Established with the aim of increasing the outreach of Florida Museum programs across the UF campus, this internship award program seeks to support undergraduate students by facilitating their work on museum-based internship projects.
Internships are to be focused on gaining experience in collections work, laboratory analysis,and/or fieldwork. Awards supporting up to 80 hours of work during one semester will be funded.
Eligibility:
Undergraduate students, including graduating seniors, enrolled at the University of Florida who can express how their participation will broaden participation in the museum.
Application Deadline:
The application deadline has passed, please check this page later in the semester.
Awardee Agreement:
Successful Awardees will meet with their mentor and agree on project activities and work schedule soon after the start of classes. A progress report and summary, including project-related photos, will due near the end of the semester. Students will also be expected to give a lightning talk presentation about their internship experience.
Internship Tracks:
There are two tracks in applications—TRACK A: for students with no prior research or museum experience who will select from a list of available projects; and TRACK B: for students with previous or ongoing experience who will submit a proposed project plan of their own and who already have a project advisor in the museum. If you have been awarded this internship in the previous semester, then you are not eligible to reapply.
Funding for this internship program was provided by the Department of Natural History, Department of Exhibits and Public Programs, and iDigBio.
Application Procedure:
Once you have your information ready, click “Apply to track A”, or “Apply to track B”. We only accept applications submitted via UF qualtrics at the following links. PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL YOUR APPLICATION.
List of Projects for TRACK A (students with no experience in museum research) application:
Project mentor: Katie Smith, Elise LeCompte Lab/Collection: Anthropology NAGPRA-Related Collections PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The intern will assist the project mentors with collection management tasks associated with NAPGRA-related collections. This will include updating inventories, researching object records to confirm legal ownership and provenance, editing and adding object records to the collections database, rehousing objects to conform to tribal requests, and digitizing collections records, as well as other activities as needed. Skills needed: Attention to detail, ability to follow directions. Interest in working with archaeological and ethnographic collections desired, but not required. Skills to be gained: Knowledge of the legal and ethical principles and practices needed to care for indigenous and community collections. Professional museum collections management skills, including addressing issues such as decolonization and collaboration with indigenous communities. Semester: Spring, Summer, Fall
Project mentor: Andrea Torvinen, Neil Wallis Lab/Collection: Ceramic Technology Laboratory PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Students will assist with the curation and documentation of archaeological pottery collections from across North Florida. Tasks will include the organization and re-housing of ceramic assemblages, collecting and recording basic qualitative and quantitative data, and taking photographs using a digital camera and/or microscope. Skills needed: No collections experience is necessary, but the respectful handling of pottery as objects of cultural patrimony is required. Attention to detail and an ability to work independently are preferred. Skills to be gained: Hands-on experience in how to catalog and curate archaeological ceramic collections, as well as how to record attribute data related to vessel shape, decoration, and production techniques. Semester: Spring, Summer, Fall
Project mentor: Andrea Torvinen Lab/Collection: Ceramic Technology Laboratory PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The Pan-American Ceramics Project (PACP) is an open-access digital repository and tool for all aspects of ceramics, from clay selection to finished vessels, throughout the Americas, beginning with their first appearance ca. 5500 BCE through the Historic Period. Our web application fosters synthetic research across borders by eliminating the complications of access to physical collections and paywalled publications, and it facilitates the inclusion of prehistoric material culture in educational resources. Interns will be responsible for collating qualitative and quantitative data related to all aspects of ceramic production (i.e., vessel shapes, petro-fabrics, decorative styles, and technological attributes) that are currently available in the literature. This work can be completed remotely by online students but requires maintaining regular contact with the Project Director. Skills needed: Completion of introductory course in archaeology; preferred completion of course on archaeological ceramics, but not required. Ability to work independently but maintain regular contact with the Project Director. Skills to be gained: Knowledge of the ceramic production sequence; how to read and synthesize information from archaeological reports, articles, and monographs; and data organization/entry using web-based software. Semester: Spring, Summer, Fall
