High School Internship Program

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Five teenagers -- three girls and two boys -- standing together, smiling, in a science lab. Three of the teens are wearing white lab coats. One boy is waving. — High school interns enjoying their experience at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Smithsonian image

National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) Summer High School Internship Program

The NMNH Summer High School Internship Program at the Smithsonian Institution supports current high school attendees, ages 15 to 18 (grades 9 – 12), who are interested in learning about what it is like to work at a museum. Internships will be available to work with various departments throughout NMNH, and many interns will be able to explore both science and non-science museum work.

Confirmed Internship Projects for 2026 Include:

Exhibits/Communications: Writing about the Natural World for the General Public (In this internship, the student will hone their research, interview, writing, and editing skills to communicate to the general public about the natural sciences. They will gain experience in understanding their reading audience; contacting an interview subject; preparing questions and conducting an interview with one of our scientists; researching background content and image for an exhibition label, social media post, and blog essay, which they will draft and edit for their portfolio; using style guides and other writing resources; using AI ethically; accepting, integrating, and responding to editorial feedback; and proofreading. This internship is best suited for a high school student who loves to write, is curious about the natural world and museums, and is interested in writing and editing professionally.)
Botany: Plant Specimen Management and Uses in Conservation (The interns will help determine geographic coordinates of where plants specimens were collected and learn about how mapping these specimens contribute to species conservation assessments.)
Anthropology: Restoration of the Tlingit Bear Screens (The project will work to complete the meticulous drawing of the painted lines from a Tlingit Indian House screen from Wrangell, Alaska. The screens were collected in 1906 and depict four bear images that have been faded by weathering and by alterations made by the museum during its curation history. Many of the original elaborately painted details are undetectable to the naked eye or to photographic techniques. Our project seeks to recapture the original designs painted on the screens so they can be recreated in the Village of Wrangell for the Tlingit community. This project is an extension of repatriation and a new form of restoration of cultural heritage.)
Paleobiology: Stratigraphic distribution of age-diagnostic Late Cretaceous species of planktonic foraminifera from Big Bend National Park (Geologic outcrops at Big Bend National Park (southern Texas) are being studied to document the stratigraphic distribution of planktonic (floating) foraminifera relative to co-occurring mollusks to determine which species are most reliable for defining the base of the formal Cretaceous stages called the Coniacian, dated as 89.4 million years ago, and the Santonian, dated as 83.2 million years ago. Interns will 1) Understand the utility of foraminifera for determining the age sediment in which they are found 2) Laboratory techniques to prepare samples for microscope analysis 3) Learn about the paleobiology, evolution and extinction of Late Cretaceous planktonic foraminifera (100-66 million years ago) 4) Use of a stereomicroscope to differentiate planktonic from benthic foraminifera and to identify different planktonic foraminifera species 5) Use of a Scanning Electron Microscope and a composite depth focus light microscope to obtain digital images of planktonic foraminifera.)
Science Education: Project details to be confirmed.

During their internship, interns will learn how to effectively engage public audiences and peers on various museum work, meet other high school students who share similar interests, go on field trips and behind-the-scenes tours, and develop skills to help them with job-skill preparation.

Eligibility

Applicants must be currently enrolled high school students (grades 9 – 12) between the ages of 15 and 18 at the start of the internship program.
Applicants must write and converse fluently in English.

The Smithsonian Institution does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, disability, genetic information, or parental status.

Schedule

Number of Weeks: 8 weeks
Start Date: 6/23/26 (not flexible)
End Date: 8/14/26 (not flexible)
Work Week: Tuesday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Project Work Days: Interns work on projects with their internship supervisors 2 to 3 days a week.
- Enrichment Days: Interns participate in enrichment activities 1 to 2 days a week.

Interns should be able to start and end on these dates and be actively engaged in the internship for 24 hours/week.

Stipend

$5,600 stipend award ($700/week)

Additional Information

Lunch will be provided
Transportation to field trips will be provided
SmarTrip cards will be provided (if needed)

Information Sessions

We offered two online information session for potential applicants, on January 21 and February 12.

Contact Information

If you have any questions, email YouthNMNH@si.edu.

Application Process

The application will launch on February 16th and the deadline to apply is: Friday, March 20th, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (ET)

Applications for the NMNH Summer High School Internship program must be submitted through the central Smithsonian Online Academic Appointment system (SOLAA). All components of the application must be uploaded via SOLAA. Do not send components separately.

Prepare your application materials early! The application takes time, so consider preparing your application materials by using this list as a guide:

Résumé – Download the fillable PDF here.

