library of Virginia annually, not only to conduct research but also to attend lectures, participate in workshops, and view exhibitions. Web Address: http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwedo/pubs/dvb/index.htm
Sandy Spring Museum
Sandy Spring, Virginia (Montgomery County, near Washington, DC)
Exhibit development - Internship 1
Terms: Graduate or Upper-level undergraduate students with basic knowledge of early American history and an interest in community museums, history of technology, and/or museum education. Experience with material culture research and/or family history a plus. Looking for self-starters with excellent writing and teamwork skills.
Primary responsibility will be to develop an exhibit and interpretation for a large collection of 19th and 20th century farm implements, including a custom-rebuilt Model T Ford that was converted into a tractor during the Depression. Items have been identified and are visible on display, but no interpretation tells their stories, or links agricultural implements to our most important local stories, such as agricultural and technological innovation, ownership of family farms by both white and African-American families, the development of milling, canal and railroad transportation, and commercial markets, including the provisioning of 19th century Washington, DC. Intern will also be invited to suggest adult and school programs related to the new exhibit for implementation in 2010-2011.
Outcome: The exhibit development intern will complete an exhibit narrative and identification of objects to be used in the exhibit, including a list of key interpretive resources. Subject to time and funding, the intern will work with exhibit designers to complete a layout plan for the farm implements exhibit space. Once the exhibits are open, the Museum will provide photographs of the exhibit and an evaluation of the work for each intern’s professional portfolio.
Background: Sandy Spring Museum, founded in 1980, is a community-based history museum interpreting a unique rural Maryland community. Founded by Quakers in the 1720s, Sandy Spring became the center of a network of rural farming villages. Originally slaveowners and tobacco planters, Sandy Spring Quakers embraced abolition in the late 18th century, manumitted enslaved people between 1790 and 1820, and broke up the plantations into family farms, many of which went to newly-free African-Americans. The turn away from slavery and tobacco spurred innovations in agricultural methods, commerce, civic life, and business, and a thriving, progressive, bi-racial community of farmers and rural villages that lasted into the second half of the 20th century.
The community has become a suburban bedroom settlement serving both Baltimore and Washington, DC, but a great deal remains of the rural past, both in the built environment and in living memory. Resources of oral history and material artifacts, working farms, and the continuing multi-racial community, remain to anchor and support both of these projects. Research resources are also plentiful in the Museum archives and existing exhibits and displays.
Internship supervision: Marty Hale, SSM internship coordinator, reporting to Dr. Sharon Ann Holt, executive director.
Housing and transportation: Interns will be most comfortable if they have their own transportation. The Museum can provide summer housing free of charge, through its board and members. References will be requested for house-sitting arrangements to assure everyone’s safety.
Sandy Spring is within easy reach of both Baltimore and Washington, including Baltimore-Washington International airport, and has a rich cultural life locally as well, including summer concerts at the Museum, theatre at the Olney Theatre Center, and for outdoorsy people, unlimited pleasures of hiking and exploring the county’s vast agricultural reserve. The county is also dotted with historic landmarks and parks, and boasts a scenic reservoir with fishing and boating.
Web Address: http://www.sandyspringmuseum.org/
Sandy Spring Museum
Sandy Spring, Virginia (Montgomery County, near Washington, DC)
Curriculum development project - Internship 2
Terms: Graduate or upper-level undergraduate students with basic knowledge of early American history and an interest in community museums, history of technology, and/or museum education. Experience with material culture research and/or family history a plus. Looking for self-starters with excellent writing and teamwork skills.
Primary responsibility will be to design three education programs that can be offered, respectively, to elementary, middle, and high school groups, linking Museum interpretation to major state curriculum themes and tasks. Current Museum education program focus on hands-on craft experiences, and these activities, including blacksmithing at our working forge, remain a resource for school programs. This internship would, however, add new programs targeted to meet public educational goals, equipping the Museum to build its educational outreach to Montgomery County public and private schools. If interested, intern may also work with a two-week environmental summer camp for middle and high school age kids, now being planned in collaboration with the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.
Outcome: The Curriculum development intern will submit written descriptions of the three programs, including clear curriculum goals, lesson plans, and specific Museum resources appropriate to each program. Intern will consult with Museum staff to determine appropriate budget for each effort.
Web Address: http://www.sandyspringmuseum.org/
See above for housing and background issues.
The Scottsville Museum and Historic Landmarks Foundation
Scottsville, Virginia
Developing Multi-Media Capabilities for Museum’s New Exhibit and Town Tour Guide - Internship 2
Terms: Seeking an advanced undergraduate student interested in laying the foundation for current and future capabilities in multi-media that enhance the new 2010 exhibit, Where the River Bends: Scottsville and the James and reviews options and possible new capabilities for visitors touring the town. All disciplines considered. Initiative, education experience, excellent communication skills, as well as strong knowledge of multi-media capabilities and good organizational skills desired. Intern must also be able to work well independently. Personal transportation is required as the project involves research and progress meetings in Scottsville (there is a stipend for auto wear-and-tear).
Goals: Scottsville Museum has developed a new exhibit on the impact of the James River to our town’s history from 1732 to present. During those years, the River was both a friend and a foe to our town: it transported produce to market and finished goods to local stores, but it also flooded regularly, devastating local businesses and homes. The 2010 exhibit explores a set of significant themes in the history of Scottsville and the James River, including American Indian life, early colonial settlement, river transportation, war, natural disasters, modernity, and recreation. The intern will work in consultation with Museum volunteers to develop new multi-media capabilities for this exhibit or to enhance a visitor’s tour of Scottsville. The museum will provide the intern with background reading on the exhibit itself and town historical sites of touring interest as well as on strategies for designing effective interactive exhibit components.
