Why Work with Sternberg Science Camps
Bringing exceptional people together
Every summer Sternberg Museum Science Camps assembles teams of brilliant, engaged, highly motivated educators to share their knowledge and lift up our students. Our summer staff is primarily made up of graduate students and senior-undergrads who are as serious about their own academic pursuits as they are about teaching and mentoring. We pride ourselves on bringing together remarkable, kind individuals with excellent communication and organization skills to contribute to our earth and life science education programs.
Building supportive community
Our focus on recruiting exceptional individuals helps us build a program culture of excellence, emphasizing growth and improvement across individual to full operational levels. Our mission extends beyond science education as we work to elevate inclusivity and equitable opportunity access for our staff both during the summer and beyond. Over the past decade we have built a national network of wonderful former staff in education and research career paths who remain engaged with our mission and operations. We also maintain a large network of supportive career professionals who understand the significance of being a successful Sternberg Museum Science Camps staff member.
Delivering world-class educational programs
Sternberg Science Camps stands among the best in the world in pre-college earth and life science academic summer program offerings. We balance our emphasis on ambitious educational experiences with instilling a culture of collaboration, kindness and accountability for both staff and students. Our emphasis on growing academic knowledge as well as individual character keeps students coming back summer after summer with enthusiastic support from their parents. For our staff recruiting this means finding energetic earth and life scientists excited to lead by positive example and teach in ways that are as actively creative as they are accessible.
Competitive pay and expenses coverage
We pride ourselves on providing competitive financial compensation plus room and board coverage for our staff during programs. Specific pre-tax dollar amounts for Instructors and Teaching Assistants can be found in the section below. Program Assistant pay amounts vary from role to role. We typically provide each staff member with up to $500 as a travel stipend on top of base pay. The Sternberg also covers hotels and flights directly for staff working multiple programs. In many cases staff who are working multiple high school camps will have the option to stay in the FHSU dorms for the week between their programs. Sternberg covers lodging for this period, but not food. We do provide access to a large refrigerator in the dorm hall we use, along with a small kitchen. We also have mini-fridges and microwaves we can provide staff who are working multiple programs in a row in Kansas.
Professional development opportunities
Our professional development opportunities are also substantial, and include training on logistics management, pedagogical practices, team management, conflict resolution, workflow systems, and options to get certification training in Wilderness First Aid or as a Wilderness First Responder. (WFA and WFR certs typically for staff working programs with extensive field components.)
Apply today!
To apply for a summer seasonal position with Sternberg Museum Science Camps, click here! You will be taken to a Google Form with more information and prompts for information and documents we will need for your application.
Lead Instructors
Responsible for program design and implementation in collaboration with the Camps Director. Logistics management, educational content structure and resource organization are core responsibilities. Communication, organization and time-management are crucial to success. To learn more click here.
Teaching Assistants
Responsible for helping the lead instructors with student management and targetted content delivery. TAs guide student development as well as helping execute program logistics designed by the instructors. Communication, organization and interpersonal skills are keys for success. To learn more click here.
Operations Assistants
Specifical roles focused on administrative duties to make the Camps run. These can take a number of forms, especially the early summer Preparation Team. Typically invite-only by the Camps Director for successful Instructor and TA applicants
Former Staff Highlights
David Levering – Camps Director
Museum Assistant Director, Camps Operations Director, Science Educator, Paleobiologist
Social media: @BioGeoVerse on Instagram and Bluesky
Email: DALevering@FHSU.edu
David joined the Museum staff in 2013. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a bachelors degree in geology in 2007. He also worked as a teaching assistant in the Zoology department at Oklahoma State University from 2010 to 2013, where he graduated with a Master’s of Science. Before coming to the Sternberg, David spent seven summers working in the youth science camp industry. He also worked three summers with the National Park Service at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument in southern Idaho. There, he carried out paleontology field and lab work and worked with kids showing them geology and paleontology. He is a published researcher, with past collaborations with professional academics studying mammal paleobiology and mechanics. More recently he has moved more into leadership rather roles, including Chair of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology External Communications Committee, and member of the Fundraising Development Committee. (Past SVP committee work includes the Education and Diversity committee.) David manages the entire camps program, and oversees program logistics, curriculum design, and operational partnerships.
Casey Bennet - Operations Management Graduate Fellow
I'm Casey Bennett and this will be my third year with the Sternberg Science Camps! I am a third-year Ph.D. student at the University of Missouri. My research interests include the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, taphonomy, and education/outreach. I have spent the past year as the Operations Management Graduate Fellow for the camps, developing staff training modules, organizing logistics information, and making sure each camp runs smoothly and efficiently! This year, I plan to continue my work behind-the-scenes as a Site Assistant for the camps, managing student travel and coordinating with camps all over the country.
Marjie Cone, MS - Development Co-Coordinator
Marjean "Marjie" Cone is the Curator of Education at the Georgia Southern Museum . Her prior academic stops include graduate school at University of Georgia and her undergraduate degree at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, both for geosciences. Marjean was a student in our second year of Camps programs in 2015. She has been a consistent member of our staff team since 2016 when she joined us as a teaching assistant. Since then she has also worked as a lead instructor, remote operations assistant, and now as one of our fundraising development co-coordinators.
Maggie Wolf, MS - Development Co-Coordinator
Margaret "Maggie" Wolf is a non-profits science education professional in the Denver/Boulder areas of Colorado. Her academics include undergrad at University of Evanston and grad school at UC Boulder where she studied biology, Spanish, and graduate work in museum operations respectively. Margaret started as a student in our 2015 programs, and has been a consistent member of our staff teams since 2017 as a teaching assistant, then instructor, and now fundraising development co-coordinator.