VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AT LOWELL NATIONAL
HISTORICAL PARK
HELP WANTED
Youth
Community Service Park
Operations Canal
Clean-Ups
Lowell National
Historical Park Seeking Volunteers
Lowell
National Historical Park is currently seeking volunteers and
community service groups for a variety of needs. Interested
individuals and service groups can help the park in many ways:
Assist
museum teachers in presenting curriculum-based, hands-on
school programs at the Tsongas Industrial History Center
Contribute
to spring clean-up projects along canals, rivers, and walkways
"Adopt-A-Canalway," including
landscaping, gardening, and beautification projects
along the canals
Greet
visitors and help present the park story at the Visitor
Center, Boott Cotton Mills Museum, and Mill Girls and
Immigrants Exhibit at the Patrick J. Mogan Cultural Center
Participate
in special volunteer group that hosts, interprets, and
maintains the Moody St. Feeder Gatehouse on Merrimack St.
Lead
walking tours or give other public programs dealing with
history, culture, and architecture of Lowell
Assist
curatorial staff with museum collection and exhibits
Help
maintain historic structures and grounds
Assist
with administrative and clerical duties, including computer
operations
Provide
photographic, audio-visual, and video services
Assist
with special events, such as Lowell Summer Music Series,
Lowell Folk Festival, Banjo and Fiddle Contest, and other
park-city events
Assist
park trolley operations
Demonstrate
weaving on historic power looms in the Boott Cotton Mills
Museum Weave Room (textile or mechanical experience typically
required)
Assist
with Mogan Cultural Center community programs, events,
and exhibits
Assist
in the park library
Research
Lowell history for programs, publications, and exhibit
projects
Sewing
and finishing of "living history" costumes for park programs
Assist
in canal locktending in support of canal tours
Provide
translation assistance in Spanish, Khmer, Portuguese, Lao,
or other languages for park publications, tours, and programs
Volunteer
positions at Lowell National Historical Park are tailored to
both the Park's needs and the interests and availability of
each volunteer or group. Training and mentoring are provided.
Some
volunteer jobs require specific schedules that fluctuate by
season, while others can be done at the volunteer's convenience. Most
continuing volunteers contribute at least one half-day per
week. On the other hand, organizations and businesses
often volunteer as a group for a specific project one day per
year. The amount of time given is up to the volunteer,
as long as it meets the needs of the park. To volunteer
or for more information, call Mike Wurm at 978-275-1740 or
email him at: mike_wurm@nps.gov.
Lowell National Historical Park is a vibrant urban national
park that preserves a complex mix of historic structures, landscapes,
and canals. Educational and interpretive programs give equal
attention to the diverse ethnic cultures that continue to evolve
and shape Lowell. The park portrays the story of the Industrial
Revolution and its continuing effects on the people of Lowell
through two centuries, tying into the current urban culture and
economy, while asking questions for the future.
The national
park's professional staff represents a variety of disciplines
that provide great opportunities for students
and or recent graduates to learn skills and content "on the job" and/or
in semi-independent projects. Work that contributes to a student's
academic program and future career plans may be found here
at the park in the following areas:
Youth non-school summer programs for middle and high
school students
Lowell Folk Festival and other events planning
and production
Lowell Summer Music Series production
Museum education programs
at Tsongas Industrial History Center
Interpretation and visitor
services at exhibit sites and on guided tours
Historic trolley
interpretation and related museum operation
Curatorial program,
including artifact collection management and exhibit design
Historical
research
Oral history
Grant-writing/fundraising for partnership programs
Public affairs
and marketing
Community outreach programs
Volunteer program management
Architecture, historic preservation,
and cultural resources management
Park administration, planning,
and management
Landscape architecture
Facility and park maintenance management
Video and audio-visual
program production
The park will work with a candidate to customize an internship
or practicum that achieves the student's goals, as well as fitting
the park's needs and capabilities. Interdisciplinary programs
can be designed to gain experience in more than one professional
field.
Candidates will apply by submitting a letter of application
and a resume. They will be interviewed and evaluated for acceptance
into the program. The availability of opportunities in the individual
disciplines will vary according to staffing levels and workloads
in the park. Stipends from the park are usually not available
in this program. For further information or to begin the application
process, call Park Volunteer Coordinator Mike Wurm at 978-275-1740
or email him at Mike_Wurm@nps.gov.
Teacher’s Aides Needed at Tsongas
Industrial History Center
Do you love hands-on learning and working with youth? Would
you enjoy working with park rangers and professional museum teachers?
If you are looking for career experience or would like to resume
your career in education, volunteering as a part-time museum
teacher’s aide at the Tsongas Industrial History Center
could be for you. As a teacher’s aide, you will receive
training, work side-by side with professional park rangers and
museum teachers, helping give innovative, hands-on school programs.
The Tsongas Center, located in the Boott Cotton Mills Museum,
is a partnership of the University of Massachusetts Lowell and
Lowell National Historical Park. See position description that
follows. Volunteers are needed for the busy spring season starting
in March. Please respond or apply as soon as possible. For more
information, contact Park Volunteer Coordinator Mike Wurm at
978-275-1740 or Mike_Wurm@nps.gov. You may apply by mailing a
resume with a letter of application to Mike Wurm, Volunteer Coordinator,
Lowell National Historical Park, 67 Kirk Street, Lowell, MA 01852
Museum Teacher’s
Aide Position Description Museum Teacher’s Aides are
volunteers who assist Museum Teachers and National Park Rangers
at the Tsongas
Industrial
History Center present educational programs to visiting school
groups. Aides help students to learn and perform a variety of
hands-on activities in several different Tsongas Center workshops.
More specifically, they teach students to weave, perform minor
loom maintenance, and instruct students in pre-industrial textile
production in one workshop. In another, they help students construct
model canals and teach them to perform experiments with water
wheels. In another, they act as laboratory assistants in an environmental
lab. Aides always work with professional Museum Teachers. The
ability to work well with students in grades four through eight
is required. Some knowledge of US history is useful, but not
required. A commitment to work at least one four-hour day per
week is required. Aides are supervised by the Supervisory Park
Ranger for Education at Lowell National Historical Park.
