Research & Evaluation Intern

Boston Childrens Museum • Boston, MA

12h • Onsite

About The Position

Boston Children’s Museum (BCM) is seeking a graduate-level student intern to support the Research and Evaluation Manager (R&E Manager) on the Empathy at the Heart project, which is a grant-funded initiative designed to foster the development of empathy through a multitude of projects--programs, exhibits, and other resource development--inside and outside the Museum. The anticipated internship period will be during the school year 2026-2027, and all internship work will be in-person at Boston Children’s Museum. Through hands-on training, scaffolding, and weekly supervision meetings, the intern will work with the R&E Manager to collect data with adult and child visitors and support the analysis of several ongoing evaluation projects. Empathy-related projects that the intern may support include: Partnering with Museum educators on prototyping and evaluating programs; Collecting and analyzing visitor feedback related to exhibits in different stages of development and design from prototyping through the remedial evaluation; Designing and prototyping methods to collect children’s feedback about their experiences with exhibits and programs. The intern will gain knowledge and first-hand experience related to evaluation and applied research, family learning and child development (especially about character development and empathy), as well as exhibit and program development in Museum settings.

Requirements

• Prior experience and/or coursework in education, social science research, evaluation (or related experience), with some experience conducting evaluations in educational settings.
• Knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research methods and analytical skills.
• Interest in and experience with working with caregivers and young children.
• Understanding of issues surrounding equity, diversity, and inclusion related to research and evaluation.
• Understanding of ethical issues related to human-subjects research.
• Highly responsible and detail-oriented, with strong organizational skills.
• Familiarity with online survey platforms (e.g., SurveyMonkey, Google Forms).
• Demonstrated communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Available to work some hours on either Saturday or Sunday.

Nice To Haves

• Ability to read, write, and converse in Spanish.

Responsibilities

• Attend weekly supervision meetings to discuss internship goals, problem-solving, and any other topics related to professional development.
• Participate in trainings related to conducting culturally responsive and inclusive audience research, visitor interaction, data collection, and management.
• Conduct data collection directly with adult and child visitors at the Museum including, but not limited to, surveys, observations, and interviews.
• Manage data by inputting and organizing information in a timely manner.
• Participate in research or evaluation tasks related to other Museum exhibits or programs as needed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Intern