(Part-time) Museum and Marine Educator at the South Street Seaport Museum
Job Title: Museum and Marine Educator
Job Status: Part-time
About:
South Street Seaport Museum seeks experienced, enthusiastic educators to teach educational programs onboard our docked vessels, on our schooner and tugboat, in our galleries, on walking tours, and in classrooms around the city.
South Street Seaport Museum, a fifty-four-year-old cultural institution located in downtown Manhattan, tells the story of how New York’s great natural harbor gave rise to the metropolis we know today.
The Museum engages visitors through interactive experiences with its fleet of historic ships, historic buildings and galleries, 19th-century letterpress shops, and a large collection of artifacts. The Museum provides visitors the opportunity to appreciate the contributions of the Port of New York to the city, state, nation, and world and to understand the current role of New York Harbor as a natural resource and a gateway to the world.
Job summary:
As a South Street Seaport Museum educator, you will bring to K-12 students from around the city a sense of the Seaport’s history and the Harbor’s continued importance as an ecosystem and as an economic waterway. You will engage with all kinds of learners, of all backgrounds, through inquiry-based, student-centered instruction, seeking to explore the context and create connection in every way. You will communicate with visiting teachers and chaperones, your teammates, and other departments in a way that makes complex logistics look effortless and enhances the experience for all.
Educational programs for visiting schools last from 90 minutes to 3 hours and include topics such as New Amsterdam history, Life on Board a Tall-Ship, and Estuary Ecology. Most of our programs are interdisciplinary in scope, with as much attention paid to how students are learning as to what they are learning. See our website seaportmuseum.org/learn for more information.
The role of Educator includes but is not limited to:
● Teaching programs to visiting school and camp groups as scheduled, including programs onboard our historic dockside vessels, in our galleries, and on walking tours.
● Delivering content in an engaging and informative manner, with a focus on the learner.
● Supporting social and emotional learning as well as content knowledge.
● Meeting the needs of diverse learners, including different age groups, different amounts of background knowledge and experience, different ethnicities and cultures, different learning styles, and different educational and physical requirements.
● Managing time, space, and logistics, smoothly moving groups of students and adults through activities in public spaces ● Setting up before and cleaning up after programs.
● Communicating effectively with teachers regarding their class, content, and students.
● Working collaboratively and communicating effectively within the Education Department and with other Museum departments
● Participate as a member of a professional learning community in ongoing group and individual professional development, including regular co-observations and debrief sessions, to increase your content knowledge and skill, as well as engaging in self-study to enrich background knowledge in content areas and pedagogy.
● At times, assisting with research and development of new programs.
Additional responsibilities as able:
● For educators with appropriate background, teaching under-way programs onboard our historic schooner and tugboat
● Assist in research, production, and presentation of virtual programming on a variety of relevant topics
Professional Qualifications:
● Experience teaching to school-age children (K-8), preferably in a museum, classroom, or outdoor setting.
● Bachelor’s Degree in a field related to education, history, or science, OR a Bachelor’s Degree in an unrelated field with extensive experience in a related field OR equivalent relevant experience
● Demonstrated interest in our particular content areas.
● Second language proficiency a plus
● Experience with Access/Disability/Special Needs audiences a plus
● Theatrical experience a plus
● Video and virtual program production skills a plus
● Teacher certification a plus
● Note: Educators who wish to lead sailing programs onboard schooner Pioneer must have prior vessel experience. For educators who wish to develop sailing experience, the museum offers volunteer sail training on Saturday mornings within Pioneer’s operational season.
Personal Qualifications:
● An outgoing personality with the ability to communicate well in public settings.
● Eagerness to learn new content and pedagogy.
● Understanding of and awareness of students and their learning.
● Professional and personable demeanor.
● Flexibility, positive outlook, and team focus.
● Reliability and excellent team communication skills
● Ability to look at your work critically and reflectively and desire to continually improve practice and skills, and to thoughtfully and kindly observe the work of others.
Physical Demands and Work Environment: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.
● Ability to spend several hours walking and/or standing in indoor and outdoor public spaces.
● Must be able to climb ladders and work outdoors in hot and/or inclement weather.
● Job will require stooping, bending, and occasionally carrying weights of up to 25 pounds.
Part-time/hourly positions, flexible hours. No full-time positions available. This is a non-exempt position.
Salary: Starts at $20/hour, increasing to $22/hour
Note: Museum Educators are also encouraged to become Visitor Experience and Engagement Associates, sharing galleries, ships, and exhibitions with the visiting public.
How to Apply:
Email resume and cover letter with “ SCHOOL PROGRAMS EDUCATOR” in the subject line to education@seany.org.
**Applications without a cover letter will not be considered***
No phone calls, please.
The Seaport Museum strongly encourages applications from members of groups underrepresented in careers related to museums; we seek to foster a collaborative and respectful work environment with a staff as diverse as New York City and our audience.
South Street Seaport Museum is an Equal Opportunity Employer