Summer Internship- Historic Interpreter, 1700 Farm

The historic interpreter intern assists Living History Farms in achieving its mission: to educate, entertain, and connect people of all ages to Midwestern rural life experiences.

 

This person will interact with the museum’s guests, explaining through demonstrations the cultural stories and traditional skills of the Ioway people in the context of the 1700 era Ioway Farm site at Living History Farms. This person will be working outdoors a majority of the time, while wearing modern museum service uniform clothing issued by Living History Farms.  

Upon successful completion of the internship requirements, the student may earn up to 6 hours of college credit through Graceland University, Lamoni, Iowa. Non-Graceland students may transfer credits to their home university, and are responsible for any fees associated with this. 

 

Position Hours           

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Consistent attendance is an essential function of the position. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 

Specific Duties:         

· Greet and interact with museum guests in an open, friendly manner.  

· Interpret historic events and facts for museum guests of all ages.

· Engagingly demonstrates and interprets daily historic activities (may include food preparation and food preservation, gardening with hand tools, crafts or sewing, use of period machinery etc.) for school tours, day camp groups, adult tour groups and the general visitor.

· ACTIVELY encourage general visitors, especially children, to participate in interactive activities, including scheduled hands-on activities, as appropriate.

· Perform appropriate work, indoors and outdoors, in a variety of conditions consistent with the historical time period and the interpretive activity, and within the variations of Iowa’s climate. 

· Read assigned materials, complete assigned papers and projects, and attend academic seminars, in order to successfully complete all requirements for earning academic credit.

· Maintain a professional demeanor at all times, especially when interacting with the public, but also including during training sessions and with other staff.

· Complete required number of interpretation hours (360 hours). Any time missed will need to be made up in order to successfully complete the program.

EDUCATION and SKILLS: