Jenna Crowe

Staff Writer

Paid internships are now available for female high school students at the Idaho Museum of Natural History, thanks to the efforts put forth by Education Specialist Becky Hansis-O’Neill and her team.

The team created a grant for female high school students during June 2016, which was then funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

This grant gave the museum the opportunity to hire high school students for the first time as interns in the Idaho Virtualization Lab. Before the grant, only graduate and Career Path Internship students at Idaho State University were allowed to work in the IVL.

The first two interns hired are Lili Pruett and Shania Jackson. During their internship, they were supervised by Jesse Pruitt while they recorded and cataloged a variety of specimens within the museum.

The IVL houses technology for imaging and virtualization, as well as simulation of material items and landscapes. The IVL has been used for a variety of projects, including animation for the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet.

This grant not only provided Pruett and Jackson an opportunity to make $12 per hour, they also got to work with a wide range of technology while expanding their interests in fields such as anthropology and anatomy.

“We wanted to give women an informal science experience that would expose them to 3-dimensional technology, especially technology that relates to NASA,” Hansis-O’Neill said. “We also wanted young women to experience what it’s like working at a university.”

Future applicants can expect to see questions that pertain to their career goals, but the application is currently unavailable.

“Students need to check in the spring for application instructions,” said Hansis-O’Neill.

The museum team hopes to hire as many students as possible, but if there is space available, Pruett and Jackson can be rehired. Internships like the ones offered at the museum are not always available to high school students, so students that are interested are highly encouraged to apply.

“[NASA] doesn’t use any of the data we record, but they do collect information on the success of the internship program,” said Hansis-O’Neill.

While this grant may expire in the summer of 2017, there is hope of expanding the program.

If the program is expanded, more equipment will be purchased mainly for the IVL, which would allow more exposure to 3-D technology.

The expansion would also benefit ISU students, because more intern positions would be made available during the fall.

“There’s a lot to learn in here, especially in an internship,” said Hansis-O’Neill.