Lynden Pioneer Museum
Museology Internship
http://www.lyndenpioneermuseum.com/

Museum Internship Home

Internship Program Summary

The Lynden Pioneer Museum Internship Program contains the information necessary for students to select and participate in an internship at the Lynden Pioneer Museum for the duration of a quarter. The Internship Program Summary details the aspects of the internship from the viewpoint of the museum's requirements and contains four sections:
Section 1.
1.1 Introduction
The Lynden Pioneer Museum recognizes the importance of practical experience while learning. To this end, the museum will maintain a strong internship program for both university and high school students.

The goal of an internship at the Lynden Pioneer Museum is to teach students the skills that are needed in the professional world of museum operations, historic preservation, and heritage tourism. An internship will consist of both on the job training by an experienced staff member and informal lectures regarding general museum policies and practices according to the American Museum Association accreditation guidelines.

For grading purposes, the student must have a sponsoring teacher or faculty member. This sponsor will be responsible for informing the student about the requirements of the department in regards to internship grading and credits earned. The Lynden Pioneer Museum will provide additional grading, or grade recommendations of the students as required by the department through which the internship is being conducted.

1.2 Application
To apply for an internship the student must contact the Lynden Pioneer Museum in person, or by telephone (see contact information). The student must submit a referral obtained from the sponsoring teacher) and must have met all the departmental and school requirements to register for an internship.

To begin an internship, students must contact the museum before or at the beginning of the registration process for the quarter in which they wish to intern. The student must have a complete referral and must contact the museum to set up a schedule for the internship and an outline of the project to be done with a list of skills the intern will be taught. The museum, because of limited staff time, will limit the number of interns per quarter based on how well intern time can be utilized. The museum would simply rather have the opportunity to give interns a good educational experience than use them for basic labor. Thus only a limited number of interns can be accepted per quarter and that will be based on current museum programs and projects. Interns will be accepted on a first come basis.

Once an intern is accepted by the museum, the intern and supervisor will create an internship contract. That contract will define the project outline and goals, skills to be learned during the internship, and a schedule of completion. The final contract must be signed before or at the beginning of the quarter's beginning by the student, sponsor and museum supervisor. Any changes to the contract must be put in writing and agreed to by all three parties.

1.3 Grading and Evaluation Procedures
The grade will be set by the department in accordance with its own grading policies regarding internships. The department will advise the students on the grading procedures for the internship. The museum staff will provide an evaluation based on the criteria below and project goals.

The Lynden Pioneer Museum recognizes that students will have varying backgrounds in relationship to the assigned project. The museum will teach students all skills required to complete the assigned project during the course of their internship. Students need only demonstrate a capacity and willingness to learn and a professional, dedicated demeanor.

The museum is a business environment and expects students to perform tasks professionally in accordance with their assigned project. Should a student be unable to continue a good working relationship with the museum, the internship will be terminated and the sponsor contacted to determine grading and credit needs. In such a case, the final grade and credit decision will be determined by the sponsor and the department. The museum will only provide information as the intern supervisor.


Section 2.
 Student Requirements
Each project is geared towards a mentor and student relationship and each project can hold two students maximum. Staff may mentor multiple projects, as staff are required to work with multiple projects simultaneously. Students may also, if they have the time, work across projects as many projects may at times provide multiple discipline involvement (i.e. programming may require marketing, business administration and be in conjunction with other programs such as exhibit development and collections management.) though cross project work will not be required.

Students will be taught all the necessary background information they need to be able to work within the project as part of the internship. The only requirements of students for an internship is the commitment to maintain a professional working demeanor during the course of their internship.

At times students may be required to attend staff meetings as the project may demand. Such meetings will be geared towards the student's schedule as much as possible and if students cannot make the meeting due to conflict of scheduling they will not be required to attend, nor will it count towards the student's grade.

Students must provide their own transportation and will only be reimbursed for mileage on a project specific basis.

Students will be required to fill out a volunteer application detailing emergency and local contact information.