Engaging Families and Young People with Science and Nature

3 August – 4 September (five weeks)
supervised by Devika

Project summary

This placement supports two important strands of activity in the Museum’s public engagement strategy:

Mentoring and supporting young people in a targeted engagement programme
Developing and delivering family activities during the school summer holidays

Building on the success of the Natural Science and Heritage Schemes since 2021, the 2026 placement students will play a key role in enabling young people to build confidence, develop communication skills, co-create public engagement activities, and explore potential future pathways in science and heritage.

Project details

This is an exciting opportunity for two people to join a team with a reputation for excellence and innovation. The Museum’s Public Engagement team works closely with the Collections and Research teams to deliver a wide range of programming for families and young people. This project aims to support engagement with diverse audiences. Students will work with the Learning Team on a targeted programme, supporting and mentoring a small group Year 12 and 13 students during a three-week scheme at the Museum.

Drawing on the model established in 2025, placement students will act as role models, facilitators, and creative collaborators, supporting school placements to develop and deliver their own public engagement ideas.

During their placement, students will:

be introduced to all aspects of public engagement in the Museum
support the young people with a programme designed to enable them to explore an interest in science and nature
support the young people to develop and deliver activities for visiting families
reflect on their experience, outcomes and contribute recommendations for future youth engagement work.

Selection criteria

Essential

An infectious passion for and expertise in a subject related to natural history
Interested in creating engaging activities for diverse family audiences
Enthusiastic about supporting young people from diverse backgrounds
Able to work independently and as part of a team
Able to communicate clearly both verbally and in written reports.
Able to apply for an enhanced DBS check

Desirable

Experience of working with older teenagers from diverse backgrounds
Experience of working in a busy, public-facing contexts, such as education, outreach, hospitality, or visitor services.
Experience supporting activities in fast-paced or changing environments.
Awareness of inclusive practice, youth-led learning, or co-creation approaches (desirable but not required; training will be provided).

Outcomes for students

This project provides particularly valuable experience for students interested in a career in museums, science engagement and education. You will gain:

experience of mentoring young people
experience of informal learning and family programming
an understanding of the work of the wider public engagement team in a vibrant museum setting
opportunities to contribute to creative outputs that may be used for future programming or digital engagement.

Reasonable adjustments

The museum is committed to making reasonable adjustments to its summer placements to make sure that students with disabilities or health conditions are not substantially disadvantaged. If you are concerned about meeting the selection criteria for a project of interest, or completing relevant tasks, please get in touch with Hannah Betts before submitting your application to discuss possible adjustments to the project: summerplacements@oum.ox.ac.uk.