Smithsonian Science Education Center Internship Program

The Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) is transforming K-12 Education Through Science™ in collaboration with communities across the globe. The SSEC develops innovative new STEM curriculum and digital resources, conducts professional development for STEM teachers and fosters STEM education leadership among school and community leaders. We encourage you to look through our website and learn more about us before you apply. The SSEC is not a physical laboratory and we do not provide any scientific research or museum education internships.

 

Check out some of our past SSEC Interns!

See what some of our amazing interns had to say about working with SSEC. 

 

Douglas M. Lapp Endowment Internship in Education

Image of Douglas M. Lapp, the first Executive Director of the National Science Resources Center, now named the Smithsonian Science Education Center

The Douglas M. Lapp Endowment Internship in Education is funded through an endowed fund in honor of Douglas M. Lapp, the first Executive Director of the National Science Resources Center (NSRC), now named the Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC). 

Awardees of the Lapp Endowment Internship are appointed based on a demonstrated interest in the field of science education.                              

Internships are available for graduate students only who are interested in pursuing a career in the communications, marketing, or public relations fields.

For more information about this internship, click here.

 

Smithsonian Science Education Center Internships

Eligibility for Interns

As there are a wide range of opportunities for learning, SSEC accepts applications from students currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programs, as well as high school students (at least 16 years old).  The SSEC is actively seeking a diverse applicant pool. Some internships may require the success completion of a federal background check before their internship begins.  

Application Deadline

SSEC open application period for Spring/Summer 2024 internships will run March 1 – March 31, 2024.

Application and Selection Process

To apply, go to the Smithsonian Online Academic Appointment System (SOLAA) and create an account. After you have created an account, you can begin your application and select your first, second, and third choice of program areas of your interest (see program descriptions below).  Your application will be automatically submitted from SOLAA to the SSEC for consideration.  Do not send any application materials directly to SSEC! 

Your application will be reviewed by the staff at SSEC. You can view your application status in SOLAA at any time. After complete applications have been reviewed, only selected candidates will be contacted by telephone for a phone interview. Please submit your best work for a complete application!

2024 Internship Descriptions

Communications & Marketing Intern - Curriculum, Digital Media, and Communications Division

Project Description: Intern will work with Smithsonian Science Education Center Communications & Marketing Team to assist in the development of SSEC communications and marketing materials and assist in communications dissemination, strategy, and asset management. Interns will learn the inner workings of a daily communications team and how to apply developed marketing materials to enhance the SSEC brand. Learning objectives include:  

  • Assisting in the development of communications materials for social media. This task may include content creation, graphics, videos, brainstorming social media campaigns, and identifying best practices across platforms.  
  • Help managing and cataloging SSEC’s digital asset archives with close attention to tags, permissions, and accessibility.  
  • Researching and understanding the Smithsonian Institution’s robust network of museums and centers and making connections to leverage SSEC brand awareness. 
  • Conducting additional research on social media best practices, website accessibility, and new ways to engage our broad audience. 
  • Copyediting content and supporting accessibility efforts as needed.
  • Help implement Smithsonian’s commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion by assisting in identifying diverse subject matter experts, creating accessible content, and considering a variety of cultural contexts to ensure the Smithsonian Science Education Center is relevant to a global audience. 
  • Representing intern’s own context and perspectives in collaborative discussions about the development of communications and marketing materials.  

Candidates should have an eye for visual communication, social media experience, experience/interest in photo/video/writing/editing, interest in science/education/curriculum, and the ability to adhere to tight deadlines.

Interns will be mentored directly by the Marketing & Communications team and will receive feedback and guidance on their projects and content creation.  

This will be a virtual internship that can be flexible and should occur over a ten-week period between May – August 2024. We prefer at least 20 hours per week but are flexible based on your current educational status. We accept college undergraduate and recently graduated college seniors. Stipend may be available.

