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The Maine State Museum seeks a teacher advisor to help design a project to highlight student voices through virtual displays. The displays will be a special feature of the Maine State Museum’s reopening.

THE PROJECT

The goal of this project is to create a replicable educational program and lesson plan that can engage a range of Maine schools and students.

The project will include a group of classroom teachers, who will work with their students to choose a person, place or thing from their own lives (perhaps a family member, a personal belonging, or beloved location) that they feel is worth honoring in a museum. They will conduct background research and write a museum-standard label with basic information, as well as give their own perspective on why that item is important to their lives and to the story of Maine.

Their final work will be showcased in a digital display in the newly reopened museum, as well as on a museum webpage.

Schools will have the option to host a “museum night” to showcase and celebrate the students’ work and/or visit the museum, with either option supported by museum funds. Work will be guided by a lesson plan and virtual visits with museum educators.

This project is designed to bring young voices and perspectives into the museum, while delivering a memorable educational experience to Maine students. Students will receive an introduction to museum work, visual literacy, primary sources, and methods of telling stories using objects, natural history specimens, or photographs. They will practice doing the work of historians, naturalists, or archaeologists by applying a museum lens to their own lives and families, considering how the present moment can be preserved and shared with others in a museum setting.

This is a pilot project and only a handful of schools will be selected to participate in the 2025-26 school year.

THE TEACHER ADVISOR

The teacher advisor will be a contractor with the Maine State Museum. The ideal candidate will have extensive classroom experience (regardless of whether they are currently teaching in the classroom) and the ability to scale materials for different K-12 grade levels. Applicants from a range of disciplines and backgrounds are invited to apply. This project is not limited to history and social studies, though some familiarity in those areas is appreciated.

Good communication skills and the ability to pivot as plans change will prove helpful – standard issue skills for all teachers, we know!

This is a very collaborative project. The teacher advisor will work with museum education staff to ensure that the project melds with the museum’s educational and exhibit needs. Similarly, the museum educational staff will rely on the advisor’s knowledge of the classroom and state standards.

Note – the teacher advisor will not necessarily take part in the above project with their own class but will instead help design the project for use by other classes.

DELIVERABLES

• Attend virtual meetings and respond by email to provide input on how to make this program useful, attractive, and realistic for Maine schools.
• Write a state standards-aligned lesson plan that museum educators can use to work with partner teachers.
• Collaborate on planning a museum-led virtual educational program.

TIME COMMITMENT

• The schedule is very flexible and can be adjusted to fit around the individual’s work and personal life. There will be a few meetings required but the work will largely be self-guided.
• We hope this individual will start work in January 2025 and will complete the bulk of their work by the end of June 2025. The workload should be minimal in January, just initial meetings to plan a schedule what will work for all parties.
• No travel required.

STIPEND

• The advisor will receive a stipend of $2,000 in compensation for their work. The contract will not include state employee benefits.

HOW TO APPLY

Please submit a cover letter and resume to kate.webber@maine.gov by December 6^th, 2024.

Applications will be reviewed and, as needed, virtual interviews scheduled in order to select the best qualified candidate by January 2025.

Any questions may be directed to: Kate Webber, kate.webber[at]maine.gov.