High School Internship Program Résumé Form

Statement of Interest – Applicants will answer three questions (250 words each) describing their interest in the NMNH Summer High School Internship Program. Download the fillable PDF here.

Statement of Interest Questions Form

One Letter of Recommendation – Applicants will need to provide one letter of recommendation, from an individual of the applicant’s choice, that can speak to the applicant’s skills, strengths, abilities and/or aptitude. The recommender can include coaches, bosses (former or current), mentors, or someone else familiar enough with the applicant, but should not be a family member or friend. Download the guidelines for the Letter of Recommendation here.

Letters of Recommendation Guide

Please note: When asking for letters of recommendation, we recommend applicants provide their recommenders with the PDF linked above, which provides formatting guidelines for the letters. The applicant is also encouraged to have a conversation with their recommenders, using the topics in this document as a guideline, to provide as much information as possible for the recommenders to use in their letters.

Applicants will be able to rank potential internship projects or departments in their application, but this listing does not guarantee specific placement. Selected interns for the Summer High School Internship Program will be given full details about their specific mentor, department, project, and enrichment activities in the offer letter.

Application Instructions

Go to the SOLAA website, https://solaa.si.edu/solaa/#/public. Create account or log in to SOLAA (link is external).

Screenshot of a web page titled Smithsonian Online Academic Appointments. There is a green box on the right side. In the box, the words Don't have an account? Create an account, are circled in black.

Click Start Application Button at top of the screen.

Screenshot of a web page with the title Smithsonian Online Academic Appointments. A yellow button is circled in the header; it says Start Your Application.

Search for the Program: NMNH High School Summer Internship Program

Screenshot of a web page with a search box on the left side titled Search for Programs. The dropdown menu for Program Category is set to Internship. The Office, Museum, Research Center drop-down menu is set to NMNH - National Museum of Natural History. The Program Status drop down menu is set to Currently Active.

Click "Apply Now."

A list of programs displayed in a table. The second program listed says NMNH High School Summer Internship Program. In the right column, the Apply Now button is circled.

Application Materials Required

Personal info – Applicants will provide this information in the SOLAA application
Statement of Interest – Applicants will answer three questions (250 words each) describing their interest in the NMNH Summer High School Internship Program. A fillable PDF, along with more information, will be available to download above.
One Letter of Recommendation – Applicants will need to provide one letter of recommendation, from an individual of the applicant’s choice, that can speak to the applicant’s skills, strengths, abilities and/or aptitude. The recommender can include coaches, bosses (former or current), mentors, or someone else familiar enough with the applicant, but should not be a family member or friend. A Letter of Recommendation template, along with more information, will be available to download above.
Résumé – A fillable PDF, along with more information, will be available to download above.

Applicants will be notified around April 22, 2026, of their application status.

Recommendation/References

Letters of recommendations will be uploaded through the References section of your application in SOLAA. Please input the reference details for your reference, including their last name, first name, and email address. Once this information is submitted, please click the envelope icon for the reference in order to trigger SOLAA to send an email to your recommender. This auto-generated email from SOLAA will be the only official way that your recommender can submit their letter of recommendation. You can keep track of whether your letter of recommendation has been submitted yet by checking the "Completed" section of the reference form.

Screenshot of part of a web page. Text at the top says Please provide information for two references. Fields outlined in black are Last Name, First Name, Email Address. Circled in black is an envelope icon titled Email referee.

All letters of recommendation are considered confidential unless confidentiality has been waived by the reference.
Through SOLAA, an email will be sent to your recommender so they can provide letters of recommendation through the web, once you have input and submitted their personal details.
Ensure your recommender submits in sufficient time to meet the application deadline.
- Please let your recommender know that sometimes the SOLAA email gets sent to spam or junk folders, so it's good to let them know the date that you triggered the email to be sent.

To keep track of whether your letter of recommendation has been submitted to SOLAA, log into SOLAA, and from your applicant dashboard, click to "View" your application. Once there, scroll down to the References section, where you can see if your reference has been completed. If your recommender has not submitted their letter of recommendation by March 20th, please email YouthNMNH@si.edu. Applications that have not received the letter of recommendation by the application deadline may still be reviewed, as long as a recommender has been listed in SOLAA.

After Submitting Your Application

Within a week of the application deadline, you should receive a confirmation email that your application has been received. Please note that applications are not unable to be reviewed until after the application submission deadline (March 20th) in order to ensure a fair review of all applicants. Decisions are expected to be made within four to six weeks after the application deadline, with an anticipated notification window of around April 22nd, 2026.

For this reason, it's good to make sure you're checking your email frequently after the application submission deadline.

If you have decided to take another position before our selections are made, please let us know by emailing YouthNMNH@si.edu.