One Paid  Internship  in  Central  Illinois

Terms of position: One internship for 26 weeks from mid-May to mid-November. Work week is Monday through Friday with alternating weekend duty and compensatory time off. 988 total hours for the entire length of the internship based on a 38 hour work week.

Location: Homestead Prairie Farm, a circa 1860 living history house museum, is located on the grounds of Rock Springs Conservation Area near Decatur, Illinois.

Salary/Stipend/Housing: $10.00/hour at 38 hours/week. Intern also receives a $275 monthly housing stipend payment. No on-site housing is available but the site is near Decatur, Illinois.

Scope of Position: 

The position of historic sites intern is a great opportunity for anyone starting a career in the historic site or history museum field.  Interns gain varied work experience through a wide range of tasks. They include duties in the areas of education and interpretation, volunteer training and management, children’s summer day camps, collections care, exhibits, purchasing, publicity/marketing, historical research and other museum or site administrative tasks as needed. While the duties remain the same each year, special projects and new priorities make each intern’s experience unique from year to year.    

Duties:

Interpretation/Education: The intern will assist in the third person interpretation of the district’s historic sites. The main interpretive duty is working with staff and volunteers to provide tours and history programs at Homestead Prairie Farm. These include regular weekend open house tours for the general public and educational programs for schools and other groups by appointment either on-site or as outreach.  The intern may also help at Bethel School and other district sites in these same ways as needed.    

Day Camps: The intern will assist other staff with day camps for children and teens including X-treme Camps, Mini Camps, and, if needed, Camp Connections.  

Collections/Exhibits:  The intern will help other staff set up/plan/remove exhibits, assist in collections processing/care/research/inventory, and help in the recordkeeping of reproduction period clothing worn by staff and volunteers for tours and programs.     

Research/Marketing/Volunteers/Administrative: The intern will assist with historical research, work on publicity and marketing through writing for newsletters, press releases and program flyers and train/supervise volunteers. The interns will also help with special events, some housekeeping/maintenance duties, purchasing, supervising the visitor information desk with other staff and other duties as needed. 

To apply: Download an application here:  

http://maconcountyconservation.org/internship-opportunities/

Return application along with 2 writing samples of at least 3 pages each, a resume, and official college transcripts to Brent Wielt at the email or postal address below. 

Deadline is 5:00 PM on Thursday, March 7, 2019.

To inquire with questions and to send application packet via email or regular postal mail, please contact:
Brent Wielt
Historic Sites Manager
Macon County Conservation District
3939 Nearing Lane
Decatur, IL 62521
217-423-7708
bwielt@maconcountyconservation.org