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This summer, the Virginia Museum of Natural History (VMNH) is offering an exciting internship opportunity available to rising college sophomores, juniors, and seniors focused on documenting and communicating climate threats as it pertains to extinct and extant species in Virginia!
This paid internship opportunity is offered through the Smithsonian Institution's Leadership for Change internship program and takes place from June 9 through August 1, 2025. Accepted interns will work 8 weeks at the Virginia museum along with anticipated trips to associated entities and to the field.
About the Internship
Leadership for Change interns will work with VMNH staff, such as Assistant Curator of Paleontology Dr. Adam Pritchard (picture above) and Vertebrate Zoology Research and Collections Technician Marshall Boyd (pictured below) to connect various audiences ranging from pre-K to the general public with information on how the knowledge of biodiversity in Virginia is a continuously growing endeavor both with fossil evidence the living world.
You can work with VMNH Vertebrate Zoology Research and Collections Technician Marshall Boyd this summer during this unique museum internship opportunity!
Dr. Pritchard offers a unique opportunity for interns to learn about paleontology collections. Interns will learn to identify, organize and document fossils from a 225-million-year-old lake ecosystem from a quarry in southern Virginia.
Marshall offers the opportunity for working in the small mammal research collections where interns will help contribute towards a unique endeavor of organizing and identifying skeletal material intended on a long-term publication.
VMNH works to document and monitor the biodiversity throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, and interns will be given the chance to make their mark on the research collections within the museum as well as have the opportunity to connect with other museum professionals at the VMNH and our collaborative partners. In addition to museum collections and databases, field work will be a planned aspect of this summer internship focused on how understanding the current extant world can contribute towards the understanding of the extinct world.
How to Apply
The application deadline is February 28, 2025. This internship opportunity is offered through the Smithsonian Institution's Leadership for Change internship program and managed by the Smithsonian Affiliations office. Interested applicants must apply via the Leadership for Change internship program website.