Project mentor: Alberto Lopez-Torres, Elizabeth Clark, Elise Felt Lab/Collection: EPP Education Department PROJECT DESCRIPTION:This position is with the museum’s education team. It will focus on expanding programming for non-traditional audiences from diverse backgrounds and developing and delivering natural history-themed education programs for the museum’s Science Surprises program. Science Surprises is designed to provide unique in-person science programming for K-6 audiences. Students in this position will help deliver educational programs and will develop new themes and activities to complement existing Science Surprises outreach programs. Activities allow participants to explore the science of nature by engaging in hands-on project-based activities during 30-minute to one-hour outreach sessions. Students will have an opportunity to present their developed activities to the intended audience at outreach events and to assess if the activities accomplish the following learning outcomes: 1. Participants express a high level of interest in learning more about science. 2. Participants explore natural phenomena and how they occur by understanding the nature of science. 3. Participants become better observers and problem solvers while also learning to use creativity and communication skills Skills needed:Writing skills, experience interacting with elementary & middle school students. Skills to be gained: Students will gain written and oral science communicationskills; will learn how to develop and deliver science education programs Semester: Fall[/expander]
Project mentor: Alan Franck, Marc Frank Lab/Collection: Herbarium (Botany) PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Digitizing the plant diversity of the world – To understand plant diversity and target conservation needs, the herbarium is digitizing its collection of about a half-million specimens. Priorities include the orchid family, the cactus family, historic Florida specimens from the 1800s, and the Caribbean flora. We have a very unique collection from these families and areas, some of which needs meticulous curatorial work. Students are encouraged to focus on a particular plant group or geographic area of interest. Skills needed: Interest in plant diversity would be desirable. Skills to be gained: curation and digitization of plant specimens, including databasing, photography, mounting, and filing, as well as various interesting tidbits about plant species that we work with. Semester: Spring, Summer, Fall
Project mentor: Larry Page Lab/Collection: Ichthyology PROJECT DESCRIPTION: As natural history collections are digitized, they provide readily available information important for understanding distributions and life histories of organisms. However, information is much more readily available for North America and Europe than for less studied areas. Recent collections of fishes from Southeast Asia at the Florida Museum provide an excellent opportunity to rapidly provide a large amount of important information regarding patterns in morphologic, biogeographic and ecological diversity from an understudied part of the planet. Data generated will include morphological measurements and images and will be made immediately available online to provide a new resource for AI and other analyses related to climate change, endangered species, and other environmental and educational uses. Skills needed: none Skills to be gained: Students will gain knowledge in methods employed in the generation and digitization of museum collections data and uses of the data in environmental and natural history studies. Semester: Fall
Project mentor: Abby Uehling, Gustav Paulay Lab/Collection: Paulay Lab/Invertebrate Zoology PROJECT DESCRIPTION: This project will explore the diversity and population connectivity of Leiaster sea stars across the Indo-West-Pacific, with particular emphasis on the Arabian Peninsula. This genus is found commonly in shallow water across this region, but preliminary DNA barcoding results suggest that current taxonomic names may need to be revised. The student will be working with sea star specimens in the IZ collection, as well as the molecular lab. Tasks will include tissue sampling, DNA extraction, PCR, phylogenetic methods, and morphological identifications. Skills needed: Detail-oriented, good organizational skills and desire to work in a lab setting. Skills to be gained: Molecular, bioinformatics and morphological methods. Semester: Spring, Fall
