The York County Heritage Trust involves over a hundred volunteers in dynamic and engaging education and curatorial opportunities at all of the Trust sites.  Volunteers provide customer service to visitors, work with school groups, garden in the 18^th Century four-square garden at the Colonial Complex, and much more.  Consider becoming an education and/or curatorial volunteer and experience the York County Heritage Trust from the inside out.

Prospective volunteers should be passionate about history and preserving history.  They should be willing to learn new skills and participate in various tasks.  No museum or history education or experience is necessary.  All volunteers will receive on-going training along with printed orientation and training materials.  Volunteers also receive a 10% discount for all of the Trust museum shops and invitations to special year-round volunteer events.

Volunteer Opportunities

From visitor services to docent tours, the York County Heritage Trust relies on volunteers to successfully run the Trust’s diverse programs.

The following volunteer opportunities are available at the York County Heritage Trust sites:

Administrative Volunteer

Curatorial Volunteer

Volunteers who like hands-on projects will enjoy working behind the scenes as curatorial volunteers.  Individuals have the opportunity to assist with the care and handling of artifacts in the Trust’s collection as well as upcoming exhibits.

Fire Museum Volunteer

Volunteers at the Fire Museum help share the history of fire-fighting in York with adult and school age visitors through tours of the Museum.  Qualified volunteers can also assist in the maintenance of the antique fire trucks in the collection, as well as maintaining and creating exhibits at the Fire Museum.

Gardening Volunteer

Gardening volunteers take part in planning and maintaining the 18^th Century garden at the Colonial Complex.  The garden is comprised of heirloom herbs, perennials, and vegetables that are used doing living history programs and public tours.

Library Volunteer

Volunteer library aids assist patrons by retrieving and refilling material, making photocopies, and answering questions.  Volunteers also help with research, computerizing data, filing, cataloging material, as well as many other tasks.

Living History Interpreter

Volunteer opportunities are available in the Colonial/Revolutionary War living history program at the Colonial Complex and Victorian/Civil War living history program at the Bonham House.  Living history interpreters describe the experiences of Yorkers during the 1770s and 1860s through costumed demonstrations.

Museum Docent

Museum docents conduct tours of the Trust’s sites for the general public, school children, and adult groups.  Docents are trained on topics such as York’s agricultural and industrial history, colonial York, the Continental Congress, and the Revolutionary War in York.

Visitor Services Volunteer

Visitor services volunteers are trained as frontline representatives at the Agricultural and Industrial Museum.  Volunteers assist with the day to day operations of the Museum by greeting and orienting visitors, collecting admissions, handling gift shop sales, and responding to inquiries in person and on the telephone, as well as other tasks.

Application Process

Fill out our online volunteer application or contact:

Jennifer Royer

Director of Exhibits and Collections

York County Heritage Trust

250 East Market Street

York, PA 17403

717-848-1587 x228

York County Heritage Trust Internship Program

Want to work in a museum?  Do you need help breaking into the field?  Become a York County Heritage Trust intern and gain invaluable first-hand experience. 

Internships support the York County Heritage Trust’s commitment to encourage emerging professionals in the museum field by providing professional growth and development opportunities.  Internships are unpaid and available year-round.  Intern set their own hours based on their school and extra-curricular commitments (flexible schedule within Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 4 pm).

Internships are available in the following departments of the York County Heritage Trust:

Education; Exhibits and Collections; Library/Archives; Marketing/Public Relations; Graphic Design; Development. 

For detailed information on current internship opportunities, including directions on how to apply, click here.

York County Heritage Trust Junior Curator Program

Are you a junior and senior in high school and interested in learning what it is like work behind the scenes of a museum?  The Trust’s new Junior Curator program, limited to ten participants, allows high school juniors and seniors to act as curators for a Trust exhibit.  The participants of the program work with the Trust’s collections and Exhibits and Collections Department to determine a topic relevant to York County history and follow all of the steps involved in installing an exhibition.  The Junior Curators do all of the work that the Trust’s Curator does for every exhibition.

Most importantly, the Junior Curators get to have fun with history.  The Junior Curator program is a great way to meet new people and try new things, from all of the activities completed at the York County Heritage Trust sites to the field trips taken throughout the summer. 

Click here to enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the 2009 Junior Curator Program as they prepared for their exhibit unveiling.

How to Apply

Please submit a Junior Curator application and a letter of interest to:

Jennifer Royer

Director of Exhibits and Collections

York County Heritage Trust

250 East Market Street

York, PA 17403

717-848-1587 x228