The Museum Collections Assistant will work primarily at park headquarters in Beach Lake, Pennsylvania, which will serve as the main duty station throughout the internship. The position combines hands-on museum collections work with office-based documentation and project support.
The intern will assist with packing, rehousing, labeling, documenting, lifting, and moving museum objects, furniture, archival materials, and collection containers. The work requires careful attention to established museum-handling procedures and may involve standing, bending, reaching, and safely lifting or moving collection materials.
Office-based work may include reviewing collection records, updating documentation, organizing project information, and supporting the preparation of materials for relocation. Throughout the internship, the intern will work under the direction of experienced cultural resource professionals and receive training in museum collections care and preservation.
The Museum Collections Assistant will support a major collections preservation and relocation project at Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. The park currently maintains approximately 363,793 cataloged museum collection items that must be accounted for, stabilized, rehoused, documented, and prepared for relocation to an upgraded museum storage facility at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
The project follows recommendations established through the 2022 Regional Museum Storage Plan, which identified opportunities to consolidate collections and improve long-term preservation conditions. Following a 2024 site assessment by museum professionals, specific tasks were identified to prepare the Upper Delaware collection for relocation.
Working under the direction and supervision of the Park Museum Curator, the intern will gain hands-on experience with the professional standards and procedures used to care for museum collections within the National Park Service.
Primary responsibilities may include:
Park staff will be responsible for transporting prepared collection materials to the storage facility at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
Through this work, the intern will contribute directly to the long-term preservation and stewardship of a nationally significant museum collection.
The internship provides practical experience in museum collections management, preventive conservation, historic preservation, cultural resource management, documentation, and the safe handling of museum objects and archival materials.
The intern will learn professional methods for inventorying, packing, rehousing, labeling, documenting, and preparing museum collections for relocation. Through direct mentorship and hands-on work, the intern will gain a better understanding of how the National Park Service preserves cultural resources and manages collections according to professional standards and federal requirements.
The intern will also gain exposure to laws, policies, and professional practices that guide cultural resource management, including the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 106, and National Park Service cultural resource management procedures.
By the conclusion of the internship, the intern will have strengthened skills in museum collections care, preservation practices, documentation, project organization, attention to detail, teamwork, and cultural resource stewardship.
The Museum Collections Assistant will receive direct supervision and mentorship from the park’s Museum Curator and Interdisciplinary Historian throughout the 20-week internship.
The intern will work alongside experienced cultural resource professionals and receive hands-on instruction in museum collections management, object handling, rehousing, packing, documentation, preservation, and cultural resource stewardship. Regular guidance and feedback will help the intern develop professional skills while contributing to a major collections preservation project.
The internship will also introduce the intern to the professional standards and federal policies that guide cultural resource management within the National Park Service. This may include exposure to the National Historic Preservation Act, Section 106 requirements, the work of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and National Park Service Director’s Order #28 on Cultural Resource Management.
Through this combination of hands-on training, professional mentorship, and exposure to federal preservation practices, the intern will gain valuable insight into potential careers in museum collections, public history, archives, historic preservation, archaeology, anthropology, and cultural resource management.
Preferred applicants may be pursuing or have completed undergraduate or graduate studies in:
Experience with museum collections, artifacts, artwork, archival materials, object handling, rehousing, packing, labeling, or preservation practices is preferred.
Strong candidates should demonstrate:
Canoe through rapids and quiet pools as the Delaware River winds its way through a valley of swiftly changing scenery or fish amid rolling hills and riverfront villages in one of the finest fishing rivers in the northeastern United States. The clean water of the Delaware, the last major undammed river in the eastern United States, supports a healthy ecosystem and offers tranquility and excitement.
Stipend: $17.20/Hour
Duration: 20 Weeks (Full-Time)
Location: 274 River Road
Beach Lake, PA 18405
Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River protects a 73-mile stretch of the Delaware River along the Pennsylvania–New York border. The river is the longest free-flowing river in the eastern United States and passes through a landscape of forests, rural communities, historic sites, and recreational areas.
The internship’s primary duty station is at park headquarters in Beach Lake, Pennsylvania. Grocery stores and other essential services are generally available within a 10- to 30-minute drive, depending on where the intern lives. Wayne Memorial Hospital is located approximately 15 minutes away in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, while downtown Narrowsburg, New York, is approximately five minutes away. Larger communities such as Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Port Jervis, New York, are approximately one hour away by vehicle.
Because the park extends across a large and predominantly rural geographic area and park housing is not provided, interns should plan carefully for housing and transportation before beginning the internship.
Park housing is not provided.
A personal vehicle and valid driver’s license are required.
