Teen & Family Museum Education Fellow

Seattle Art Museum•Seattle, WA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Teen & Family Museum Education Fellow supports SAM programs for children, caregivers, and teens while receiving training and mentorship and taking on increasing responsibility. This fellowship is designed for emerging museum educators who have completed a bachelor’s degree or developed comparable experience through employment, internships, artistic practice, teaching, youth programs, community work, or another relevant pathway. A degree in a specific field and prior museum employment are not required. This paid fellowship advances racial equity and diversity at SAM and across the museum field. We encourage applicants from communities historically underrepresented in museums and cultural institutions. What you'll learn: Program planning, coordination, facilitation, and evaluation in a museum context Inclusive strategies for engaging children, caregivers, and teens through art-making, close looking, conversation, and leadership Collaboration with teaching artists, volunteers, community partners, curators, visitor-facing teams, and other museum colleagues How to use observation and participant feedback to improve programs and create effective museum-education resources Potential career pathways in museums, education, nonprofits, youth development, and the arts Applications are due at 11:59 pm Pacific Standard Time Sunday, September 6, 2026. Candidates invited to interview will be asked to provide two professional, academic, or community references.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education, training, and relevant experience.
At least 1 year of experience working with children, families, and/or teens in an arts, educational, museum, youth development, or community setting
Experience planning or facilitating a workshop, tour, art activity, youth program, community event, or comparable learning experience
Ability to manage multi-step assignments, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines
Strong written and oral communication skills and the ability to represent SAM with professionalism, sound judgment, tact, and integrity
Ability to work independently and collaboratively, seek support, receive feedback, and revise work
Basic proficiency with Microsoft Office, Google Drive, email, and general computer use
Availability for weekly Thursday afternoon/evening TAG meetings, selected Saturday programs, and identified major-program dates

Nice To Haves

Study or experience in fine arts, art history, cultural studies, education, museum studies, youth development, community engagement, or another humanities field
Experience working with both family and teen audiences
Experience with gallery teaching, object-based learning, or hands-on art facilitation
Experience with program evaluation, reflective documentation, or coordination with teaching artists, volunteers, community partners, or peer leaders
Multilingual or cross-cultural communication experience

Responsibilities

Help plan and implement recurring Family Saturdays, including Third Saturdays at the Seattle Asian Art Museum and Chase Open Studio on First Saturdays at the Seattle Art Museum
Support major community celebrations and events, including Día de los Muertos, Diwali, Lunar New Year, and Baby Rave at the Olympic Sculpture Park
Contribute to Community Family Fun Workshops, family tours, community partnerships, early learner programming, and other on-site and off-site family experiences
Assist with the reopening and ongoing use of the third-floor Family Room and with multilingual self-guides and other resources for families
Prepare and test art materials; support teaching-artist and volunteer coordination; and assist with setup, visitor welcome, program facilitation, registration, breakdown, documentation, evaluation, and post-program reporting
Develop and facilitate a defined Family Programs component and provide limited support for early planning for SAM Camp 2027
Attend and support weekly Teen Arts Group (TAG) meetings on Thursday afternoons and evenings from October through May
Assist with TAG agendas, art-making activities, attendance, communications, food, supplies, culminating projects, and spring recruitment for the next cohort
Contribute to Teen Night Out, Teen Art Lab, teen workshops, and meetings with other teen programmers in the city through planning, promotion, production, facilitation, volunteer support, and evaluation
Co-plan and co-facilitate at least one TAG workshop, teen art-making activity, or defined Teen Night component
Help develop roles and orientation materials for teen volunteers or peer leaders and provide limited outreach or planning support for SAM’s summer teen program 2027
Complete a structured museum-education training sequence covering equity, accessibility, youth development, family learning, gallery teaching, program design, safety, and evaluation
Establish a learning plan, participate in regular mentoring meetings, and complete three observed facilitation experiences with feedback
Contribute to developing practical resources and recommendations to strengthen future Teen & Family programs
Build a professional portfolio featuring family and teen program plans, reflections on facilitation, and resources developed during the fellowship, and share a final presentation with SAM colleagues