History major gains hands-on archival experience through museum internship

During the summer before her junior year, Allie Toombs ’27 completed an internship at The Field House Museum in St. Louis, Missouri. As a history major with a earth sciences minor at The College of Wooster, Toombs is also pursuing a museum and archival studies pathway, making the internship an ideal opportunity. Through an APEX Micro Fellowship, she gained hands-on experience in a museum setting. From working with archival collections to learning digital software programs, she built a diverse set of skills essential to museum and archival-related fields. While learning about how a museum operates, she gained valuable career insight and a new interest in history communication. 

 “This internship allowed me to observe and be involved with the inner workings of a small museum. I was also able to get experience working with collections.” 

—Allie Toombs ’27 

FINDING OPPORTUNITIES 

Toombs: I contacted the internship organization online. I learned about Micro Fellowships through meetings and emails with APEX staff members. I am pursuing the museum studies pathway, and I hope to work in a museum. This internship allowed me to observe and be involved with the inner workings of a small museum. I was also able to get experience working with collections. 

CARRYING IT FORWARD 

Toombs: Every day, I worked on disaster mitigation. I reorganized and catalogued their extensive toy collection that had been damaged by a flood. I worked with the museum software Past Perfect and re-catalogued each toy into a new box, along with taking photographs and doing condition reports. I also occasionally helped to organize and stage the historic house for guests. I was interested in the history of the historic house, and it was helpful to learn how a museum operates. 

GUIDANCE FOR GROWTH 

Toombs: The collections manager at The Field House Museum, Stephanie Lake, served as my supervisor. She taught me the basics of Past Perfect software, and helped me to identify potential collection hazards, such as mold. 

Allie Toombs ’27 works with toy collection at The Field House Museum. Photo provided by subject.

LESSONS LEARNED 

Toombs: I learned how to use the collections software Past Perfect, which will be useful in any museum career. I also got a behind-the-scenes look into how a museum is run. I improved my professionalism skills, as I was required to dress and act professionally. 

EXPANDED PERSPECTIVE 

Toombs: This internship has given me exposure to effective history communication in a museum setting, along with collection management. It has also slightly changed my career plans, as the collections work was a little repetitive. 

Featured image: Allie Toombs ’27, photo provided by subject.

Posted in Experiential Learning, Showcase Stories 2025 on August 6, 2025.