Harpers Ferry Center (HFC), a service center for the National Park Service, is hosting a paid pre-program internship starting in winter (exact date tbd) and extending a maximum of 1200 hours at $17/hr. The internship is through the National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE). For more information and to apply, visit the NCPE website.
HFC is the National Park Service’s (NPS) Media Center and creates tools to assist NPS interpreters in the field, including museum exhibits, publications, wayside exhibits, and historic furnishings; these functions are located in Harpers Ferry. HFC also includes five museum conservation labs, the HFC Commissioned Art Collection, and the NPS History Collection, which are located 6 miles away in Charles Town, WV.
This internship will assist Senior NPS Museum Conservators with object handling, object photography (before and after treatment digital imaging), report writing (condition reports, treatment proposals, and treatment reports), database entry, lab maintenance, and basic treatment steps for a variety of NPS artifacts on loan to HFC for conservation treatment from park sites service-wide. Training will be provided in all areas listed above.
The position will include conservation treatment of objects from multiple NPS sites working in five specialized conservation labs (Textiles, Paper/Books, Wooden Artifacts, Organic Objects, Inorganic Objects). Basic treatment steps may include a variety of surface cleaning methods, mending tears, filling losses, reattaching loose elements, applying surface coatings, and humidifying/flattening under the guidance of a Senior NPS Museum Conservator. The types of objects/materials will vary depending on the needs of the parks but could include textiles, paper/books, ceramics/glass, metals, leather, basketry, taxidermy, and wooden artifacts/furniture. Learning to test materials to ensure the preservation of the objects during treatment such as spot tests, microscope use, XRF and FT-IR will also be included, as needed. The position is primarily in-person, but telework days will be granted upon request for report writing etc.
To be eligible, applicants must be currently enrolled in a degree-seeking academic program or recently graduated (within the past 12 months) and be a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident.
