Museum Teacher: Camp, Assistant Director

Education Department

The National Building Museum inspires curiosity about the world we design and build.

We are a private, nonprofit institution, created by Congress in 1980 to commemorate American achievements in architecture, design, and engineering and to encourage excellence in the building arts.

Today, the National Building Museum transforms understanding of the history and impact of architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, and design. Through exhibitions, educational programs, and special events, we welcome all ages to experience stories about the built world and its power to shape our lives, communities, and futures.

The Museum Teacher: Camp Assistant Director works directly with the Educator of Community Engagement, who acts as Camp Director, to manage all aspects of camp programming at the Museum. The position will assist the Educator of Community Engagement with administrative tasks and support communication with camp staff and families. Additionally, the position will spend time in the classroom assisting Camp teachers with projects and chaperoning field trips, and oversee Camp Aftercare programming. The position is responsible for the safety, care, and wellbeing of each camper group both on and off the Museum property.

Scheduling

The position is 37.5-40 hours/week for six weeks mid-June to mid-August, Monday-Friday 9 am–5:30 pm, with additional time before the start of camp session for training.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Process camp attendees forms, create camp documents, and track camper attendance.
• Support the development and training for museum teachers working with camp and camp aftercare.
• Support the museum teacher(s) working with camp aftercare as needed.
• Work with camp parents in professional manner, and pass any concerns on to the Educator of Community Engagement in a timely manner.
• Assist with the implementation of hands-on, project-based curriculum and activities for the Museum’s six-week summer camp. This could include, but is not limited to, assisting teachers in preparing for lessons (such as daily prep, set up, and clean up), collecting materials, building models, assisting in teaching of lessons, and being a chaperone for field trips
• Assist museum teachers of camp and camp aftercare in building responsive classrooms, modifying lessons as appropriate to the Museum Teacher’s personal teaching style, classroom dynamics, and camper needs/abilities by troubleshooting and brainstorming throughout the summer.
• Collaborate with camp team (other teachers, camp Director) on topics, materials, behavior management, and parent communication.
• Set and enforce clear behavior expectations for campers, then identify and respond to camper behavior issues appropriately as they arise. Communicate behavior situations with the Educator of Community Engagement in an appropriate time frame.
• Create a fun, curious, supportive camp environment by building personal connections with campers.

Qualifications and Background

Specific requirements include:

• Must be 18 years or older at the start of camp.
• One year experience working with youth ages 6 and up, in an education, recreation, or care-giver setting.
• Experience working as a member of a team as well as demonstrated ability to accomplish tasks independently.
• Excellent communication skills with both children and adults.

Desired Qualifications:

• Experience working with youth in a camp, after school program, or recreation setting.
• Knowledge of or interest in architecture, design, engineering, and the built environment is desirable but not required.
• Experience modifying lessons and activities to meet different learning styles and abilities.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, plan, organize, and implement a project from start to finish.
• Coursework and/or a Bachelor’s Degree in education, recreation, museum studies, or related field.

ADA SPECIFICATIONS

• This is an active work position that requires the ability to move about the Museum frequently and to position oneself to interact & communicate appropriately with camp participants. Employee may be responsible for moving objects up to 20 lbs. when needed.
• Offsite travel required as part of the position during the course of the work day.