 

****************

 

Global Goals Intern - Curriculum, Digital Media, and Communications Division

Project Description: Intern will work with Smithsonian Science Education Center curriculum developers to assist in the development of Smithsonian Science for Global Goals guides and activities focused on local and global sustainability topics. The Smithsonian Science for Global Goals guides aim to inspire young people to take action on the world’s most pressing issues. Interns will learn how to apply knowledge of science content and diverse ways of knowing, research, and pedagogy to assist in developing high quality resources for teaching and learning. Learning objectives include:

  • Assisting in the development of sustainability-focused community research guides and activities for a global audience of students ages 11-18. This task may include researching, outlining, writing, editing, and proofreading as part of a team of writers, editors, education specialists and scientists.
  • Assisting in identifying and interviewing subject matter experts and young activists about guide topics, recording and transcribing interviews, synthesizing information, and translating high- level academic information into student-facing materials.
  • Conducting additional research on guide topics related to the environment, climate change, and human health, particularly tracking relevant resources, online conversations, and scientific research to inform guide development, and supporting website.
  • Helping to create case studies to showcase the work of subject matter experts from the Smithsonian and around the world who are collaborating on the community research guides.
  • Researching and understanding the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals along with the accompanying educational goals.
  • Help implement Smithsonian’s commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion by assisting in identifying diverse subject matter experts, creating an accessible guide, and considering a variety of cultural contexts to make the guide relevant to a global audience.
  • Representing intern’s own context and perspectives in collaborative discussions about the development of the guides.

Candidates should have strong writing skills, skills in independent research, the ability to communicate professionally with experts, experience/interest in education or curriculum, and the ability to adhere to tight deadlines.

Interns will be mentored directly by the curriculum developers for Smithsonian Science for Global Goals and will receive feedback and guidance on their writing, research, and other content creation.

This internship will last for approximately eight weeks at a flexible start time between May-July 2024. Hours: 20-35 hours per week. We accept virtual or hybrid interns from high school, undergraduate, and graduate levels. We encourage both US-based and international candidates to apply. Stipends may be available for undergraduate and graduate interns.

 

****************

 

Smithsonian Science for the Classroom Intern - Curriculum, Digital Media, and Communications Division

Project Description: Intern will work with the Smithsonian Science for the Classroom curriculum development team to help develop and refine promotional and supplementary materials for our K-8 curriculum products. Interns will learn about major elements of a classroom curriculum including how to synthesize pedagogy and content in existing modules into a concise and useful training session for sales consultants.  Learning objectives include:

  • Assisting in design and content decisions about curriculum training materials. Brainstorming, including using materials to test, hands-on activities to include in training.
  • Supporting Smithsonian's commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion when identifying curriculum elements to highlight in training and promotional materials. 
  • Identifying connections between our K-8 modules and current Smithsonian projects.
  • Brainstorming computer-free computational thinking activities and computer coding activities to complement K-8 module content.
  • Drafting scripts for Smithsonian Science for the Classroom overview videos.

Candidates should have familiarity with the Next Generation Science Standards, interest in or experience with STEM classroom teaching at the K-8 level, strong writing skills, skills in independent research, experience/interest in curriculum design and development, and the ability to adhere to tight deadlines.

Interns will be mentored by the curriculum developers for Smithsonian Science for the Classroom and will receive feedback and guidance on their writing, research, and other content creation.

This will be a virtual internship that can be flexible and should occur over an eight-week period between May – August 2024.  Hours: 20-35 hours per week. We accept college undergraduate or graduate students. We encourage both US-based and international candidates to apply. Stipends may be available.

 

****************

 

Research Assistant Intern – Professional Services Division

Project Description: Intern will work with the Professional Services team of the Smithsonian Science Education Center to support the data collection and the evaluation of two DEAI leadership development projects, "STEM Education Summit: Building a Coalition for Attracting and Retaining a Diverse STEM Teaching Workforce" and "Zero Barriers in STEM Education." Learning objectives include:

  • Gaining an understanding of the field of diversity and inclusion in the K-12 STEM education.
  • Gaining an understanding of evaluation and research procedures and analysis methods in the field of science education.
  • Assisting the development/revision of survey instruments.
  • Assisting data collection for human subject research and program evaluation. This task may include communication with participants and working on an online platform.
  • Cleaning and organizing data in spreadsheets.
  • Conducting quantitative and qualitative data analysis under the supervision of a SSEC staff member. This task may include descriptive statistics, t-test, thematic coding, and case studies.  
  • Supporting literature reviews about diversity and inclusion.
  • Writing final reports with the findings from the analysis.

