Public Engagement Intern (Fall 2025)

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is seeking a Public Engagement Intern for Fall 2025. The intern will support the development of educational materials for local and national Pre-K – 12 educators.

A mutually agreeable start date will be determined with the selected applicant. We anticipate a start date in September 2025. This will be an in-person internship with work taking place in Edgewater, Maryland.

This intern will work with the SERC Public Engagement team to support creation of educational resources to support nature-based learning and place-based education for Pre-K – 12 educators nationwide. The intern’s primary responsibility will be developing an educational video about nature-based learning that can be used by early childhood educators. The intern will also develop an independent project which may involve developing informational materials for classrooms, synthesizing data for classroom use, or creating videos, classroom activities, or infographics.

In addition to the independent project, the intern will be broadly exposed to and participate in SERC public engagement activities. Responsibilities may include engaging with K-12 students or educators both at SERC and in classroom settings, interacting with SERC researchers, communicating SERC research to members of the public through direct and virtual interactions, working with volunteers in the field on a variety of projects, and taking photographs and creating content for the participatory science, volunteer, public programs, and education sections of the SERC webpage.

Qualifications and Requirements

We are especially seeking applicants with some experience in video production, including videography and/or video editing. Additionally, we’re seeking applicants with some (but not necessarily all) of the following:

• Experience in environmental education
• Experience developing infographics or other digital communication products
• Experience with cleaning and visualizing environmental science data
• Coursework and/or experience in ecology or environmental science
• Interest and some understanding of environmental science research
• Interest in communicating science to a variety of audiences
• Ability to work independently
• Ability to work as a part of an interdisciplinary team