The Children's Museum of Brazos Valley

From RPTSWiki

Heather Street

Intern, Spring 2007/Summer 2007

The Children’s Museum of The Brazos Valley

Organization Overview:

The Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley was begun in December 1995. Dr. Dale Whittaker, a professor at Texas A&M University and his wife, Mary, set out to provide a non-profit facility where children ages infant to fourteen could participate in hands-on educational, arts, and science experiences. After receiving their 501(c)3 status from the IRS, they began rallying community support and started construction in July of 1996. Countless volunteer hours from members throughout the Bryan and College Station community allowed the museum to reach its completion. The Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley opened its doors on April 18th, 1998. People from all over the state of Texas were in attendance for the grand opening. Initially the Children’s Museum was run by volunteers only and only open on the weekends. However, by June 1998, the museum was open from Tuesday through Saturday and an Executive Director had been hired to handle the large increase in interest from the community. Within the first nine months of opening, more then 10,000 patrons visited The Children’s Museum. 2000 was a big year for The Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley; they moved locations to what is now their permanent residence which the Old City Hall of the City of Bryan. Today, the Children's Museum offers a broad variety of exhibits, camps, and events throughout the year.

Mission Statement:

The Mission of The Children's Museum of the Brazos Valley is to provide a child-centered, hands-on, interactive environment for discovery and learning for children.

Job description:

This internship requires someone who is youthful and fresh and loves to work with children and make a difference in their community. We need someone who is very organized, full of new and exciting ideas, and who is willing to work hard and accept challenges with the ability to find a solution. This person needs to be on-time, be able to follow directions and be able to work on a task with little supervision and guidance. You need to be able to think on your feet and interact in a professional manner with all individuals in the community.

Job Qualifications:

Qualifications that would be needed to fill this internship position include organization and a personality that sees nothing as a challenge but instead as a hurdle to overcome. You will need to be creative and interested in planning special events. Most of all you will need to be flexible.

Benefits and Opportunities:

This internship does not pay an internship stipend nor provide any room and board. For me this was not a huge problem because I had to stay in town for the summer and was just happy to find an internship that I really enjoyed. Some of the perks that I found from the job included some amazing networking opportunities within the community as well as very flexible hours. I was able to help and contribute to many of their large events throughout the year. I also had the opportunity to work one-on-one with the children in the community. Another plus for me was that I made some amazing friendships with the wonderful people that work there.