Research & Evaluation Intern

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.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Participate in evaluation and applied research in an informal education setting;
• Develop mixed method data collection skills through hands-on opportunities;
• Explore the role of informal education settings in supporting family-oriented, play-based learning.

PROJECTS , ASSIGNMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS

• 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.

SKILLS REQUIRED

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

INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENTS

• The internship is in-person at Boston Children’s Museum.
• The internship requires a minimum of 21 hours/week, for approximately 34 weeks (from Nov 2026 to June 2027).
• Hours will be coordinated around the student's class and/or work schedules. The student’s schedule will also need to be set with the Museum site supervisor, and will include some weekends for data collection.
• Depending on the project, the intern may be collecting data with the RE Manager and Museum educators outside the Museum building, in the nearby communities.
• The Internship period must be completed on or before August 31, 2027.