Milwaukee Public Museum Internships: A Guide to Opportunities

An internship provides invaluable practical experience in the museum field. For students interested in museum work, the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) and related organizations offer a variety of internship opportunities. This article explores these opportunities, providing information on how to find and secure an internship that aligns with your interests and career goals.

Why Pursue a Museum Internship?

An internship is the most effective way of gaining in-depth practical experience in a chosen area of professional museum practice. It allows students to apply classroom knowledge in a real-world setting, develop professional skills, and build a network of contacts in the field. These experiences can significantly enhance a student's resume and increase their competitiveness in the job market.

Internship Opportunities at the Milwaukee Public Museum

The Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) frequently offers internship opportunities for both undergraduate students and recent graduates. These opportunities can range from approximately 6-12 months positions to shorter summer internships.

Exhibit Content Internship

The Milwaukee Public Museum Exhibit Content Internship is available to students who:

Have completed some coursework related to research in history or anthropology.
Are comfortable with public speaking.
Are familiar with Microsoft Office.

As an intern, you will support the creation of an exhibit by:

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Researching on the history of MPM.
Finding valuable assets to use in the exhibit.
Helping to shape the interpretive structure of the exhibit, which will highlight the significance of MPM to the city and the importance of creating a strong foundation for the museum's future.

Wisconsin Science Collection Survey (WSCS) Initiative

MPM launched WSCS in 2022 in collaboration with three partner organizations: the Harbor District in Milwaukee, the Cable Natural History Museum in northeastern Wisconsin, and the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The goal of the program is to support a series of research topics that can be addressed with data from these three Wisconsin sites while expanding to more areas across the state with collaborators and affiliate organizations. The WSCS Project engages partners in each community to join in the program via data collection, analysis, and interpretation using their own data and natural history collections dating back hundreds of years. MPM will also identify and implement ways to connect participants across the state to discuss findings.

Internship Opportunities Beyond MPM

While the Milwaukee Public Museum is a primary option, related organizations also offer valuable internships.

Milwaukee County Historical Society (MCHS)

The Milwaukee County Historical Society accepts internship applications for the Spring, Summer, and Fall academic semesters. MCHS provides several types of internships, based on the interest of the applicant.

Museum Intern: The Museum Intern will work under the direction of the Curator on a variety of projects designed to enhance the research and exhibit potential of the Milwaukee County Historical Society artifact collection. Interns may have input on projects based on the topics or museum practices they are most interested in. Monday-Friday in the final paragraph of their cover letter.
Special Events Intern: Special Events Interns will work with museum staff on a variety of programs and events meant to engage the public.

Discovery World Museum

The Discovery World regularly offers summer and semester internship opportunities in the areas of science education, communications, and fundraising.

Harbor District & Milwaukee Public Museum Field Survey Internship Program

This field survey, habitat restoration internship program is carried out in partnership with Harbor District, Inc (HDI) and the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM).

Related Internship Opportunities

There are internship opportunities that may be related. They are open to biological and environmental majors and offer student interns a breadth of professional development opportunities in the field of environmental sciences and sustainability.

Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

The Dept. of Natural Resources in each state usually hosts a broad summer internship program.

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD)

The MMSD host several diverse summer internship programs each year, open to biological and environmental majors and offering student interns a breadth of professional development opportunities in the field of environmental sciences and sustainability.

Arm and Hammer Specialty Products Division Wisconsin

Arm and Hammer offer paid internships to interested students to support and develop targeted microbial solutions for application in poultry, swine and dairy. Their internships are for regular semester (part-time) or summer months. Their work focuses on applying microbiological and molecular genetic techniques to isolate and characterize pathogenic bacteria from feed, environmental and intestinal samples from livestock production systems and developing probiotic products to promote intestinal health and improved performance.

Washington, D.C. Internship Program

offers specialized internship opportunities for eligible students in any major at any university. Note this is a fabulous program and not limited to POSC majors. It is highly appropriate for BIOL/INES majors and offers wonderful, valuable opportunities to intern in Washington, DC, e.g., at the FDA, NIH, EPA etc.

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Kleczka Internship Program

Just like the successful academic model of the Les Aspin Center in Washington, D.C., students receive hands-on work experience at the city, county, or state level coupled with classroom instruction. Coordinated on Marquette's campus in Milwaukee, the Kleczka Program places students in local legislative offices and organizations. The internship is open to any eligible college student studying any major.

Campus Sustainability Internship

Sustainability Interns work to operationalize campus sustainability efforts through organizing events, developing creative programming and initiatives, conducting peer-to-peer outreach, collecting & analyzing data, and conducting research.

Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office - Forensics Lab Internship

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office has recruited BIOL students in the past as lab interns. These positions may be unpaid but can provide a wealth of professional lab experience to their interns. NOTE: Student placements are filled on a rolling basis. It is recommended that you submit your application as soon as possible for full consideration.

Wisconsin Crime Laboratory Bureau

The Wisconsin Crime Laboratory Bureau offers a limited number of internships each year, and internships are only offered when a specific project has been identified that furthers the mission of the laboratories.

The Importance of Docents

The dedicated group of well-trained volunteer docents continues to be one of the Museum’s most valuable resources. Docents lead thousands of school-age visitors, and also adult visitors, through the Museum’s galleries each year. Tours can be tailored to school, special interest, and professional groups. The most important qualities you need to become a docent are a love of art and people, and the ability to commit a significant amount of time. Docents are asked to commit at least five years to the program, including one year of training. As a docent, you will be asked to lead at least 35 tours per year. No membership dues, but docents must maintain memberships at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Community Science Initiatives

Engage in community science initiatives, such as monitoring butterflies. The Harbor District surrounds Milwaukee's Inner Harbor, and the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay was established in 1999 to promote education, scientific research, land protection, and community services that contribute to conservation of the western Great Lakes fauna and flora.

Cofrin Center for Biodiversity Natural Areas

The Center manages six natural areas in northeastern Wisconsin, the Richter Museum of Natural History, and the Gary A. Dr. Keir Wefferling: Assistant Professor and Gary A.

The Cofrin Memorial Arboretum: forms a natural boundary of 290 acres encircling the UW-Green Bay campus and providing valuable habitat and ecosystem services as well as access for research, field trips, wildlife viewing, and recreation.
Wequiock Creek Natural Area: was acquired during 2019 through a partnership involving the Northeast Wisconsin Land Trust (NEWLT), University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, and the Town of Scott. The majority of Wequiock Creek Natural Area's 79 acres is flat upland with a few wetlands, bisected by a steep, forested riparian area sloping to Wequiock Creek. The long-term goal is to establish a natural mosaic of Midwestern oak savanna, riparian woodland, and shallow wetlands, together supporting rich native biodiversity and a landscape representative of the region's unique cultural history.
The Kingfisher Farm Natural Area: consists of 59.22 acres of forest, grassland, shoreline, and riparian habitat along Lake Michigan, approximately eight miles south of Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The property was donated to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 1989 by philanthropist Robert A. Levin. The upland forest at Kingfisher Farm is an excellent example of mature beech-maple-basswood climax forest typical of the Central Lake Michigan Coastal Ecological Landscape of eastern Wisconsin.

Projects: For each natural area that we manage, we wish to establish who lives there; this year, we are focusing on plants, butterflies, and moths. We have some historical data for the Cofrin Memorial Arboretum and Kingfisher Farm, but not for Wequiock Creek. We have the results of a 1988 survey of the vascular plants at Kingfisher Farm; we know that we've lost some lycophytes since that survey, but have little other knowledge of floristic changes.

Cable Natural History Museum (CNHM)

Our mission states, “Connecting people to Northwoods nature through educational experiences that inspire wonder, discovery, and responsibility.” We offer nearly 300 public programs annually for families.

Nestel Property - Wayside Wanderings Natural Play Area: Located on the southern edge of the town of Cable, just a half-mile from the Museum. This 13-acre site has special significance to the Museum, because it was once the home of Lois Nestel, a well-known local naturalist and the first director of CNHM. The Museum acquired the property in 2000 and has preserved its natural state. Much of the site is heavily wooded with mature white cedar, birch, hemlock, and white pine. A one-mile trail winds through the woods and provides outdoor opportunities for hikers and snowshoers of all ages. The Nestel Property is used year-round for outdoor Museum programs.

Projects: Join CNHM and other partner organizations across the state in our statewide community science initiative! During the summer season, we will work together to monitor plants, bees, and butterflies at our local properties. We will provide a variety of opportunities to build identification and survey skills during scheduled programs. Staff and volunteers will also be available upon request to help get you started with a survey!

How to Secure an Internship

Plan Ahead: Students considering an internship should apply to a potential internship site at least one semester before they plan to perform an internship. Be aware that a limited number of internships are available and that students compete for internships with students from other schools and programs.
Meet Requirements: Students should be aware that an internship site may have special requirements regarding an internship performed at their institution. It is the student’s responsibility to incorporate these policies into their internship plan.
Submit Applications Early: Student placements are filled on a rolling basis. It is recommended that you submit your application as soon as possible for full consideration.
Seek Academic Credit: Some internship opportunities may qualify for academic credit, however, they must be preapproved before you start the internship. So, if you secure an internship opportunity and wish to seek to earn academic credit for the experience, please contact the Launch Program in advance of you accepting the internship position to discuss further.

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