The John K. and Judith H. Powell Museum Studies Internship

Collectionsthatcare; Naperville (IL); On-site; USD 10,000 - 12,000; Part time

Job summary

Naper Settlement in Naperville, IL, is offering a Powell Museum Studies Intern position to gain hands-on collection management experience within an accredited museum setting. You will work under the Director of Collections and Registrar on a project tailored to your interests, such as describing costumes, inventorying works on paper, or updating catalog records.

Ideal candidates are undergraduate students with reverence for artifacts, strong attention to detail, and solid communication skills.

Qualifications

• Must be an undergraduate student.
• Interest in museum collection management.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Describe, tag, and rehouse a collection of costume materials.
• Inventory broadsides and works on paper; create catalog records.
• Identify artifacts for processing, rehousing, and marking.
• Assess, tag, and roll textiles; update catalog records accordingly.
• Enhance catalog searchability by researching and adding subject headings.

Skills

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Independent worker

Team collaboration

Education

Undergraduate student

Job description

Summary

The Powell Museum Studies Intern will gain hands on collection management experience in an accredited museum setting. Guided by the museum’s Director of Collections and Registrar, the intern will learn about cataloging standards, controlled vocabularies, artifact enclosures, acquisitions procedures, and object handling through completion of a collection project. The project will be developed based on the intern’s interest and experience. Sample projects may include:

• Describing, tagging, and rehousing a collection of costume materials
• Conducting inventories of broadsides and works on paper and creating catalog records.
• Identifying artifacts for further processing, rehousing, and marking
• Assessing, tagging, and rolling textiles, updating catalog records accordingly
• Enhance catalog searchability by researching and adding subject headings

Key Details

Stipend: $1,000

Deadline:ASAP (Posted September 1, 2026)

Eligibility

The internship is open to undergraduate students.

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities:

Reverence for artifacts, appreciation for history, and acute attention to detail are necessary. Strong verbal and written communication skills are important. Ability to work independently on projects and as an effective team member is required.

About

Naper Settlement is a nationally accredited, award-winning outdoor museum set on 12 acres in the heart of Naperville at 523 S. Webster St., where history comes to play and the community comes to connect. With a commitment to the community and a focus to the future, the mission of the Naperville Heritage Society, administrator of Naper Settlement, is to collect, document, preserve and support the history of Naperville, Illinois, past and present.