Summer Stem Intern

The mission of the Children’s Museum Houston is to transform communities through innovative, child-centered learning that improves the trajectories of all children in Greater Houston.

For more than four decades, Children’s Museum Houston has supported student achievement, empowered parents, and ignited a life-long love of learning. We are consistently rated as one of the top children's museums in the nation. Our programming serves more than 900,000 participants annually at the Museum, at the Fort Bend Children’s Discovery Center, and at 270+ outreach locations across Greater Houston. We welcome families with offerings that include 13 exhibits, a performing arts series, a full slate of cultural programming, science activities led by degreed educators, and weekly Free Family Nights.

Supported by the ExxonMobil Foundation Community Summer Jobs Program, the Summer STEM Intern will experience the operation of a large non-profit, participating in firsthand experiences that illustrate how informal learning activities for children and families are researched, prototyped, facilitated, evaluated, and refined. The Intern will work in collaboration with the Museum’s Maker Education Manager and the Maker Education team. Primary duties will involve the engagement of children and their family members in creative STEM-oriented projects through which children will practice problem solving skills and gain greater interest in science, technology, engineering, math, and related design fields.

As a member of the Maker Education Team, the ExxonMobil Summer Intern will be responsible for:

• Co-developing new maker-style activities and experiments that the Intern and additional members of the Maker Education Team will facilitate in the Museum exhibit spaces, introducing children to a variety of STEM concepts.
• Co-developing and facilitating a new workshop for the Museum’s ExxonMobil MindFest
• Supporting the prototyping of new activities with visitors, measuring the effectiveness of each newly developed activity.
• Providing qualitative feedback during prototyping sessions, with modifications to be shaped and implemented with the support of the Maker Education Manager.
• Assisting the Maker Education Team in completing monthly change-outs of activities.
• Prototyping, organizing, and implementing chemistry-based Kids’ Labs activities, also managing supply purchases and preparations for the Labs.
• Participating in staff training and in team meetings through which the Intern will develop a broad understanding of the scope of the Museum’s programming.
• Engaging in additional duties as assigned, which can involve assisting Gallery Managers through engagement in prototyping, the preparation of supplies, and the facilitation of additional workshops and event programming associated with the ExxonMobil Full STEM Ahead initiative.
• Participating in training and events facilitated by Sunwest Communications.
• Other duties as assigned.