Internship: Aquarium Team - AQS
Season: Summer 2024 (Approx Jun-Aug)
Location: Onsite
Application Deadline: Friday April 5 at 5pm CST
 
Internship Overview: 
The Aquarium Sustainability (AQS) team is responsible for maintaining and harvesting the aquarium’s live food cultures, including both phytoplankton and zooplankton, as well as overseeing the marine larval rearing program. The team also cares for various sygnathid habitats, the Sea Jelly Lab, and the seasonal Stingray Touch exhibit. This internship will focus on aquaculture techniques including egg collection, larval fish and invertebrate care, and copepod culture maintenance. The intern will also gain experience with marine broodstock care, stingray husbandry, exhibit maintenance, and life support systems.
 
Learning Objectives: 

• Learn techniques for aquaculturing marine fish and invertebrates in an aquarium setting, including methods for egg collection, setup and maintenance of a larval rearing system, and care and feeding of larval animals.
• Effectively perform husbandry and exhibit maintenance skills including diet preparation and feeding, animal enrichment, animal observations, habitat cleaning, and interpreting water quality reports. 
• Demonstrate an understanding of live food culturing protocols and their application in aquaculture.

Responsibilities & Projects: 

• Demonstrate commitment to Shedd’s vision, mission and values 
• As directed by staff, complete assigned animal care tasks including diet preparation, feeding, and recording health observations.
• Conduct in-depth observations of animal behavior. 
• Assist in all aspects of habitat maintenance including cleaning walls/windows and substrate, performing water changes, understanding large and small aquarium life support systems, and monitoring water quality. 
• Work with mentors to develop and perform a project involving the aquaculture of a marine species.
• Conduct an analysis of live food cultures through plankton counts.
• Potential to further work on water chemistry parameters and testing procedures. 
• Other projects as assigned 

Qualifications: 
Fields of Interest: Applicants should be interested in a career in animal husbandry, aquaculture, and/or animal behavior. Coursework in the biological sciences is preferred.
 
Skills/Characteristics: 

• Comfortable working in hot and humid conditions. 
• Able to spend long periods of time standing, walking, and bending.
• Able to perform physical tasks like climbing a ladder and lifting up to 30 lbs. 
• Able to use a microscope for extended periods of time.
• Comfortable working closely with a variety of aquatic animals. 
• Attentive with good observational skills and able to communicate effectively with the team (verbal and written).
• Have a high school diploma or GED. 

Time & Compensation: 

• This is a non-exempt, temporary position that pays $15.80 per hour
• We anticipate this position will be scheduled for 24-30 hours per week for 10-12 weeks, pending business needs and individual performance.
• Preferred schedule: 7am to 2pm. End time can be adjusted based on hours working per week. Prefer a 4-5 day work week between Monday-Saturday.
• Set schedule based on intern availability. 

We welcome applications from all levels of experience, including those seeking career exploration or changes, gap year students, freshmen, sophomores, and those seeking first internships. 
 
We strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ community, Veterans and active duty military, parents, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from all cultural backgrounds to apply. Shedd Aquarium is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes everyone to our team. 
 
If you need a reasonable accommodation at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know. In your application, please feel free to select which pronouns you use (For example – she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs).