INTERNSHIP PROJECTS

Department of Public Engagement

Interns work in a specific museum department and attend regular departmental meetings, but
interact frequently with other departments. Aside from their specific projects, interns
contribute to ongoing events and programs at the museum. They are invited to participate in
monthly all-staff meetings and to attend docent lectures, curatorial tours, and other special
programs at the museum. Internship positions are open to undergraduate and graduate
students currently enrolled in a degree program and to recent recipients of a relevant degree.
Unpaid interns are accepted throughout the year on a rolling application schedule. Applications
need to be received at least a month before the proposed start date. All internships have a
minimum requirement of 10 consecutive weeks, 16 hours per week. For questions, please
contact Susana Bautista, Director of Public Engagement at Susana.bautista@pam.usc.edu.
EDUCATION & PUBLIC PROGRAMS
1. Cultural Trunks
The museum has Cultural Trunks that are available for schools and community groups to
borrow from the museum free of charge. These trunks include touchable art, toys, clothes,
books and other items. Currently there are 3 trunks: China, Pakistan, and Japan. The Intern is
responsible for updating these trunks with new items and adding new educational materials,
such as a list of resources at local libraries, a video or DVD, images of works in the museums
permanent collection, flashdrive with powerpoint images, and a description of the items and
their cultural relevance. We also want to add more trunks, such as Korea and Vietnam. The
intern needs to contact groups that have borrowed the trunks in the past and survey them
about their experience with the trunks and any suggestions for improvements. Then the Intern
will meet with the relevant museum Arts Councils to better understand those cultures and
discuss the project with them for their input, as well as with the Docent Council. We will
research and visit local museums that offer similar trunks and discuss with the museum
educators. New items will be solicited or purchased. Educational materials will be created
together with the Arts Councils, docents and staff, and then translated into various languages.
The Intern will work with Communications staff to design marketing materials.
2. Travelers Backpacks
The museum created a prototype of a Travelers Pack long ago but has never developed this
program. The Packs would be available for free for families that visit the museum, designed for
children to take with them around the museum and the courtyard to enhance their visit. Items
in the Packs would include a magnifying glass, pad of paper and pencils, information on certain
works formulated for children, and other materials. The intern will need to research and visit
local museums that offer similar family bags and discuss with the museum educators. Then the
Intern will discuss the project with other museum constituents such as the Docent Council and
curatorial staff. The items to be included will be identified, purchased or created. The Intern

USC Pacific Asia Museum

46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, California 91101 Tel: 626 449 2742 Fax: 626 449 2754

will determine a way to display and store the bags around the Front Desk area and will create
appropriate signage.
3. The Silk Road Gallery
The Silk Road Gallery is the museums only family interactive space, located on the first floor
next to the exhibition galleries. It opened in 2008 but is currently going through renovation in
order to update the materials and add a Reading Corner. The intern will be responsible for
working on educational materials and signage for the walls, the boxes of clothing, and an iPad
that will all enhance the visitor experience for families with small children as well as adults. The
intern will also work closely with the museum docents and education staff to develop
educational materials for teachers, and also talking points for docents and volunteers that
interact with visitors inside the gallery.
4. Gallery Bookmarks
This is a new project that the museum is interested in starting that will deepen knowledge of
the arts of Asia and the Pacific, and enhance the visitor experience in the galleries. In
partnership with the Pasadena Public Library, the museum will offer Bookmarks in its galleries
(both permanent and temporary for major exhibitions) that provide a list of resources for all
ages and levels such as books, films, music, videos, podcasts, blogs, and websites. The intern
will need to conduct research on the subject matter of the galleries, and work closely with
education staff and librarians to identify and select the resources. The intern will also work
with a graphic designer to design the bookmarks, with communications staff to create signage,
and with the museum preparator to create racks in the galleries.
COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING
1. Community Outreach
This internship focuses on community outreach efforts for the museum. We have made a goal to
bring in more Asian visitors to the museum, as well as a younger audience. We have also
identified five geographic cities that have the highest concentration of Asians in Southern
California, adjacent to the museum and Pasadena. The objective of this internship will be to
create a strategic plan for community outreach based on the museums goals. This will involve
creating a list of community places and events to partner with and establishing new
connections and partnerships, as well as conducting an analysis of the museums media
partners and creating new media partnerships. The Intern will work closely with both
Communications and Education staff to create this plan and connect with partners.
2. Social Media
This internship focuses on the museums use of social media as an important tool for marketing
and communications. The museum is currently active on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and
has a blog, but has only recently begun to focus on social media. The objective of this internship
will be to create a comprehensive plan for social media for the next six months, to actively post
and tweet during the duration of the internship, and to report on analytic data for social media.
The intern will also work on creating a six month plan for blog posts that integrates other
museum staff and outside individuals, and then contacting those for postings for the duration of
the internship. The Intern will work closely with both Communications and Education staff to
create this plan and connect with partners.
USC Pacific Asia Museum
46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, California 91101 Tel: 626 449 2742 Fax: 626 449 2754

Page 2