NCMNS VIS PORTAL - MUSEUM INTERNSHIPS

MUSEUM INTERNSHIPS

Applications for Fall 2025 for credit/experience internships are now closed. Applications for Spring 2026 for credit/experience internships will open in October 2025.

If you are interested in Veterinary Sciences internships and/or paid internships, which have separate application requirements and deadlines, please visit our partner internships page.

Thank you for your interest in an internship with the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences! The internships listed on this page are unpaid, part-time positions offered either for college credit or for experience.

A young man performing maintenance on a tank full of jellyfish

INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENTS

18+ years old.

College sophomore or higher. Graduate students and recent graduates (within 2 years of graduation) may also apply.

In good academic standing.

Availability Requirements:
- All applicants must have at least 10 hours of weekday availability. Additionally, if you do not meet the availability requirements for the specific internship(s) you apply for, you will not be considered for the position(s).

- For Credit: If you are seeking college credit for your internship, you must complete however many hours are required by your college (typically 120-150 hours).
- For Experience: If you are interning for experience, you must complete a minimum of 120 hours.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

The opportunities listed on this portal are the only internships we are accepting applications for. If you submit an application for an area that is not currently recruiting, it will not be accepted.

Supervisor Preferences: Each internship description has supervisor preferences listed in order of importance.

Required - Personal Statement: In under 500 words, please explain why you wish to intern at NCMNS, your career goals, and how this internship might help you achieve these goals.

Required - Unofficial Transcript: Please do not send an official copy!

Required - Resume
Contingent - NCMNS Credit Hours Form: If you wish to complete your internship for college credit, you must have your Faculty Sponsor (academic advisor or class professor) sign the NCMNS Credit Hours Form. If you are applying for experience, please skip this step.

INTERNSHIP APPLICATION

If you are interested in Veterinary Sciences internships and/or paid internships, which have separate application requirements and deadlines, please visit our partner internships page.

DOWNTOWN RALEIGH FOR CREDIT/FOR EXPERIENCE INTERNSHIPS

11 West Jones Street Raleigh, NC 27601

Arthropod Zoo

This internship will provide experience in arthropod husbandry, science communication, and a hands-on entomology learning experience. The intern will assist in the daily care of animals in the Arthropod Zoo, including diet preparation, exhibit maintenance, enrichment, and record keeping. Learn how to care for a wide variety of arthropods, including cockroaches, tarantulas, stick and leaf insects, hermit crabs, and a Maine lobster.  The intern will have the opportunity to create entomology-related educational materials to share with Museum guests and participate in public programs, such as our lobster feedings.  

Supervisor Notes

Availability Requirements: Interns must have weekday availability. This opportunity is 100% on site.  

This internship is unpaid and for experience (120 hours) or for credit (120-150 hours).

Community Engagement

Assist the Coordinator of Community Programs and the Community Engagement Team with efforts to make the Museum more inviting and inclusive for all people. This would involve tasks like assisting with attending community outreach events, collaborating with other units in the Museum, and coordinating programs for the Science Access Membership – a membership tier for low-income families. Learn about how DEAI practices impact education at the Museum and why reaching underserved communities is important. The internship will be concluded with a project that includes creating an educational cart program that highlights the cultural significance of specimens/exhibits in the museum. An example could include ‘Animals of Lumbee Stories.’

Supervisor Notes

Availability Requirements: Intern should generally be available when the museum is open to the public, Tuesday-Friday. This would include occasional weekend days. This opportunity can be hybrid. Schedule is flexible to accommodate classes, work, etc.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: General customer skills preferred; interest in working with and educating the public; basic knowledge of DEAI issues; STEM, Education, or Museum Studies major or background.

Spanish language proficiency is beneficial, but not required.

This internship is unpaid and for experience (120 hours) or for credit (120-150 hours).

Discovery Room

The Discovery Room is an interactive exhibit area designed for young children and their families. The space offers opportunities for hands-on learning and early childhood development through connection with our natural world. The Discovery Room intern will facilitate hands-on, positive, natural science learning experiences for visitors of all ages using best early childhood and nonformal environmental education practices.

Fall interns may also have the opportunity to assist Discovery Fun programs - scheduled class programs for Pre-K through 1st grade on Tuesday-Thursday mornings.

By the end of their experience, the intern will design a project that aligns with the Discovery Room mission of connecting young children to nature.

Supervisor Notes   

Availability Requirements: Interns need to have availability that reflects the operating hours of the space (10:00AM - 12:00PM and 1:00PM - 3:00PM) during the week, and occasional weekend days. This opportunity is 100% on site.  

