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

NMNH Summer High School Internship

The NMNH Summer High School Internship at the Smithsonian Institution supports current high school attendees, ages 14 to 18, interested in learning about what working at a museum is like. Internships are offered in the Department of Entomology and the Department of Exhibits. Internship projects include:

Entomology: Sorting of and classifying moth specimens for the Museum’s collections.
Entomology: Exploring key aspects such as acquisition, organization, preservation, maintenance, and enhancement of collections of insects including spiders, centipedes, and millipedes.
Exhibits: Learning about the process of exhibit development and contribute to ongoing projects.

The internship runs from June 24th to August 5th, Tuesday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The interns will spend Wednesday and Thursday with their internship supervisors working on their projects, and Tuesday and Friday will be dedicated to “enrichment activities,” which are designed to provide well-rounded learning experiences. During their internship, interns will learn how to effectively engage public audiences and peers on science and museum topics, 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 college preparation.

Eligibility

Applicants must be currently enrolled high school student between the ages of 14 and 18
Applicants must write and converse fluently in English

Priority will be given to students attending public schools in the DC Metro area and who have affiliations with the Smithsonian Institution.

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

Schedule

Number of Weeks: 6 weeks
Start Date: 6/24/25 (not flexible)
End Date: 8/5/25 (not flexible)
Work Week: Tuesday – Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Wednesday and Thursday: Interns work on projects with their internship supervisors
- Tuesday and Friday: Interns participate in enrichment activities

Interns should be able to start and end on these dates and be actively engaged in the internship for 24 hours/week. If you have questions about the internship, please attend the Virtual Information Session on February 12th, 6-7pm, to receive more detail. (Click the link to register and we'll send the Zoom link before the session.)

Stipend

$3,600 stipend award ($600/week)

Additional Information

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

Application Process

Deadline to apply: February 28, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. (EST)

Applications for NMNH Summer High School Internship 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 below

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 below.

Statement of Interest Questions Form

Two Letters of Recommendation – Applicants will need to provide two letters of recommendation, one from a teacher and one from an individual of the applicant’s choice. This includes coaches, bosses (former or current), mentors, or someone else familiar enough with the applicant to provide an accurate evaluation of their abilities and aptitude. Download the Letter of Recommendation guidelines template below.

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 selected for placement in the Summer Internship Program will be given full details about their specific mentor, department, project, and enrichment activities in the offer letter.

We will provide a live information session for potential applicants on February 12, from 6-7 p.m. Please register by following the previous link to receive the Zoom information.

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: Internships at the National Museum of Natural History.

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 first program listed is Internships at the National Museum of Natural History. 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 Internship Program. A fillable PDF, along with more information, can be downloaded above.
Two Letters of Recommendation – Applicants will need to provide two letters of recommendation, one from a teacher and one from an individual of the applicant’s choice. This includes coaches, bosses (former or current), mentors, or someone else familiar enough with the applicant to provide an accurate evaluation of their abilities and aptitude. A Letter of Recommendation template, along with more information, can be downloaded above.
Résumé – A fillable PDF, along with more information, can be downloaded above.

Applicants will be notified around March 31, 2025.

Contact Information

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

Unit

National Museum of Natural History

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 reviewed until after the application submission deadline (February 28th) in order to ensure a fair review of all applicants, and decisions are expected to be made within four to six weeks after the application deadline.

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 using the email above.

Recommendation/References

Letters of recommendations will be uploaded through the References section of your application in SOLAA. Please input the reference details for your two references, including their last name, first name, and email address. Once this information is submitted, please click the envelope icon for each reference in order to trigger SOLAA to send an email to your recommender. 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, you will send an email to your recommenders so they can provide letters of recommendation through the web.
Have the recommender submit in sufficient time to meet the application deadline.
- Please let your recommenders 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 letters of recommendation have been submitted to SOLAA, log in to 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 one of your recommenders has not submitted their letter of recommendation by February 28th, please email YouthNMNH@si.edu. Applications that have only received one letter of recommendation by the application deadline will still be reviewed, as long as two recommenders have been listed in SOLAA.