Tulane University Museum of Natural History

Research Assistantships for Minority High School Students

For the past nine summers, students from the New Orleans Center for Science and Mathematics have worked as Curatorial Assistants in the Tulane Museum of Natural History. The students were supported through the Research Assistantships for Minority High School Students (RAMHSS) program at the National Science Foundation. They worked for eight weeks, assisting Museum staff with tasks of an ongoing collection-improvement project andaccompanying museum staff on field surveys. Over the course of their summer internships, the RAMHSS participants learned techniques of curating and managing an important fish collection. Participants in the nine previous RAMHSS cohorts are listed below. Also shown are photos of the participants working at the museum and assisting in field work.

Eighty-nine percent (89%) of former TUMNH RAMHSS participants who have finished high school are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs in colleges and universities. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of these are pursuing degrees in Science, Mathematics and Engineering fields.

Click on the image to see the enlarged photo.