Orchid Exhibit Intern

This Internship Opportunity provides an intern with experience managing and caring for the Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection (SGOC), including exhibition, public programming, social media management, daily collection care, collections management, and interior plant maintenance.

The project’s primary focus will involve grooming and staking collection items for weekly exhibition delivery/installation, plant health monitoring, pulling/generating display labels, public programming, and assisting with creating social media content for a broad audience. The secondary focus will involve watering/fertilizing, repotting, and assisting with integrated pest management scouting and beneficial insect releases. Some public programs may occur on the weekend, which may cause some weekly schedule adjustment.

This internship offers hands-on experience working with living plant collections within a public garden and museum setting. Intern will work under the supervision of the Lead Orchid Collection Horticulturist and the Manager of Greenhouse Nursery Operations. Interns are encouraged to take advantage of the abundant resources of the Smithsonian Institution.  

Duties

• Help with the grooming and staking of collection items.
• Installation of plant material
• Plant health monitoring
• Pull and generate display labels for plants.
• Watering, fertilizing, repotting, and assisting with integrated pest management.

Application Deadline: October 14, 2025.  Internship will begin in January/February 2026.

Interests

• Maintenance and interest in learning industry best practices and standards for managing living plant collections within a museum environment.
• Strengthening plant nomenclature skills.
• Learning the insights of exhibition process.

Requirements

Applicants must be enrolled in a university horticulture or related program or recently graduated from one. Selection is based on both an evaluation of the applicant’s application and available positions.

A stipend is provided for this 10-week hands-on internship experience. The internship must be completed in 10 consecutive weeks between January 26 to April 24, 2026

Please note: Interns are responsible for their own travel, housing, and subsistence during the period of the internship.

Requirements for applying to the Smithsonian Gardens intern program:

• Submit an online application.
• Two letters of recommendation
• College Transcripts 
• Essay describing background, interest in field, career goals, and chosen project.

Stipends

The Smithsonian Institution offers stipends for internships which are not considered salary or compensation.  The stipend amount is $700 per week for a full-time internship.  Please note that interns are responsible for meeting their individual state and federal tax obligations and will receive a financial summary around March of the following year for the previous calendar year.

Submission

Completed application, essay, academic records, and two letters of recommendation should be submitted online through the Smithsonian Online Academic Appointment System.