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Basic natural science knowledge, customer service, experience working with children and families preferred but not required.  

This internship is unpaid and for experience (120 hours) or for credit (120-150 hours).

Fish & Invertebrates

Intern will assist in the care of animals in the fish and invertebrates unit, including fresh and salt water exhibits. This position will give real world experience in the field of aquarium husbandry. Gain knowledge of anatomy, behavior, reproduction, and the conservation status of each species, diet preparation and feeding, proper nutritional and care for a variety of aquatic species,  maintenance of animal exhibits and holding areas according to AZA standards, and water sampling and chemistry. Interns will also observe and record animal condition, behaviors, and responses, and design and construct enrichment and assessment.  

Supervisor Notes   

Availability Requirements: Interns must have morning availability. This opportunity is 100% on site.  

This internship is unpaid and for experience (120 hours) or for credit (120-150 hours).

Floor Programs

The Floor Programs internship provides hands-on experience in science communication, interpretation and program development. Floor Programs interns are trained to engage visitors of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds by presenting cart programs – short, informal science education programs – in the museum exhibit halls. Once initial training is complete, you'll work with staff to create your own cart project through a process of development that includes research, design, construction, testing and revision. 

Supervisor Notes  

Availability Requirements: Interns must be available for at least two weekday shifts of 3 hours or more between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm. Interns are asked to work a few Saturdays even if their regular schedule does not include Saturdays. This opportunity is 100% on site. 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Interns should have some natural sciences coursework. 

This internship is unpaid and for experience (120 hours) or for credit (120-150 hours).

Investigate Lab

The Intern will assist in running and maintaining hands-on activities, exhibits and educational carts in the Investigate Lab. This includes daily interaction with Museum guests as well as interpreting and communicating a variety of natural science related topics. Collaborating with Museum education staff will expose the intern to different science education techniques and opportunities. The intern will develop their own interactive exhibit/activity as part of the internship.

Supervisor Notes   

Availability Requirements: Intern needs to be available when the space is open to the public. This includes occasional weekend days. Public hours are from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm and from 1-3 pm. This opportunity is 100% on site.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Academic Majors: Animal Science, Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Genetics, Botany, Conservation, Education, Entomology, Earth Science, Environmental Sciences. Experience working with children and families is preferred but not required.

This internship is unpaid and for experience (120 hours) or for credit (120-150 hours).

Living Conservatory

This internship gives real world experience in the animal husbandry field and science education field. The intern will assist in developing and delivering Living Conservatory educational cart programming to guests. The intern will help with general upkeep of exhibit plants and animal husbandry in the Living Conservatory including but not limited to diet preparation and feeding, and animal enrichment. 

Supervisor Notes   

Availability Requirements:   Interns must have weekday and weekend availability. This opportunity is 100% on site.
This internship is unpaid and for experience (120 hours) or for credit (120-150 hours).

Naturalist Center

Intern will interact with visitors daily--interpreting and communicating science topics in the Naturalist Center. Will help create educational content about specimens in the collection and present this information to the public as a cart program, tabletop activity, or countertop display. Intern will give orientations informing guests how to properly handle specimens; learn basic techniques related to specimen preparation/maintenance; assist with use of equipment and resources. Internship includes training by experienced Museum educators/scientists along with behind-the-scenes access to research collections.

Supervisor Notes   

Availability Requirements: Interns should have good availability on weekdays and willingness to work on some weekends. This opportunity is 100% on site.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: General customer service skills preferred; interest in working with the public; any Biological Sciences major, Environmental Science, Science Education, or communication.

This internship is unpaid and for experience (120 hours) or for credit (120-150 hours).

VisLab

Work with Lab staff to interact with the public in the VisLab interpreting exhibits and assisting visitors with understanding science and technology.  The intern will create a project utilizing techniques such as computer programming, electronics design, and/or 3D printing. This project will be held in the lab but will also be used for interpretation outside the lab and serve as a science communicator. 

Supervisor Notes   

Availability Requirements: Interns should have good availability on weekdays and willingness to work on some weekends. This opportunity is 100% on site.  

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Electronics and technology interest, experience with teaching kids and/or science communication, public speaking skills are a plus. 

This internship is unpaid and for experience (120 hours) or for credit (120-150 hours).

INTERNSHIP APPLICATION

If you are interested in Veterinary Sciences internships and/or paid internships, which have separate application requirements and deadlines, please visit our partner internships page.

For more information, contact Sarah Irizarry, Head of Volunteer and Intern Services at sarah.irizarry@naturalsciences.org.

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