Candidates should have strong analytical skills on educational data, experience/interest in diversity and inclusion in science education, and the ability to work with various data sets, to write technical reports clearly, and to adhere to deadlines. Preferred candidates are a current graduate student in education or science field, and/or who has taken at least one quantitative research method course in undergraduate/graduate school. Experience with the SPSS or a similar software is a plus.

The intern will be mentored directly by a senior research scientist and will receive feedback and guidance on their work.

This will be a virtual internship that will last for ten weeks at a flexible start time between June-August 2024. Hours: 40 hours per week. The internship will be virtual. We accept interns at the graduate level. We encourage both US-based and international candidates to apply. Stipends may be available. 

 

****************

 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I apply for SSEC internships? If you are interested in a position, please go to the Smithsonian Online Academic Appointment System (SOLAA). You will need to create an account at this site. After you have created an account, you can begin your application, which will be automatically submitted from the SOLAA site to the SSEC for consideration. You will be able to upload the required documents (resume or CV, writing sample, three references from supervisors or teachers) to your application online. You will be notified of your status through SOLAA after your materials have been reviewed.

What is the deadline for applications? March 31, 2024. 

How many internship positions are available? We have a limited number of positions available. It’s best to apply before the deadline to be considered.  

Is there a stipend? A modest stipend may be provided to interns. Let us know if you need to obtain credit or volunteer service hours.

What are the work hours? A typical work schedule at the SSEC is either from 8:30am - 5:00pm or from 9:00am - 5:30pm Monday through Friday.  Our virtual internships can be flexible to fit the student’s schedule.  A 25 to 40-hour work week will be permitted.  We encourage full-time participation, but we will work with you to accommodate reasonable time commitments.

What should I include in my writing sample? The writing sample is a required component of this application process. We will accept writing samples ranging from personal essays to a paper you wrote in school. Feel free to expand on your previous experience, or even to use a well-thought-out cover letter as your writing sample.

If, however, you are applying for a position that involves technical writing, it might be in your best interest to demonstrate your abilities in that specific writing style. Finally, if you are interested in a graphic design or web position, feel free to request that you be able to substitute a sample of your artwork instead of a writing sample.

My school requires me to do an internship for graduation. Can I do an internship for credit? Some universities, such as The George Washington University, already have established programs with the Smithsonian. In such cases, the transition to an internship for credit should be relatively easy. Where such programs do not exist, we will work with you and your school to determine whether our internship fulfills the requirements for your specific institution.

I am international student. Can I still apply? What do you receive from your school that states you have permission to take an internship? If you have an international advisor at your school, have they been notified by you that you are applying for internships? Does your school have requirements that you must follow before applying for any jobs or internships?

This information is really important, and it will direct our steps in making sure that we can proceed with your application correctly.  Most schools provide students with a CPT - Curricular Practical Training, if you receive an internship. You would be considered eligible to work in the U.S. provided the internship is related to your major/minor. You would then get a letter from your academic advisor and send it to the International Center at your school. They will then process it for you and issue a CPT card to you which will be attached to your I-20 (F-1 Visa). You will only need to show your school's International Center the appointment letter from the SSEC stating you have received an internship. Speak with your international advisor and ask what you need to do before you apply.

How can I learn more about all Smithsonian internship opportunities? For more information about all Smithsonian internships, go to the Office of Academic Appointments and Internships(OAAI) home page.

Questions about SSEC internship opportunities, please contact Kate Echevarria, Internship Coordinator at EchevarriaK@si.edu.