Museum Collections Internship – ONSITE – Homestead National Historical Park

Start/End Dates: May 25, 2026 – August 10, 2026 (11 weeks)
Compensation: $688 per week
Medical Insurance: Not provided
Application Due: March 1st, 2026

The Latino Heritage Internship Program seeks to engage young professionals in natural resource careers. Applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Be a U.S. citizen or legal resident.
• Be between 18 and 30 years old, or up to 35 if a veteran.
• Be willing to undergo a background check upon hiring.
• Have a valid driver’s license and a good driving record.

Note: A personal vehicle is highly recommended for this position.

Position description

This intern will be part of the Interpretation, education, and Resource Management team at Homestead NHP. As part of this interdisciplinary team, the intern will work with the museum collection and assist with visitor services at the park’s visitor centers and special events. Duties include opening and closing the visitor center each day, covering the front desk as needed, and supporting special events.

The internship will focus on creating new storage mounts for museum objects and updating condition information in the museum database. The park has a backlog of approximately 1,000 condition survey records that have not yet been entered into the database. These objects were reviewed by professional conservators, but little work has been done to confirm whether their condition has remained stable or deteriorated over time.

The intern will:

• Input survey data into the museum database
• Review at least 50 objects for condition updates
• Rehouse critical items
• Make recommendations for future conservation work
• Complete new condition reports and photograph objects
• Use archival materials to create custom supportive trays or boxes

The intern will collaborate with park cultural resource staff to learn proper procedures for creating mounts and maintaining digital records.

Additional responsibilities include developing interpretive social media posts and/or website content related to the museum collection, assisting with temporary exhibits, and sharing collection-based stories with visitors. The intern may also assist with the annual museum inventory, environmental monitoring, housekeeping, and visitor services.

Responsibilities

• Assist the Interpretation, Education, and Resource Management team
• Open and close visitor centers; cover the front desk during visitor hours
• Support special events and visitor services
• Create new storage mounts and update condition information in the museum database
• Review and update condition of at least 50 museum objects based on previous surveys
• Input survey data and complete new condition reports
• Photograph objects and create custom trays or boxes for critical items
• Make recommendations for future conservation work
• Collaborate with cultural resource staff to learn museum conservation and digital record procedures
• Develop interpretive social media posts and/or website content
• Assist with temporary exhibits, annual museum inventory, environmental monitoring, and museum housekeeping
• Share collection-based stories and interpretive information with visitors

Qualifications

• Major studies in museum studies, anthropology, art history, object conservation, history, or related disciplines
• Good hand-eye coordination
• Effective communication skills
• Basic computer skills, including database entry, word processing, and digital photography
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Interest in museum collections management, conservation, and archival practices
• Knowledge of handling and rehousing museum objects
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• experience or interest in creating interpretive content for public audiences
• Comfortable interacting with visitors in an educational and professional setting
• Ability to perform physical tasks, such as lifting or moving objects, creating mounts, and handling archival materials
• Flexibility to assist with visitor services, special events, environmental monitoring, and general museum duties

Learning Goals

This internship will provide training in the theory and methods of safely storing museum objects and recording condition information. The position will develop skills in project planning, strategy development, problem-solving, and use of the National Park Service museum collection database.

About the Site

Homestead National Historical Park is surrounded by agricultural land and features walking trails through tallgrass prairie and forest habitats. Summer temperatures can reach up to 100°F with high humidity. Elevation is 1,286 feet above sea level.

The park is approximately six miles from Beatrice, Nebraska, a town of about 12,000 residents with grocery stores and other amenities. The local community is primarily non-Latino white. Lincoln, Nebraska, the state capital, is within an hour’s drive and has Latino communities and organizations. Crete, Nebraska, about 35 miles from the park, has a large Latino population with cultural gatherings and events.

Interns in this program will receive 480 hours toward Public Land Corps (PLC) Hiring Authority.

Public Land Corps Non-Competitive Hiring Authority (PLC)
The Public Land Corps Non-Competitive Hiring Authority is a special hiring authority available to qualifying interns. The intern must be between the ages of 18 and 30 years old, inclusive, or a veteran up to age 35 and complete 640 hours of work on an appropriate conservation project to be eligible for this hiring authority. Upon successful completion of the PLC project(s), the intern is eligible for two years to be hired non-competitively into a federal seasonal, term, or permanent position. The applicant must apply to a PLC-eligible position advertised on USAJobs.gov and selected off a non-competitive certificate of eligibility. For more information, see DOI Personnel Bulletins 11-02 , 12-13, and 17-03.

EEO Statement

Environment for the Americas provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employmentand prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.