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What is Available Right Now?
Volunteer recruitment is now OPEN! Look through the opportunities below and choose one that appeals to you and that you can commit to. Once you have chosen a volunteer opportunity, call 604.659.3478 to reserve your spot and register for the information session or sign up for a one-on-one interview. Having trouble deciding on an opportunity? Our biggest need is with our school program opportunities! NOTE *Weekend Opportunities are now FULL
SCHOOL PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES School programs engage visiting school students at various grade levels in the exploration of marine life, science and conservation. These volunteer-run, “hands on” give volunteers a principal role as educator to a small group of students. It is a great opportunity to interact with and learn about marine invertebrates and teaching with live animals is a fun and unique experience. Join us and find out for yourself! Many school programs run daily. Some of the programs are seasonal or do not run all school year. For these reasons, volunteers may be cross trained on all programs that happen on the day that you choose to volunteer. If there is an age group or topic that you would specifically like to work with, please review the following list of programs. We may be able to connect you with an appropriate day and topic that fits your interests. Youth (14-18) and Adults are an appropriate fit for all school program roles.
Salty Science Educator: The Art of Experimental Design (8 positions available) Salty Science: The Art of Experimental Design is an engaging program that helps guide students through the main steps and ideas behind the scientific method. Understanding the basics of the scientific method is at the core of provincial sciencecurricula for Grades 5 and up.
Anatomy of a Rainforest (1 position left) This program helps children investigate what makes rainforests environments different from others. You will help lead small groups through our Graham Amazon Gallery and introduce them to the animals and environment specific to each area. This is a fun, interactive role that is bound to educate you and the students!
Conservation Ecology Educator (1 position left) Conservation Ecology is a high school aged program aimed at engaging students in critical examination of several marine ecosystem models and our (human) impacts on them, emphasizing the importance of make small and large-scale conservation efforts. This program takes place in both the classroom and our galleries.
Frogs Forever (2 positions left) Faciliate the exploration of the frog life-cycles with hands-on activities. See frogs in action and learn how these animals depend on the plants and animals in their wetland homes. Students put their creativity to work by designing their own frog species using the new information they have learned. Which frog sounds like a creaking door or a quacking duck? Join the Frogs Forever volunteer program to find out! The “BC Frog Chorus” challenges students to identify and mimic the calls of local and invasive species using some very unusual instruments.
Aqua-Kidz Educators (8 positions weekdays available) Aqua-Kidz Educators bridge the gap between young minds and marine science through creative interaction. These interactions involve drawing, face-painting, making crafts, and story time. For those who are more prone to perform you may also choose activities in the performance art field such as puppet shows, sing-alongs, and scripted works in the galleries. Bring your enthusiasm! Gallery Educator (12 positions available) This very hands-on and interactive public education position takes place throughout the entire Aquarium: from the Arctic to the Amazon! If you are a passionate communicator, are driven to share all those quirky and amazing things about animals and ecosystems, and you are committed to conservation messaging then we want you! Gallery Educators utilize an amazing array of interactive props and educational tools, touch pools, and eventually live animals, insects and dissections to educate the public about the wonders of this planet.
FACILITY & OFFICE SUPPORT OPPORTUNITIES Computer Support Volunteer (1 position available) Help our IS department in various IT related roles such as PC builds and troubleshooting, rollouts and basic user support among others. If you are computer savvy or are studying in the field of IT, this will be a great volunteer role to gain hands on experience.
Membership Phone Renewal Assistant (6 positions available) The Vancouver Aquarium has over 60,000 members. Your role will be to facilitate an easy over the phone renewal to past members and informing them of the most recent happenings and exclusive benefits. You will play an important role in encouraging the expired members to renew their membership and keep them connected with our organization. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ FULL PROGRAMS AS OF AUG 25th Marine Mammal Educator (2 positions available) *ALL POSITIONS ARE FULL* The lives of marine mammals are very fascinating. In this program, students gain a sense of wonder and appreciation for marine mammals, learn to compare and contrast themselves with marine mammals, and explore the ways that marine mammal adaptations support an aquatic existence. The program also aims to instill a sense of stewardship for marine mammals and ocean ecosystems
You will be assisting the Ocean Wise team by supporting, planning and executing Ocean Wise organized events and some administrative work such as data entry, filing, preparing packages and material. If you have a strong background or want to gain experience in sustainable seafood and aquaculture, come and join us.
Exhibit SCUBA Diver (4 positions available) *ALL POSITIONS ARE FULL* Help us by going in some underwater in the Wild Coast exhibit to assist with cleaning and husbandry tasks. Preference will be given to divers who can commit to regular diving shifts and who are able to attend the full training session.
Fish House & Enrichment Toy Maker (7 positions available) *ALL POSITIONS ARE FULL* This opportunity involves food for the marine mammals of the Aquarium. This includes visually inspecting and sorting herring, squid and capelin, weighing out daily food amounts, cutting and degutting the clams for the sea otters and cleaning the marine mammal food room.
Intertidal Marine Biology Educator (IMB) (21 positions available) Breakdown of positions still available: 1 Thursday PM, 5 Friday AM, 5 Friday AM The Intertidal Marine Biology program teaches Grade 11 students in-depth information about several groups of marine invertebrates. You'll be leading small groups of students through a planned lesson highlighting various characteristics of the animals. This hands-on role will have you handling small animals in our Wet Lab.
Les Merveilles de la Mer Educator (French) (4 positions available) *ALL POSITIONS ARE FULL* This is the Water Wonders program offered in French. Water Wonders is designed to inspire wonder, curiosity and marine stewardship in students by diving into the colourful world of marine animals. This program provides students with an extraordinary hands-on opportunity to explore the underwater world by observing, discussing, and touching live aquatic animals in the Aquarium's following galleries: Wild Coast, Tropic Zone and Treasures of the BC Coast. Through this experience, the students discover that they can use all their senses to learn about animals and how to identify those with and without backbones. They also learn about the importance of water and they pick up some basics about conservation: Everyone can do things to help aquatic animals!
Climate Change (7 positions available) *ALL POSITIONS ARE FULL*
Clubs Volunteer (12 positions available) *ALL POSITIONS ARE FULL* Fall Clubs are a program geared for kids with lots of curiosity and a keen interest in the living world. Kids will explore the aquarium, meet biologists behind the scenes, play games, make crafts and get a closer look at some of the Aquarium’s animals. The programs run each Saturday, beginning October 9th and finishing November 27th, for 1 to 2 hours depending on the age group
Waste Watchers Educator (3 positions available) *ALL POSITIONS ARE FULL* Where is “Garbage Island”? Where does the water in my sink or toilet go after I flush it down the drain? Investigate these questions and a whole lot more in our Waste Watchers school program. Get students involved in water awareness and conservation by opening their eyes to the often unseen world of water pollution. This program begins by exploring water pollution- where it comes from, how it affects multiple ecosystems and what can be done to help prevent the contamination of our waterways. In the second portion of this program, students learn some hands-on conservation actions while learning about biological and chemical indicators of healthy environments and ecosystems.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Didn’t see anything that interests you? We recruit three times a year for a variety of seasonal and annual programs. To receive email notification when recruitment opens again in the winter email volunteer@vanaqua.org with subject line "Remind Me in December". Are you a Youth looking for Work Experience? NOTE: NEW No Smoking Bylaw
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