Geological/Paleontological Internship/Fellowship at Big Bend National Park, Texas

Geological/Paleontological Internship/Fellowship at Big Bend National Park, Texas

The positions will work directly with the Staff Geologist and will help create and offer general public educational programs, programs for schools and students, and could also offer college level programming for visiting university classes. The positions will also help with ongoing research in the park and directly support the Staff Geologist and Paleontologist. The educators will also help put information on the new website for the exhibit.

The Houston Geological Society (HGS) and Big Bend Conservancy are co-sponsoring two internships/fellowships at the Big Bend National Park, Texas for the summer of 2016.
These opportunities are open to teachers, graduate students, educators and others who are interested in on-site learning at Big Bend National Park. These positions are located at Big Bend National Park in west Texas. The Big Bend area is remote, but has a strong small community, great recreational opportunities, terrific scenery, and natural and cultural learning opportunities abound. Housing may be available inside Big Bend National Park’s housing community at the Panther Junction headquarters area.
The positions will provide for public education at the Fossil Discovery Exhibit (FDE) located eight miles north of Panther Junction. The FDE is scheduled for completion in September 2016 and will be the largest expenditure ever for an exhibit complex at the park. The FDE will cover four major geologic time periods, and will include exhibits on the Cretaceous inland seaway, dinosaurs, the K/Pg boundary, Cenozoic volcanism, and the evolution of mammals in the area. Big Bend contains some of the best fossils of dinosaurs to be found anywhere in the world and its rock record displays one of the most diverse ranges of paleo-environments anywhere. The FDE will provide an excellent backdrop with museum-quality replicas, artist’s renditions, and a paleo kid’s play area and more, to use as props and demonstration areas. Programs are expected to last from 15-20 minutes up to 1.5 hours for guided tours of the facility and themed areas. Curriculum-based programming is highly desirable for students and school classes that visit on site. The park will also have the ability to provide videoconferenced programs to school groups unable to make it to the site. 

Salary will be $5000 for a two month period, provided by the Big Bend Conservancy and the Houston Geological Society through a grant to the selected educator. The educator will have to go through a selection process that will include an interview, a background check, pass a drug test, and be qualified as if they were federal employees. The minimum requirement is a Bachelor’s degree in education or a science or a related subject. Applicants are required to have their own transportation. The dates for the internship are June 13th – August 12th.  These dates are flexible within reason to accommodate the fellow’s school or work schedule, and to ensure housing is available.

Following the two month internship/fellowship, the educator would be expected to write about their experience for the Big Bend Conservancy newsletter as well as make a presentation to the HGS membership about their experience and prepare a short report for inclusion in the Houston Geological Society Bulletin.

Those interested should submit a cover letter and resume to Andrea Peoples at Houston Geological Society, 14811 St. Mary’s Lane, Suite 250, Houston, Texas, 77079. The deadline for submitting a cover letter and resume is April 15, 2016.

For more information, please contact Larry Quandt of the Houston Geological Society at (713) 206-0389 or lquandt777@gmail.com, or Courtney Lyons-Garcia of the Big Bend Conservancy at friendsdirector@yahoo.com. n


 

 

 

releasedate: 
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
subcategory: 
Careers