Conner Prairie is an Interactive History in Fishers, . Our Youth Volunteer Program teaches youth about history in a hands-on immersion environment, making learning painless, personal, and fun. If you enjoy history, science, animals, people, public speaking, hard work, and helping others, this program may be for you! We welcome young people of all backgrounds, ages 10-18.

All youth volunteer in at least one blue shirt area, meaning you wear a modern uniform. You are also welcome to volunteer in a costumed area if you provide your own historic clothing. Youth may apply for $500 need-based scholarships to help support the cost of costuming and travel. Both costumed and blue shirt posts are fun and challenging. Neither style should be viewed as “superior” to the other.

= Youth may wear historic costume in this area (1st person)

= Youth may wear blue shirt, our modern uniform, in this area (3rd person)

 Make our guests feel welcome. Welcome Center: Help young children with crafts in Craft Corner and Invite them to play games and try guide playtime in Discovery Station. Help guests with science interactives in activities. Create.Connect.  Talk to the public about Indiana Animal Encounters: Care for our chickens, cattle, goats, sheep, and history. other rotating baby animals in the Conner Barn. Assist guests in interacting  Assist with special events like with the animals. Headless Horseman and Merry Conner House: Explain the architecture of this historic brick building as Prairie Holiday. well as the fascinating life of , fur trader and politician.  Work behind the scenes with such tasks as preparing crafts and Lenape: Lead hands-on activities in this 1816 Indian trading camp cleaning artifacts. and trading post. Teach Lenape (Delaware) Indian history and culture.  Participate in media initiatives such Prairietown: Portray frontier life as fictional characters in this 1836 as commercial shoots and outreach village. Typical activities include games, chores, crafts, and trades. programs. Attend trainings (both required and 1863 Civil War Journey: Portray characters impacted by Morgan’s  voluntary) covering a range of topics Raid on Indiana. Help with orientation, drills, and field hospital interpretation. such as spinning, games, 19th Treetop Outpost: Interact with guests as they create and learn about Century life, guest service, and more. Indiana’s natural surroundings, architecture, art, literature, and history. Assist guests in make and take crafts such as copper bracelet making and candle making. This post is outdoors and has a lot of free play and building.

Speaking to guests and doing chores is a substantial part of the program. If accepted, you will work hard in this program.

You must volunteer a minimum of 120 hours per year. Most students achieve Applicants must adhere to all this by volunteering two-three full days (or 4-6 half days) a month. Youth deadlines and appointments to be volunteers generally volunteer from 9am-5pm, but shorter time slots are available. Our schedule varies slightly in the spring and fall. Some special considered. programs occur in the evenings. With the exception of a few required days, we  Early October, 2019 – Applications work our schedule around your needs. New Youth Days, which take place on 2 available. separate Saturdays in the winter, are examples of required days if you make it  Dec 14, 2019 (Sat), 2-4p - Prospective into the program. Youth Volunteer Information Meeting.  Jan 6, 2020 (Mon) – Applications due. If your application is postmarked January 6, it will be accepted. No late applications will be accepted. Due to high interest, our selection process  Jan 15, 2020 (Wed) – Applicants will be happens in 2 rounds. notified whether they have been selected to move on to the Interview Round. Application Round: Submit a 2020  January 31, 2020 (Fri) – New Youth application by Monday, January 6. Volunteers announced. Interview Round: We will contact all  Feb 15, 2020 (Sat), 10a-5p – New applicants on Wednesday, January 15 to let Youth Day 1/Guardian Orientation. you know if you are moving on in the MANDATORY. New youth and a selection process. Conner Prairie selects the guardian should attend. Guardians are top applicants for an interview. Two staff optional and are only needed from 2:30- members will interview you about your skills 5p. and interest in Conner Prairie. Interviews  Feb 25, 2020 (Tues), 6-8pm – Optional typically last 15-30 minutes. Welcome and Awards Party. Acceptance into Program: On Friday,  March 7, 2020 (Sat), 10-5p – New January 31, 2020, we will contact all applicants who had interviews to let you Youth Day 2. MANDATORY. No know if you have been accepted into the program. guardians necessary for this session.  March 31, 2020 (Tues) - Season starts. The process is competitive. Typically we have spots available for 20-40% of the  April 1, 2020 – Youth must be at least 10 applicants. We have such GREAT young people apply! We only have room for years old. 100 youth volunteers a year (including returning youth volunteers). If you are sincerely interested, please apply! You may have what it takes.

Prospective Youth Volunteer Information Meeting Saturday, Dec 14, 2019, 2-4pm Conner Prairie, Prairie House

This is an overview of the Youth Volunteer Program. Attendance is encouraged but not required. The information meeting is designed for both applicants and their parents. We will have an hour-long formal meeting, and another hour to mingle with staff and some of our current youth volunteers. The meeting will take place in a separate building on the Conner Prairie property, the Prairie House (where summer camp is held). No need to RSVP, but should inclement weather occur, please do call the reception desk to be sure the meeting is still proceeding. The phone# is 317.776.6000 x0. Questions? Contact us! SARAH E. MORIN-WILSON Youth Experience Manager [email protected] Conner Prairie’s Youth Volunteer Program is provided to you without any participation fee. However, like most youth activities, you the participant do BILL FREIL have some expenses, such as travel and historic costuming. We want Conner Interpretation Coordinator Prairie’s Youth Program to be affordable to all. Thanks to a grant from Carmax [email protected] and Bank of America, Conner Prairie is able to provide needs-based youth 317.776.6000 ext 259 scholarships up to $500 for travel or costuming. If interested, complete and return a Historic Clothing and Travel Scholarship Application form (available on our website) by January 6.

