Interpretation and Exhibits Coordinator

~ Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, on 295 spectacular shorefront acres in the midcoast town of Boothbay, is one of the nation’s newest, loveliest, and most dynamic public gardens. ~

The Gardens officially opened to the public in 2007. In 2018, we welcomed over 225,000 guests. TripAdvisor named Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens the #1 public garden in the United States.  Our mission is to inspire meaningful connections among people, plants and nature through horticulture, education and research. 

Position Overview

Internship Mission:

This internship prepares college students to enter the field of environmental or museum education by providing hands-on experience with classes, demonstrations, interpretation, and informal education in a public garden setting. In particular, the intern in this position will immerse themselves in our Butterfly House, taking care of the gardens and butterflies, interacting with visitors, and providing hands-on informal education to the public.

This internship allows students to learn how the Education Department leverages the incredible resource that is our landscape and gardens for a wide variety of learning modes and settings to serve our diverse customer and visitor base.

Position Summary:

The Adult Education and Interpretive Exhibits Intern plays a major role in providing horticulture assistance and staffing the Gardens’ Butterfly House exhibit, working with the Education Department and volunteers in providing live interpretation for visitors.

In addition, this position provides hands-on experience managing and implementing a wide variety of adult education programming at the Gardens, including helping with adult classes, assisting with our Therapeutic Horticulture program, and supporting written and live interpretive exhibits in the Gardens, all under the supervision and mentorship of the Interpretation and Exhibits Coordinator.

Work schedule:

• 40 hours/week, including Saturdays, from approximately mid-May to late August.  Flexible start and end date.
• All candidates must have their own reliable transportation.

Academic/Experiential-Learning Nexus: 

• Public programming in relation to horticulture, botany, and natural history.

Responsibilities

Essential Functions: 

(This job requires the performance of the following tasks, with or without accommodation.  Incumbents may be regularly or occasionally required to assume additional responsibilities or perform additional tasks.)  

• Learn the art and science of live interpretation while supporting the development of the Butterfly House interpretation.
• Support volunteer docents in the Butterfly House by assisting with volunteer training, development, and schedule management as needed.
• Assist in maintaining the gardens around the Butterfly House and other gardens as needed.
• Interact with students and visitors by providing informal educational experiences in both structured and unstructured settings.
• Support additional interpretive experiences such as our Discovery Cart, Back Woods nature-based play area, and docent training and support.
• Support our Adult Education programming, including our Certificate in Native Plants and Ecological Horticulture, by assisting with course registration and student management; corresponding with students and instructors; and supporting the evaluation of our programs.
• Carry out daily informal educational activities in the Bibby and Harold Alfond Children’s Garden.
• Gain experience in all aspects of coordinating a busy education center.
• Learn and deliver best practices in customer service.

Qualifications 

• The successful candidate must enjoy and be comfortable with interacting with the public. 
• They should have solid organizational skills, an interest in plants, nature, and the outdoors, and a desire to learn more about the role of education in a public garden and museum setting.
• Some coursework/experience in the field of education or the natural sciences is also required.
• Experience using databases and spreadsheets is preferred.

Physical and environmental factors:

• This is an active job, requiring walking, standing, kneeling, squatting, bending, and reaching, up to eight hours at a time. 
• Work is performed both indoors and outdoors, often in inclement weather (hot, cold, wet).  
• The work requires standard visual acuity.

Note: This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of responsibilities, skills, duties, requirements, efforts, or working conditions associated with the job. While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, the Gardens reserves the right to revise the functions and duties of the job or to require that additional or different tasks be performed when circumstances dictate (such as emergencies, changes in personnel, seasonality, work load, rush jobs, or technological developments).