Participants during the American Royal

Participants during the American Royal

Internships

Are you interested in earning college credit while doing interesting, hands-on work with historical artifacts and documents?

Get out of the lecture hall and into the archives for an internship with the Jackson County Historical Society. We offer the opportunity to earn college credit on a semester basis for students currently enrolled in colleges and universities.

During an internship, you will get to work with the many facets of the Jackson County Historical Society, including museum work, historical archives management, public history, tourism, and promoting historical literacy.

While working as an intern, you can expect to be responsible for unique projects. The Jackson County Historical Society is an excellent way to enhance your college experience and earn credit towards your degree while gaining some valuable work experience. 

The descriptions below are unpaid internships available year-round. 


Deadlines for each semester are as follows:  

Spring semester: January 15th

Summer semester: May 15th

Fall semester: August 15th

Interns should send a cover letter, resume, and a letter of recommendation to archivist@jchs.org Candidates must clearly state in the email subject line and cover letter what internship they are interested in.

At this time, JCHS does not provide paid internships.


Archives Intern Job Description

Archives interns will work with the Archivist on preservation or processing projects in the JCHS Archives and Research Library at the Truman Courthouse in Independence. The types of projects assigned to interns will vary. 

Duties May Include: 

  • Processing Collections:

    • Labeling and organizing materials for archival preservation

    • Preservation tasks like removing fasteners or making copies of fragile materials

  • Scanning photographs or negatives

  • Creating records in the JCHS database (PastPerfect)

  • Assisting in inventory

Qualifications 

  • Enrolled in college-level courses is preferred but not mandatory

  • Good communication skills

  • Picks up new skills and tasks quickly

  • Organized and good with small details

  • Able to work independently on detailed focused projects


Education Intern Job Description (Fall Semester Only)

Purpose of Job

The JCHS Education Intern will work on projects for the 1859 Jail Museum and Jackson County Historical Society. These projects could include lesson plan experience, tour guide experience, activity development, and assisting in field trips.

Qualifications

  • Enrolled in college-level courses is preferred but not mandatory

  • Good communication skills

  • Picks up new skills and tasks quickly

  • Organized and good with small details

  • Comfortable interacting with groups, including groups of children

Interns work a maximum of 120 hours during the semester and may set flexible hours during our open hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM.

All interns with JCHS will also get opportunities to gain experience in non-profit work through training with organizational materials and opportunities to attend a board meeting.