AIPG-TX

The Houston Geological Society (HGS) and Big Bend Conservancy are co-sponsoring two internships/fellowships at the Big Bend National Park, Texas for the summer of 2016.

These opportunities are open to teachers, graduate students, educators and others who are interested in on-site learning at Big Bend National Park. These positions are located at Big Bend National Park in southwest, Texas. The Big Bend area is remote, but has a strong small community, great recreational opportunities, terrific scenery and natural and cultural learning opportunities abound. Housing may be available inside Big Bend National Park’s housing community at Panther Junction, park headquarters area.

The positions will provide for public education at and for the Fossil Discovery Exhibit (FDE) located eight miles north of Panther Junction. The FDE is scheduled for completion in September 2016 and as such will be the largest expenditure ever for an exhibit complex at the park. The FDE will cover four major geologic time periods including the inland Cretaceous sea, age of Cretaceous dinosaurs in Big Bend, the KPG boundary and volcanism that follow and the age of mammals in Big Bend National Park. Big Bend contains some of the best fossils of dinosaurs to be found anywhere in the world and has one of the most diverse paleo environments anywhere.

The FDE will provide an excellent backdrop with museum quality replicas, artist’s renditions, and a paleo kid’s play area and more to use as props and demonstration areas. Programs are expected to last from 15-20 minutes up to 1.5 hours for guided tours of the facility and themed areas. Curriculum-based programming is highly desirable for students and school classes that visit on site. The park will also have the ability to provide videoconferenced programs to schools unable to make it to the site.

The positions will work directly with the Staff Geologist and will help create and offer general public educational programs, programs for schools and students, and could also offer college level programming for visiting university classes. The positions will also help with ongoing research in the park and directly support the Staff Geologist and Paleontologist. The educators will also help put information on the new website for the exhibit.

Salary will be $5,000 for a three month period, provided by the Big Bend Conservancy and the Houston Geological Society through a grant to the selected educator. The educator will have to go through a selection process that will include an interview, a background check, pass a drug test, and be qualified as if they were federal employees. The minimum requirement is a Bachelor’s degree in education or a science or a related subject. Applicants are required to have their own transportation.

Following the three month internship/fellowship, the educator would be expected to write about their experience for the Big Bend Conservancy newsletter as well as make a presentation to the HGS membership about their experience and prepare a short report for inclusion in the Houston Geological Society Bulletin.

Please submit a cover letter and resume to Andrea Peoples at Houston Geological Society, 14811 St. Mary’s Lane, Suite 250, Houston, Texas, 77079. The deadline for submitting a cover letter and resume is April 15, 2016.

For more information, please contact Larry Quandt of the Houston Geological Society at (713) 206-0389 or lquandt777@gmail.com or Courtney Lyons-Garcia of the Big Bend Conservancy at friendsdirector@yahoo.com.