History and Archaeology Students

  Ghana

• Accra: 
Accra

Term: Throughout the year 
Durations of Program: 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months and 7-12 months
Typical Duration of Program: 2-4 weeks
Dates: Through out the year.

Description: The National Museum in Accra is the largest and oldest of six public museums in Ghana. It was opened on 5th March, 1957, by the late Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent. Ghana's national museum is a premier museum showcasing exhibits from every part of the African continent. This museum is home to a wide array of exhibits such as indigenous Ghanaian musical instruments, gold-weights, stools, and ancient masks from all over Africa.

The exhibits housed under the two-tiered rotunda of the museum comprise much more than Ghanaian culture alone, and include a collection from neighbouring West African countries as well. The museum exhibits items from other parts of West Africa such as the popular Senfu masks from La Cote DIvoire and the ancient Ife bronze heads from Nigeria. Also on display are numerous artifacts from East and Southern Africa, a particular highlight for most visitors being the wooden figures and bead-ware of the widely-known Zulu tribe.

One of the museum's ground-floor wings is devoted to temporary exhibitions, which can range from contemporary dyed fabrics to traditional and sacred artifacts such as the celebrated Ashanti ancestor stools. The walls of these exhibition halls are lined with samples of traditional Ghanaian garments known as kente, each of whose symbolic woven designs has its own rich meaning. Certain designs of kente are reserved for royalty and top dignitaries and cannot be purchased by the general public.

The museum is open to the public from 9am until 5pm each day, and has a regular stream of visitors, mainly tourists seeking to discover Africas cultural heritage. Temporary exhibitions are held not only by the National Museum but also by individuals and foreign embassies. Guided tours are provided and films on some aspects of Ghanaian culture are shown by the staff of the Education Section to further enlighten visitors.

Highlights: The Intern
The National Museum requires students to assist with day-to-day activities at the museum. The intern will provide guided tours of the museum and art galleries, help maintain accurate records of library exhibits using e-digitization, and assist the curator with caring for new and existing exhibits. The student will directly assist the museum cataloguer to develop and maintain an integrated bibliographic database of all exhibits held at the museum and assist with any other tasks he/she may be assigned.

The role will include some or all of the following:
- Providing guided tours to individuals and groups
- Assisting museum curator with processing new materials received according to established procedures or suggest alternate procedures
- Manning the helpdesk and handling queries with regard to identifying exhibits
- Assisting with the organization of educational and public outreach programmes such as lectures and tours, to publicize exhibits on display at the museum.
- Planning, organising, interpreting and presenting exhibitions planned by the museum

Qualifications: The intern should have a keen interest in museums and art galleries. The intern should be willing to learn modern methods of cataloguing and curating. You will need to be flexible and tolerant, be personable, show initiative, enthusiasm and patience to face the many hurdles and challenges that you will encounter.

Cost in US$: USD 163 p/wk

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Typically Participants Work in Groups

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Resume
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Exit Debriefing Abroad

Africa Intern's Mission Statement: Our objective is to help more people gain the life changing, life affirming experiences that volunteering can give. We are committed to enabling skill transfer, enabling organisations in the developing world to access different skill sets and to helping volunteers realize the value they can add using the skills they hold.

Year Founded: 2004