Palmer Musuem of Art

Help us reach our $10,000 goal this GivingTuesday and fund paid internships for Penn State students at the Palmer Museum of Art!

Since the new museum building opened in June 2024, the Palmer Museum of Art in the College of Arts and Architecture at Penn State has provided deep experiential learning opportunities for more than 130 Penn State students from ten colleges and sixty-one academic disciplines. Interns learn critical transferable skills by doing and working alongside museum professionals on complex, interdisciplinary projects. Collaborating across museum departments, students may gain experience in curatorial, education, events and rentals, marketing and communications, preparation, and registration and collections management.

What your gift supports

• Give an Hour: $15 is one hour of an intern’s paid work hanging an artwork, finding an object file, or meeting about an upcoming program.
• Give a Week: $150 sees an intern through their workweek at the Palmer supporting programs, doing research, or creating social media video highlights.
• Give a Month: $600 is one month of an intern’s time. Support them as they roll out graphic design projects, plan and implement public programs, or complete accessibility training.
• Give a Semester: $2,500 is a full-paid semester of work! Sustain an intern while they cultivate belonging through programs and interpretive resources, produce a video interview series, or finish their research into an unknown area of the Palmer’s collection.
• Give What You Can!

Student contributions to the museum are visible across programs, exhibitions, in-gallery labels and interpretive materials, accessibility resources, online database records, and the Palmer’s social media channels. Upon completing an internship, Penn State students are equipped with the skills in communication, observation, and analysis to thrive in collaborative professional environments within and beyond museums. But museum careers often begin through unpaid internships, which shut out students who cannot afford to work for free. Rather than gaining hands-on, tangible experience in their chosen field, many students are forced to accept minimum-wage positions that leave them less competitive candidates compared to their peers. With your support, the Palmer will be able to extend transformational professional experiences to any Penn State student with the mindset and talent to succeed.

Student testimonial

“I have worked at the Palmer every semester since the start of my second year at Penn State. My experiences as a Student Engagement Intern (2024–26) and now as a Curatorial Intern (2026–present) have taught me skills that cannot be learned in a classroom. My own lived experience with the public and private aspects of the museum helps me to better engage people in conversation and feel confident in promoting and fostering dialogue, not even just about art! I have become a more attentive listener, a skill I have even implemented into my everyday life. Working as a Student Engagement Intern before becoming a Curatorial intern has allowed me to approach my research in a way that prioritizes creating an equitable learning environment for all. The next step in my own career is grad school, and my Palmer internships have been a huge determining factor in this decision. I feel prepared for the professional, academic, and public-facing aspects that come with a career in Art History because of the experiential learning opportunities I was given here.”

Amanda Demuth, Philosophy and Art History ’27, Student Engagement Intern (August 2024–May 2026) and Curatorial Intern (August 2026–present). Amanda is a first-generation student and double major whose funded internships have prepared her for her future professional and academic careers.

Thank you for helping Penn State students build museum careers!

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