Behind-the-Scenes Volunteers

Engage in a variety of multi-faceted projects in person at the Smithsonian, in your own community around the globe, and even in the Smithsonian’s virtual environment.

The Behind-the-Scenes Volunteer Program is very competitive. Volunteer placement is not guaranteed. Application materials will be reviewed to determine if there are open volunteer opportunities that match skills. When a possible fit is found, an applicant will be contacted for an interview. All applications are kept on file for 1 calendar year.

Administrative: general office support (answering phones, filing, data entry)

Archival: cataloging; organizing, and storing paper materials, photographs, film, audio tapes.

Collections Management: labeling, sorting, storing artifacts; entering information about the collection into a database.

Conservation: creating protective storage containers, cleaning and repairing artifacts.

Curatorial: responding to written inquires from the public, providing research support for staff in a variety of departments.

Development: researching prospective corporate, individual, and foundation donors.

Education: scheduling tours, responding to public inquiries, providing administrative assistance to docent and intern programs.

Horticulture: working in greenhouses, potting, planting, weeding.

Libraries: shelving; cataloging; storing books, pamphlets, serials; creating annotated bibliographies; maintaining departmental reprint libraries.

Membership: answering written inquires, responding to phone calls, assisting with mailings, developing flyers, maintaining membership databases.

Public Affairs: preparing press packets, assisting with special events and media relations, clipping newspaper and magazine articles about exhibitions and museums.