Thank you for your enthusiasm for Conner Prairie. Feel free to contact Sarah Morin, Youth Experience Manager, with any questions about the application process (317.776.6000 ext. 259 or [email protected]).

Please return this form by January 6, 2020. No late applications accepted.

Applicant Information

Name: ______

Street Address: ______

City, State and Zip Code: ______

Phone Number: ______

Guardian E-mail Address (required): ______

Youth E-mail Address (optional): ______

School Name: ______

Grade in School: ______Gender: ______

Will you be at least 10 years old by April 1, 2020? Yes No

Guardian’s Name: ______

Availability With the exception of very rare required days, we have flexible scheduling. We do, however, have special need for youth who can work during school tours and Sundays.

1. In general, are you available to volunteer 9am-5pm weekdays in the fall and spring? YES NO (You may still apply for the program even if you answer “no.”)

2. In general, are you available to volunteer Sundays 9am-5pm April-October? YES NO (You may still apply for the program even if you answer “no.”)

3. Are you available for New Youth Day Training on ALL of the following dates?  Feb 15, 2020 (Sat), 10a-5p – New Youth Day 1/Guardian Orientation. MANDATORY. New youth and a guardian should attend. Guardians are only needed from 2:30-5pm.  March 7, 2020 (Sat), 10a-5p – New Youth Day 2. MANDATORY. No guardians necessary for this session.

YES / NO (You must answer “yes” in order to be considered for program.)

Experience 1. Please list your experiences working with the public or as a volunteer. Continue on a separate piece of paper as necessary. Activity Description Duration (include not only name of organization but what you did) (2 hours a week for 2 years, 7-day mission trip, etc.)

2. Tell us about your experiences working on a team(s).

3. Do you have any responsibilities? If so, what are they? You may include chores at home.

4. Other than school assignments, please list any experience you have with history (history clubs, a time period you love researching for fun, reenactments, etc.).

5. Other than school assignments, please list any experience you have with science (science clubs, science experiments you do at home for fun, etc.).

6. Do you have any historic skills such as sewing, weaving, carpentry, etc? If so, please describe.

7. Do you have any experience working with animals? If so, please describe.

8. Do you have other talents that would make you a good volunteer? If so, please describe.

9. We are curious how you heard about our program. Please check the most appropriate choice:

I found out about the Youth Program through:

___Conner Prairie website ___other social media ___email ___brochure ___asked a staff member while visiting the historic grounds ___from a Conner Prairie outreach or booth ___ a friend or family member who belongs to the Conner Society, Horizon Council, or Alliance ___ a friend or family member who is a Conner Prairie volunteer or employee ___ other ______

Essay Questions Please answer both questions in essay form on a separate sheet of paper. We are looking for organized, thoughtful, and original answers. We love details!

1. Party Planner Suppose you own a party-planning business. You have been hired to plan the world’s best birthday party for a group of people who speak an ancient language no one has heard for a 1000 years. Describe this amazing party and the steps you take to make it happen. How can you as a party planner make the client happy? (200-500 words.)

2. Diary Entry Pick any time and place in history and pretend that you live there. (Examples: 1864 Virginia, 79 Rome, 1508 England, etc.) It must be at least 50 years distant from 2019. Write a diary entry about your life. You may want to include what you have done recently (fun and chores), include historic details and tell about your friends and family. What is your biggest concern? For this essay, historical accuracy is not as important as imagination and creativity. Make sure it is clear that you are writing about the specific time and place you have chosen. (300-500 words.)

FAQs:

When is my application due? Monday, January 6, 2020. We will accept letters postmarked January 6. We cannot accept late applications.

Can I type my application? Yes. Handwriting or typing is fine. We appreciate applications we can easily read!

Can I have help with my application? It is important that your application is neat, so you may have help with spelling, typing, and handwriting. However, we are not hiring your guardians, we’re hiring you! So make sure your application reflects your own unique self, not anyone else.

Does my application have to be on this form? No. If you prefer to copy the whole thing into a word processing document on your computer that’s fine.

How do I return my application to you? By snail mail: Conner Prairie / attn. Youth Experience Manager / 13400 Allisonville Rd, Fishers, IN 46038 By email: [email protected] By fax: 317.776.6014

If you fax or email your application, please make sure we respond with a confirmation. This may take several days, but we will respond if we get it. We don’t want to miss anyone due to an electronic error!

NOTE: If you use Googledocs, please do not submit your application by sharing the document directly through Googledocs. Instead, download your finished application as a pdf or Word doc file and email as an attachment.

What do I do now? You are invited to an optional Information Meeting Saturday, Dec 14, 2-4p, in the Prairie House. The Prairie House is a separate building on Conner Prairie’s property, where summer camp is held. We will notify you on or before January 15 to let you know if you will be moving on to the Interview Round of the selection process.

Thanks for your interest!