Museum Education Internship: Mapping and Storytelling Project

Description

Organizational Department: Education

Project Season: Summer 2025 

Program Duration: Jun 23 – Jul 31, 2025 (6-Weeks)

Application Posting Date: Thursday, April 10

Application Deadline: Wednesday, April 23

About the Historic New Orleans Collection

Established in 1966, the Historic New Orleans Collection builds on the collection and vision of our founders, Kemper and Leila Williams. We produce award-winning exhibitions, public programs, books, and multimedia. In keeping with our founders’ wish to make New Orleans and Gulf South history accessible to the public, admission is free. Researchers and history lovers can explore our million-plus holdings onsite, for free, at the Williams Research Center. 

Internship Program Mission Statement 

The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Internship Program offers students and emerging public history professionals a unique opportunity to engage with collections that represent the creative heritage and rich history of Louisiana. HNOC internships foster experiential learning through exploration, inquiry, and practice. We aim to create an environment that enables interns to identify, actualize, and confidently pursue their academic and professional goals.

Project Description 

The New Orleans Chess History Google My Map is a collaborative public history project initiated by the Education Department to showcase key locations associated with the city's chess heritage. This interactive digital map serves as an expanding collection of images, articles, links, and historical data pertaining to New Orleans's rich chess tradition. It acts as a valuable resource for local residents as well as a wider national audience, particularly in light of the increasing interest in chess culture. The initiative seeks to engage the local chess community by inviting individuals to share their memories, historical insights, and photographs that illustrate the city's profound relationship with the game. This initiative is essential for safeguarding and highlighting a lesser known yet culturally significant aspect of New Orleans's history. It adopts an inclusive and participatory method of historical documentation, amplifying narratives and perspectives that are often overlooked or difficult to access. With the growing popularity of chess, this map serves as an important tool for historians, players, educators, and inquisitive tourists. Upon its completion and activation, the map will function as both an educational tool and a means of community engagement. It offers an accessible platform to discover significant chess-related landmarks and figures while also preserving lesser-known narratives within New Orleans's history. As a dynamic archive, it encourages continuous public contributions to create a more inclusive and comprehensive narrative.

Project Format 

This is an on-site placement. The intern will be expected to report physically to the Historic New Orleans Collection French Quarter campus and be stationed at the Ice House located at 606 Toulouse St. 

Requirements

Intern Engagement and Learning Objectives: 

The intern will: 

• demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of fundamental archival and collections management principles and practices relevant to the profession of public history. 
• develop competencies in the strategizing of community engagement programming and historic storytelling through the lens of Gulf South chess history. 
• build skills in community engagement and historical storytelling 
• learn and apply method of digital mapping and the utilization of visualization tools. 
• critically evaluate the role of collections in cultural heritage.

Candidacy Requirements

• Qualified candidates are students academically classified as rising undergraduate juniors or seniors enrolled in a Louisiana-based college/university.
• Students majoring in History, Humanities, Communications, English, Social Science, and Education are encouraged to apply.
• The applicant should have knowledge of and be able to apply standard research methodologies including but not limited to independent research utilizing primary and secondary sources.
• Experience as a chess player or an interest in chess is preferred but not required. 
• Candidates will also possess basic computer skills.