• Landscape Architecture
• Irrigation Program
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
• Living Plant Collections
• Orchid Collection

Interns working in this position will assist the Landscape Architects with various projects that develop out of current design needs or multi-year projects. Intern projects typically involve the development of designs, presentations, and/or planning reports. All assignments require effective project management skills.

Interns will generate plans and update existing planting and irrigation plans to reflect current conditions. They may help in the design of interior exhibits such as the Smithsonian’s biennial Orchid Exhibit. Interns will be exposed to design and construction meetings with architects, engineers, approving agencies, and other parties. Experience in CAD is required.

The Smithsonian’s irrigation system services 180 acres of grounds surrounding eleven museums and three satellite facilities and is operated by an extensive computer database system. The intern will perform general tasks including operating, maintaining, troubleshooting, repairing, and improving the system’s preventive maintenance program and will work with the Grounds Management Branch’s Instrument Mechanic and/or the Landscape Architect.

The intern will monitor all irrigated grounds on a regular basis and assess the ability of the system to keep all the plantings sufficiently watered; adjustments to the system programs will be made in response to changing landscape needs and varying weather conditions. The intern will assist with addressing problems, including tracking data lines; repairing and replacing circuit boards; checking, cleaning, and/or clearing blockages from the system; and installing, fixing and retrofitting pipes, valves, and rotary heads. The project will include calibrating flow sensors, updating information to be entered into the database, and working with staff horticulturists to establish new watering schedules.

This internship is designed to provide an intern with the opportunity to learn various components of living plant collections management. Under the direction of Smithsonian Institution staff, the intern will become competent in the core areas of plant records management through training, experiential learning, and self-guided project work. Projects focus on conducting plant inventories, nomenclature verification, accessioning, printing accession labels and tagging plants, mapping plant locations using GPS equipment and using ArcGIS software to create garden area maps.

The intern will learn the essentials of basic museum practice, records management review, collections development planning, and approaches to taxonomic verification. The intern will become proficient in the use of living collections management software BG-Base and the electronic mapping technologies of GPS and GIS.

This project is designed to meet the needs of a student who is interested in public gardens administration, is seeking experience in plant collections, and is interested in enhancing their plant identification and/or collection records techniques.

The primary focus of this internship will involve preparing an up-to-date inventory list of the Orchid Collection and integrating this data into a computerized records system. This will entail a thorough review of the collection to locate and verify existing labels and replace all faded or damaged labels. Identification of unknown cultivars will be done. This position will provide the intern

If you have questions regarding the internship application process, please contact the Intern Coordinator at (202) 633-5840.