I had the opportunity to intern for the Las Vegas Natural History Museum as a Collections Technician in the annex building where I organized, cataloged, and stored the museum's historical collections. My role would have me work on one assigned project at a time that usually included a box of historical artifacts from a particular site and labeling and entering the artifact's details into the museum's database. I do feel as though the internship was my one foot in the door towards a career in the museum world as it truly introduced me to some of the inner workings of museums. I think I have gained the knowledge to transition into a different museum if I wanted to. As an anthropology major, having a basic understanding in lithics was helpful in contextualizing the artifacts I was working with. Although, I do not think there is a specific educational requirement needed to work here as most have the ability to learn as they go by those that teach the system extremely well. Besides organizational skills, an interest in the field would be the most important tool in finding success and satisfaction at this internship. Ultimately, if I had any advice for this internship it would be to speak up about your interests in engaging with different roles or projects in the department as the team has great priorities in focusing on you. I would also say to use this internship as an opportunity to network with the numerous professionals and individuals that are constantly in and out of the museum.
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