Outcome: The intern will consult with Museum staff and plan/ implement multi-media enhancements to the new 2010 exhibit as well as develop a prototype of a town tour guide employing either cell phone access or digital recordings. In addition to the activities designed to go in the exhibit itself, the intern will also review the possibilities of enhancements to the museum website. The intern will produce written descriptions of these activities with drawings or plans will produce multi-media products themselves and will present these to the Museum’s Board of Directors at their August 2010 meeting. These materials will become the property of Scottsville Museum with acknowledgement of the intern’s authorship.
Background: The Scottsville Museum and Historic Landmarks Foundation is a nonprofit and incorporated organization, which “seeks to preserve for public benefit the historical, natural, and artistic heritage of the Scottsville community.” The museum is in downtown Scottsville and is open to the public on weekends from April through October. Should a prospective intern be interested in seeing the museum, a private opening can be arranged by contacting Connie Geary and Gwynne Daye at smuseum@avenue.org.
Web Address: http://avenue.org/smuseum/home.html
The Scottsville Museum and Historic Landmarks Foundation
Scottsville, Virginia
Developing Multi-Media Capabilities for Museum’s New Exhibit and Town Tour Guide [Internship 2]
Terms: Seeking an advanced undergraduate student interested in laying the foundation for current and future capabilities in multi-media that enhance the new 2010 exhibit, Where the River Bends: Scottsville and the James and reviews options and possible new capabilities for visitors touring the town. All disciplines considered. Initiative, education experience, excellent communication skills, as well as strong knowledge of multi-media capabilities and good organizational skills desired. Intern must also be able to work well independently. Personal transportation is required as the project involves research and progress meetings in Scottsville (there is a stipend for auto wear-and-tear).
Goals: Scottsville Museum has developed a new exhibit on the impact of the James River to our town’s history from 1732 to present. During those years, the River was both a friend and a foe to our town: it transported produce to market and finished goods to local stores, but it also flooded regularly, devastating local businesses and homes. The 2010 exhibit explores a set of significant themes in the history of Scottsville and the James River, including American Indian life, early colonial settlement, river transportation, war, natural disasters, modernity, and recreation. The intern will work in consultation with Museum volunteers to develop new multi-media capabilities for this exhibit or to enhance a visitor’s tour of Scottsville. The museum will provide the intern with background reading on the exhibit itself and town historical sites of touring interest as well as on strategies for designing effective interactive exhibit components.
Outcome: The intern will consult with Museum staff and plan/ implement multi-media enhancements to the new 2010 exhibit as well as develop a prototype of a town tour guide employing either cell phone access or digital recordings. In addition to the activities designed to go in the exhibit itself, the intern will also review the possibilities of enhancements to the museum website. The intern will produce written descriptions of these activities with drawings or plans will produce multi-media products themselves and will present these to the Museum’s Board of Directors at their August 2010 meeting. These materials will become the property of Scottsville Museum with acknowledgement of the intern’s authorship.
Background: The Scottsville Museum and Historic Landmarks Foundation is a nonprofit and incorporated organization, which “seeks to preserve for public benefit the historical, natural, and artistic heritage of the Scottsville community.” The museum is in downtown Scottsville and is open to the public on weekends from April through October. Should a prospective intern be interested in seeing the museum, a private opening can be arranged by contacting Connie Geary and Gwynne Daye at smuseum@avenue.org.
Web Address: http://avenue.org/smuseum/home.html
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH)
Charlottesville, Virginia
Research & Production Assistant, BackStory w/ the American History Guys
Terms: Graduate or advanced undergraduate student in the field of American history. Must be familiar with range of discipline’s online and library-based databases and journals. Digital multi-media production experience a plus, but not required. We’re looking for someone with excellent research, writing, and organizational skills, and a good sense of humor. Successful candidate will have an active interest in current events, and passionate about the goal of making academic material relevant to a broad range of audiences.
Goals: Intern will assist with all aspects of the radio show’s production, including preliminary research, booking of callers and interview subjects, interview preparation, script-writing, and audio editing. Position will also entail wide-ranging administrative and creative responsibilities for BackStory’s website, a key aspect of program production. Other duties may include outreach and marketing of finished show episodes, grant-writing support, as well as general administrative support. Self-starters who display an interest in and facility for field reporting may also have the opportunity to report, voice, and produce stand-alone segments for the radio show.
Outcome: As a temporary member of the show’s production staff, the intern will have a hand in developing many aspects of each of the weekly BackStory episodes produced during the 10-week internship program. In exchange for sharing his or her disciplinary expertise, the intern will receive technical training in radio production, and come away experienced in basic studio operation and trained to use digital recorders and Pro Tools, the industry standard for digital audio editing.
Background: BackStory with the American History Guys is a new American history-themed public radio show, produced at the VFH, that seeks to bring historical perspective to today’s news. It is co-hosted by renowned U.S. historians Peter Onuf (18th Century Guy), Ed Ayers (19th Century Guy), and Brian Balogh (20th Century Guy). Each week, the History Guys pick a topic from the news headlines and explore its historical context. Over the course of the hour, they are joined by fellow scholars, newsmakers, and callers with questions about that week’s topic. BackStory is currently being broadcast weekly in Central Virginia; select cities around the country are also broadcasting individual episodes.
Web Address: www.backstoryradio.org