Teenagers can learn the ins and outs of working at a museum as part of the Sheldon Museum’s second annual Junior Curator program.

Museum director Helen Alten said the program gives students a chance to gain valuable job skills. Because there are four museums in the valley – the Sheldon Museum, the Hammer Museum, the American Bald Eagle Foundation and the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center – Alten said learning about museums may give local kids the opportunity to live and work in Haines after they finish school.

Students ages 12 to 18 can work at the Sheldon Museum for two hours each Saturday starting Oct. 1 through Dec. 17.

The junior curators will learn what museums are and how they operate on a daily basis. They will experience work in public relations, design and collections and study the basics of museum databases and cataloging. They will tour the other museums in town, meet with staff and learn how museums are categorized and what makes each different and unique.

This year, the junior curators will also help build exhibits in the new children’s room set to open in early October, Alten said. They will also help set up the Rasmuson Show and a future White Fang exhibit to commemorate the 1991 Disney movie filmed in Haines, she said.

“The main thing is it looks good on a college application and is great for job prep if they want to work in this town,” Alten said. Even if the program participants don’t want to work in the museum field, Alten said a lot of Haines’ tour companies incorporate local history into their tours that the students will learn as junior curators.

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