Joseph Moore Museum Education Lead

Become part of a dynamic college team bringing creative and fun STEM activities to the Richmond and Wayne County, Indiana area. Develop and play nerdy games with kids and adults who love science and nature - and get paid for it!

The Joseph Moore Museum, on the campus of Earlham College, seeks a creative, enthusiastic, and broadly scientifically knowledgeable educator to lead our educational outreach and animal care teams. These teams provide educational STEM-based programs for school groups as well as the general public. The Museum Education Lead supports our undergraduate museum interpreter training program that prepares our undergraduate educators to confidently lead learner-centered experiences using best practices in informal education that are aligned with state educational standards and feature our natural and cultural history collections. Our programs cover a wide variety of topics ranging from paleontology and astronomy to Native American history. As a natural history museum within a small liberal arts college, we provide professional museum training for undergraduates while simultaneously offering educational programming for PreK-12 and the public in a geographic area of high STEM education need.

The Lead will become part of a dynamic team of museum faculty, supervised by the Museum Director and lead two teams of undergraduate students in outreach and animal care. The Lead must be confident working with live reptiles/amphibians and passionate about working with

Earlham College students, providing sustained support for their growth as museum educators as part of their college learning experiences. This is a full time, 12-month, position supported by a part-time administrative assistant and part-time outreach and communications assistant.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Supervise, train and mentor Earlham College undergraduate student staff in outreach (i.e. interacting with the public through tours, events, and museum hosting during open hours) and animal care. The majority of the Education Leads work is teaching and supporting students who engage with the community and take care of our live animals, though the Lead will also lead some programs. Student training is a continuous process and will use methods from the National Association for Interpretation and Reflecting on Practice curricula. We can provide training/certification in these curricula for the Education Lead as needed.
• Plan and implement community educational programs for the Joseph Moore Museum in line with the museums mission and vision, including designing, revising, scheduling, staffing/leading, publicizing and promoting educational programming, including field trips that meet state standards throughout the school year and camps in summer.
• Plan and implement special events to connect Earlham community members with each other and the broader Wayne County community around topics of importance to science and society. You will also work closely with the marketing team to promote these events effectively. Must be available on evenings and weekends to oversee events.
• Document, assess and report on community engagement to the Director. This includes keeping daily statistics on program attendance, student tour leader performance and diversity and inclusion practices.
• Build and maintain sustained relationships with teachers and organizations in the Richmond/Wayne County community as well as on campus. You may also support museum studies courses as well as other major courses of study.
• Assist with exhibits , including refurbishment and design, maintenance, AND ensuring a strong connection between outreach and the physical exhibits.
• Other duties as assigned

Experience & Qualifications

• Experience providing informal science education to children and youth
• A commitment to the field of museum education and an interest in continued study in pedagogical strategies and practices
• Ability to engage, challenge, and interest young people in the natural world
• Experience designing and implementing developmentally appropriate curricula
• Experience working in customer service roles, ideally in a museum or non-profit environment
• Experience in a supervisory role
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail with a proven ability to manage multiple tasks and priorities, plan ahead, anticipate and articulate program needs
• Ability to problem-solve, be flexible, and imaginative
• Ability to work independently and as a team
• BS in biology/geology and/or education, or museum studies with an education focus, demonstrated college-level understanding of science
• Preferred: Masters degree, relevant Indiana or Ohio teacher license, experience with Reflecting on Practice Program, familiarity with the National Association for Interpretation certification process

Application Instructions

Qualified applicants should submit the following materials through the Earlham Careers Portal:

• Cover Letter *include a hyperlink to a 5-minute sample science education video for a single grade (3^rd to 12^th grade) Please specify the grade*
• Resume
• Contact Information for 3 references

Earlham College requires all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or apply for and receive a qualified exemption within two weeks of the employment start date.

Earlham College is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse community, one that reflects the makeup of society at large and that particularly welcomes and supports individuals from groups that have been historically marginalized because of factors such as race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic class, and physical ability. The College strongly encourages applications from women and people of color. As an institution with a Quaker identity, the College also solicits applications from members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).

Earlhams Work Authorization Policy

Earlham utilizes E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility for all newly hired employees within the United States.