Project mentor: Keith Willmott, Riley Gott Lab/Collection: McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Butterflies are one of the best studied groups of insects, yet in a number of tropical groups the true diversity of species and their relationships remain poorly understood. This lack of understanding hinders research on broader questions about species evolution, ecology and conservation. Researchers at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity are using DNA barcoding, a method involving the sequencing of a short, usually diagnostic region of DNA, to better understand diversity in complex groups of species. Students will learn methods for extracting and amplifying DNA and analyzing the resulting sequences, and apply the data to make inferences about species diversity. Students will also gain a deeper understanding of the process of taxonomy, the science of classifying organisms. Work will be based in the molecular lab at the McGuire Center and lab procedures will require students minimally to be able to work in the lab for several hours on each of two consecutive days each week. Students will also be expected to complete several online training courses to comply with environmental health and safety requirements. Skills needed: Responsible attitude towards working in a shared lab space, including punctuality, respecting lab rules and etiquette, ability to carefully record notes, ability to perform repeated tasks with care and precision, inquiring mind. Skills to be gained: Experience working in a multi-user molecular laboratory; practical experience in DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods, gel electrophoresis;improved understanding of approaches to taxonomy, the science of classifying organisms and studying organismal diversity Semester: Spring, Summer, Fall
Project mentor: Steven R. Manchester Lab/Collection: Paleobotany PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Photographing and describing 40 to 60-million year old fossil leaves. Skills needed: background or interest in botany. Skills to be gained: photography, methods of identification of fossil leaves and inference of past climate. Semester: Fall
Project mentor: Jen Green Lab/Collection: South Florida Archaeology and Ethnography PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The student will partake in various anthropological curation activities in the Florida Ethnographic Collection which predominantly houses items of Seminole Indian cultural heritage. These tasks include gaining hands-on experience with documenting, re-housing, and curating ethnographic materials (clothing, photographs, dolls, etc.). The student will be assisting in an on-going project to transcribe interviews along with curating periodical documents for several collections. Skills needed: detail-oriented; interest to learn about the history of the Seminole Tribe of Florida; respect for items of cultural patrimony; no direct ethnography or anthropology experience or classwork needed. Skills to be gained: ethnographic basics; Learn how to accession artifacts into a museum collection; learn to catalog, re-house, and record many types of materials; learn how to enter information into databases. Semester: Spring, Fall
Project mentor: Jen Green Lab/Collection: South Florida Archaeology and Ethnography PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Inventorying of the south Florida archaeological collections. This task involves working in the collections to record physical locations of the collections, record site information from paper records, and add collections to a museum database so they can be accessed by internal and external researchers. Skills needed: organized and detail oriented. Skills to be gained: learn how museum collections are accessioned, explore issues related to legal ownership of collections, curational re-housing techniques, archaeological database practices. Semester: Spring, Summer, Fall
Project mentor: Bruce MacFadden, Rachel Narducci Lab/Collection: Vertebrate Paleontology PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Students will learn how to clean, sort, identify and prepare for cataloging vertebrate fossils from active research localities, including Nebraska, Florida, and North Carolina. Skills needed: Organized, detail oriented. Skills to be gained: The professional process of fossil curation. Semester: Spring, Fall
Intern Testimonials
“An invaluable opportunity to familiarize yourself with careers in scientific fields that often go unnoticed, gain research experience with a supportive mentor, and overall a great way to gain new experiences you might not receive anywhere else”
“My internship experience was a valuable one. I was able to gain hands on experience in artifact preservation and the techniques and measures taken to maintain cultural artifact collections. I had fun too and was able to meet new friends and mentors that will go beyond this experience.”
“This internship gave me a chance to gain a better understanding about the processes to acquire new items for collection and the work done to care for a collection”
The Florida Museum Undergraduate Internship Program (FMUIP) Committee organizes the internship program.
The Florida Museum Undergraduate Internship Program Committee:
Adania Flemming (Grad student member)
Shyla Davidson (iDigBio)
Amy Hester (EPP)
Taliesin Kinser (Grad student member)
Steve Manchester (NH chair)
Gil Nelson (iDigBio)
Larry Page (NH member)
Mariela Pajuelo (NH member)
Juliette Rubin (member)
Alberto Lopez Torres (EPP)