Leacross Intern - Fossils

Leacross Intern - Fossils (3-month contract) WHO WE ARE

Opened in 1914 and welcoming over 1.3 million visitors annually, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is Canada's most-visited museum, ranking among the top 10 cultural institutions in North America. At ROM, we are dedicated to building and sharing global collections, sharing knowledge, inspiring learning, and fostering community engagement. As a globally recognized field research institute, ROM houses an impressive collection of over 18 million artworks, cultural objects, and natural history specimens, showcased in over 40 galleries and exhibition spaces.

We are committed to creating a space where art, culture, and nature intersect, connecting people and communities to the past, present and shared future.

As we continue to work toward our goals to transform and evolve as one of the world’s foremost 21st-century museums, we seek passionate and dynamic team members who embody our mission and values.

The Leacross Foundation Internship Program is a summer internship designed to support female-identifying undergraduate students as they explore careers in research, collections, and museums.

Five interns will work across different areas of the museum:
Biodiversity, Earth & Space (including Climate Change), Fossils, Art & Culture, and Collections Care. Throughout the summer, interns will participate in cohort learning opportunities to gain exposure to ROM’s collections, research initiatives, and institutional work.

For the Leacross Foundation Internship – Fossils, we are seeking a motivated and detail-oriented student to support the processing of a recently acquired fossil collection from the Eocene of British Columbia.

This collection—acquired through the LHS Strategic Acquisition (Summer 2025)—includes approximately 10,000 fossil specimens representing plants, insects, vertebrates (including fishes and bird feathers), and other invertebrate groups. The intern will assist with unpacking, sorting, and cataloguing the collection to support research access and long-term preservation within the museum’s paleontology collections.

This role offers hands‑on experience working with fossil specimens and museum collections management practices.

• Carefully unpack and process fossil specimens from a recently acquired Eocene fossil collection
• Separate vertebrate, invertebrate, and plant fossils to support accurate classification and organization
• Sort and organize specimens into trays while identifying corresponding parts and counterparts
• Assign and track specimen numbers and official object numbers to support cataloguing within the paleontology collection
• Assist with organizing and preparing fossil material for long‑term collections storage and research access
• Collaborate with fellow Leacross interns and participate in cohort learning sessions to gain exposure to other areas of the museum

• Completion of at least one year of post‑secondary education in evolutionary biology, biological sciences, botany, geology, paleontology, museum studies, or a related field
• Demonstrated academic knowledge or interest in paleontology or fossil collections
• Strong organizational and time‑management skills
• Excellent attention to detail when working with scientific specimens
• Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively within a collections or research environment
• Previous experience working in a museum or collections setting is considered an asset

• START DATE:
  
  as early as May 19, 2026
• END DATE: as late as August 14, 2026
• OPEN DATE:
  March 18, 2026
• CLOSE DATE:
  April 10, 2026
• STATUS:
  Full‑time Contract
• EMPLOYEE GROUP:
  Non‑Union
• EXPECTED COMPENSATION: $18/hour, paid on a bi‑weekly basis.
• SCHEDULE:
  
  35 hours weekly
• PROBATIONARY PERIOD:
  The internship period will serve as the evaluation period for this role.
• LOCATION (onsite):
  Toronto, ON

At ROM, we embrace diversity in our exhibits, communities, and teams. We encourage applications from racialized persons, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, 2

SLGBTQI+ individuals, and those who can further diversify our ideas. We are committed to equitable employment opportunities and a workplace free from discrimination and harassment.

We welcome and accommodate candidates with disabilities throughout the selection process. Please contact us at for assistance.

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