On November 7th, 2025, the UCI Art History Department hosted its second Internship Touring Day! Internship Touring Day was created to give students the chance to learn about Art History and Archaeology internships, visit internship organizations in person, and hear from professionals in the field about hands-on, resume-building opportunities.
The event started off with presentations on Art History and Archaeology internships by Art History Internship Director, Professor Ethan Robey and OC Parks Internship Director, Professor Ian Straughn. Then, two past interns, Myra McCants and Minh Khue Truong, answered questions and discussed their experiences with internships. After that, the group boarded the bus to visit internship organizations in person! During this Internship Touring Day, we focused on checking out organizations in Santa Ana.
First stop was OC Parks Cooper Lab. We got a 1.5 hour tour of the lab's multiple buildings and storage areas from one of the head staff members. Students not only learned about internships and saw first-hand what they would be doing as an intern, but had the chance to learn about what archaeologists and paleontologists are in charge of day-to-day. The facility had tons of amazing artifacts and bones, and we got to see how they are carefully organized, stored, and labeled.
The second stop of the field trip was Bowers Museum. Staff members from the Curatorial and Collections teams took us to the collections storage and answered questions about how artifacts are initially discovered, accepted, processed, stored, and eventually displayed. Most of the collection at Bowers is on site, so there was a lot to examine. After the tour, the staff members shared information about their career paths, internships at the museum, and advice they had for aspiring art history professionals.
The final stop of the day was Grand Central Art Center. The head staff member took us on a tour of the center, showcasing the multiple exhibitions currently on display and telling us about the artists who created them. He let the group see inside one of the apartments above the art center that is reserved for artists to live in, and told us about how rent and costs are kept as low as possible to make it feasible for artists to live and work at the center. One of the artists in residence who lives above the center told us all about her past projects and the inspiration behind the art she makes.
Throughout the day, the group got to see the significance of internship experiences and how impactful it can be to work in a lab, museum, and gallery in person. At all three locations, the staff encouraged students to participate in as many hands-on opportunities as possible to help them figure out their preferred career paths and build their resumes.
If you are interested in going to future Internship Touring Days, keep an eye on your email, since we'll send any information to the Art History major, Art History minor, and Archaeology minor listservs. If you'd like to learn more about internship opportunities at the locations mentioned above and a wide variety of other places, check out the opportunities page and pay attention to your email as well. Feel free to reach out to Ethan Robey (robeye@uci.edu) and Katie Desmond (kdesmond@uci.edu) if you have questions or want to discuss internships!