To apply for any job position listed below, please specify which position you are applying for in your cover letter. Send cover letter, resume, references and salary history to:

Attn: Human Resources
The Bakken
3537 Zenith Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN 55416-4623

or fax to 612-927-7265  or email jobs@thebakken.org

The Bakken is an equal opportunity employer, actively seeking diversity.

Group Services Coordinator

The Group Services Coordinator is responsible for scheduling Field Trip and Group programs, scheduling education staff and volunteers for group programs, administration of facility rentals, visitor and registration data management, and maintenance of calendars. This position also assists with administration of the volunteer program and is back-up for visitor services staff.

Responsibilities
Group Program Scheduling
Coordinates registration processes to ensure registrations are processed properly. Sends registration confirmations to group contacts. Ensures accurate contact information of all customers.

Schedules Bakken education staff and volunteers for field trips and group programs. Maintains room and program calendars to ensure accuracy and completeness.

Provides leadership and coordination of customer relations to establish good long-term relationships with internal and external customers.

Facility- Rentals and Calendar
Provides information to potential renters regarding facility rental options and fees, in a timely manner. Meets with customers in person as requested to show meeting spaces.

Write rental contracts and ensures signed contracts are returned to The Bakken.

Maintains room calendar for Bakken facility, including for internal event and external events.

Record Maintenance
Maintains accurate hard copy and computer records related to program registrations and rentals, and numbers served. Generates reports as requested.

Education and Experience
• High school diploma required
•3 years customer service experience, with at least one year of experience in program and/or staff scheduling

Special Skills
• Excellent professional oral and written communication skills
• Excellent customer service skills, phone manner and poise in dealing with people
• Expertise in Microsoft Office programs– Word, Excel, Outlook, and Access required, experience with Power Point preferred
• Highly organized with attention to detail and accuracy
• Self-motivated
• Ability to multi-task, set priorities, and deal with wide variety of situations

Special Requirements
Work some Saturdays as required

Full-Year Professional Leave Opportunity for Minneapolis Public Schools Teachers at the Bakken Museum

The Bakken seeks applicants for leadership development opportunity in elementary science. The successful candidate will join The Bakken’s education staff as Teacher in Residence for the 2008-2009 school year.

The 2008-09 Teacher in Residence (TIR) will work in collaboration with Bakken and district staff to plan, improve and expand The Bakken/MPS School Partnership Program for fourth-grade teachers and students.

The School Partnership Program’s purpose is to provide innovative, creative, and high-quality science instruction that is standards-based, integrated with other core disciplines, and develops science inquiry skills for all students. The Program incorporates best practices for providing effective instruction for students from groups traditionally underrepresented and underserved in science – students of color, students of poverty and girls. The program focuses on developing positive attitudes toward science, science skills and content knowledge, and relevancy of science to students’ lives and future work. A central goal of the Program is to reduce or eliminate gaps that exist in attitudes, behaviors, skills and knowledge based on race/ethnicity, gender, language, and poverty.

The 2008-09 TIR will play a leadership role, in collaboration with other Bakken and MPS staff, in developing a new curriculum framework for fourth grade electricity and magnetism and corresponding teacher professional development. The TIR will serve as a liaison between MPS and The Bakken, working closely with the Curriculum and Instruction Department (especially science TOSAs), and with teachers and students throughout the district.

Specific duties of the TIR include working on collaborative teams to: develop and pilot fourth-grade science curriculum; integrate science with other disciplines, especially math and reading; provide teacher professional development; and evaluate program effectiveness. As a result of this professional leave, the participating teacher will increase their expertise in and knowledge of: science content, best practices and innovative instructional strategies for teaching science, program evaluation, and providing staff development.

The successful applicant for The Bakken’s Teacher in Residence program:

• Is a licensed Minneapolis teacher, meeting any professional leave requirements.
• Has significant experience teaching in grades K-8 or comparable experience.
• Has experience in and enjoys teaching science.
• Is interested in:

- practicing innovative science teaching in a unique environment,
- learning more about the history and science of electricity & magnetism,
- impacting science education at the district level,
- working in Bakken programs for students and teachers,
- serving as a liaison to teachers, schools and the district,
- improving science teaching and learning.

To apply for The Bakken’s Teacher in Residence position for the 2008-09 school year, submit a Preliminary Application by Monday, April 14th, 2008. The Preliminary Application should consist of a Cover Letter and Resume that includes the following information:

•  Teaching experience, including grade level and duration at each level, involvement with science, professional development and leadership opportunities, and other relevant experience.
• Experience working with students from groups traditionally underrepresented and/or underserved in science: students of color, students of poverty, and girls.
• Experience with the process of teacher professional development, such as peer coaching, modeling, classroom observations, workshop delivery, etc.
• Names and contact information for two professional references.

Applications will be reviewed and processed as they are received. Selected candidates will be invited to submit additional materials and participate in an interview.

Please submit application materials by mail, e-mail or fax to:

Steven Walvig
Director of Education
The Bakken Museum
3537 Zenith Ave South
Minneapolis, MN 55416

E-mail: walvig@thebakken.org
Fax: (612) 927-7265

Questions may be directed to any of the following people:

Steven Walvig, Director of Education, The Bakken
612-926-3878 x202, walvig@thebakken.org

Andrea Cortes-Eastlund, 2007-08 Teacher in Residence, The Bakken
612-926-3878, corteseastlund@thebakken.org

Joe Alfano, MPS Elementary Science Specialist
612-668-5374, joe.alfano@mpls.k12.mn.us

For a PDF file of the above Teacher in Residence information, please click here.

Minneapolis teachers who have served as The Bakken's Teacher in Residence include:
2007-2008 Andrea Cortés-Eastlund
2006-2007 Gustavo M. Lanata
2005-2006 Deb Bahl-Moore
2004-2005 David Higley
2003-2004 Jim McComas-Bussa
2002-2003 Beth Ness
2001-2002 Sonja Walker
2000-2001 Marium Toure
1999-2000 Lee Fabel
1998-1999 Kathy Scoggin

Museum Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10 to 5
Thursdays 10 am to  8pm 
Closed Major Holidays
Library Hours: Monday - Friday 9 to 4:30

Admission: $7 Adults; $5 Students & Seniors; Children 3 and under are FREE!

© The Bakken Updated: July 26, 2008