Eli Whitney Museum

• Apprentices work about 200 hours during the school year and up to 400 hours in the summer.
• Apprentices receive stipends. They must prove their value.
• Apprentices are trained by well established designers, artisans, and artists.
• All apprentices teach. They encounter children from diverse in backgrounds, experiences, and abilities.
• All apprentices work in production. They master a dozen hand and power tools.
• Most apprentices can set drilling fixtures to tolerance of ±.005"
• Most apprentices create designs for classes and retain design copyrights.
• All apprentices have participated in active experiments and discussions styles, design styles and strategies, leadership styles, and the cultural, gender, and social dynamics of design.

Apprentices are selected via a competitive application process.

Applicants are ages 13-15 who are in grades 8-9.

Step One- Please fill out this Fall 2025 Apprentice Info Session Sign-Up We will then send you an invitation to a mandatory information session on September 14, 2025 from 4-5PM. NOTE: School emails often are blocked to outside institutions, if your child does not have a personal email, please create one for the application process.

Step Two- Attend a mandatory information session with other prospective Apprentices and their families. These are hosted in the Fall and the Spring. If you miss one info session, you will be directed to the next.

Step Three- Complete the application after the information session. The application will only be released to those who attend.

Step Four- Complete the Creative Challenges at home. This will be outlined in the information session and a prompt with materials will be available for pick-up after the application due date. You will bring this assignment to your Trial Day. Be ready to present your work to staff and peers.

Step Five- Get to know us better and show off your skills and interest at your Trial Day. We will host a series of activities so you can get a sense of what it is like to work at the Museum and show off how you work with others.

Step Six- Receive your acceptance into the Apprentice Program, or receive a deferral for future application cycles. There is no limit to how many times an apprentice can apply to the program.

We look forward to hearing from you!