Scientific Intern 100%

About the job

The Ballenberg Open-Air Museum houses over 100 historic residential and agricultural buildings from all regions of Switzerland. Each tells its own story. The staff demonstrate living crafts, tend the fields, gardens, and animals in the museum. The museum conveys the history and diversity of rural Swiss farming life, the lives and work of people up to the 20th century. The view of past ways of life is full of inspiration for the present and future.

For one of the most attractive museums in Switzerland, we are seeking from January 2027 or by arrangement a scientific intern 100% for a one-year museum internship in the Science Department.

You will work in the areas of exhibition, mediation, and education and especially assist us in the project to develop the new exhibition for the schoolhouse from Unterheid. At the interface of project management assistance and curatorial assistance, a variety of tasks are involved: You support the historical content research on Swiss school and education history of the 19th century and work with the project team on the detailed conception of the exhibition content spanning from 1830 to contemporary references and future prospects. You will be involved in all conceptual steps when plans for spatial design are developed, tested with the public, and the concrete implementation steps for realisation are prepared.

You also support colleagues in other areas of the Science Department and thus gain insight into the multifaceted fields of work of our lively museum.

The Science Department includes the areas:
• Architecture and house research
• Object collection
• Library and archives
• Exhibitions, mediation, and education

We expect:
• University degree (BA, MA) or equivalent training in the field of history didactics / public history, cultural mediation, cultural studies, spatial design, exhibition and museum studies or museology
• Interest in material culture and engagement with historical objects
• Interest in the cultural, social, and economic history of rural Switzerland as well as in school and education history, especially of the 19th century
• Strong interest in methods of cultural mediation, exhibition development, and current museological topics
• Experience in independent scientific research and handling historical sources
• Strong interest in working in interdisciplinary teams
• Independent, thorough, and careful working style, quick comprehension, and networked thinking
• Confident use of common office applications
• Working language in the project is German / Swiss German.

We offer:
• Varied work in a versatile project in one of the largest and most exciting museums in Switzerland
• Practical insight into the various fields of work of our museum
• Internship salary
• Accommodation in a shared flat in Hofstetten near Brienz

Interested? Then please send us your application (short motivation letter and CV) by 18 October 2026 by e-mail to: personal@ballenberg.ch
Interviews will take place from 26 October to 28 October 2026.
For content-related questions, please contact:
Mirjam Koring, Head of Exhibitions, Mediation and Education, mirjam.koring@ballenberg.ch
For administrative questions, please contact:
Karin Wenger, Head of Administration, karin.wenger@ballenberg.ch