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Pennington Marine Science Center
Fall 2010 - Aquarist Internship
Camp Emerald Bay, Santa Catalina Island, CA
Title: Aquarist Intern
Company/Organization: Camp Emerald Bay, Western Los Angeles County
Council, Boy Scouts of America
Location: Camp Emerald Bay, Santa Catalina Island, CA. 33° 28' 08" N,
118° 31' 52" W
Duration: August 29 -- November 20, 2010
Pay Rate: Room and board provided for the duration of the internship in
camp style housing and dining facilities as
well as a small weekly stipend.
Description: The Camp Emerald Bay - Pennington Marine Science Center
Aquarist Internship is designed to provide
instruction and opportunities to learn aquatic animal husbandry skills.
These skills can be marketed to a number of
organizations and businesses such as public aquariums, research groups,
aquaculture production facilities, aquarium
service businesses, and the ornamental fish trade including retail and
wholesale production levels.
The job of aquatic animal keepers, also known as aquarists, is a
physically active job. Besides the potential for
SCUBA diving, other job duties include lifting buckets of water (60
lbs), climbing up and down stairs or ladders,
bending over, carrying buckets of water, restraining and netting
animals. Days are frequently spent standing on your
feet and usually consist of feeding, monitoring, and otherwise caring
for aquatic animals. Aquarist Interns may clean,
disinfect, monitor water quality, and design or build exhibits.
Additionally, aquarists may keep records of feedings,
treatments, and animals received or discharged.
Aquarists have an extremely varied set of responsibilities, and
therefore need an equally diverse range of
knowledge and skills to do their jobs. The personal characteristics
aquarists identified as being important for this
profession also reflect this variety: self motivation, creativity, a
willingness and ability to learn, resourcefulness,
intuition, thoroughness, and the ability to work with others are just
some of the key qualities that aquarists believe are
important in order to do their jobs well.
As a summer staff member of Camp Emerald Bay and the Pennington Marine
Science Center, you will be
involved in many different aspects of camp and aquarium operations
including: animal care, record keeping, facility
maintenance, merit badge instruction and camp staff required work
activities. Through your participation, you will
gain many specific skills, experience working with captive animals in an
educational setting, and something new to
put on your resume. If you choose to get the most out of working here
you will have the knowledge of a basic
aquarist; however, you will also gain a strong background in animal
behavior, animal health and husbandry, public
interaction, and be exposed to much more. Like most things in life, how
much you get out of this experience will
depend on how much you put in.
Emerald Bay is located on the West End of Catalina Island. A far cry
from the bustling tourist destination of
Avalon, the West End offers camp staff unparalleled opportunities for
diving, hiking, trail running, swimming,
snorkeling, mountain biking, kayaking, camping, and many more activities
that are just a plus of working on this end
of the island. The nearest town is Two Harbors, with about 100
year-round residents, and is a 30-minute car ride on
dirt roads. Because of our isolated location applicants must consider
this since it's very difficult to "run into town" for
anything and while there is one general store, the emphasis must be
placed on "general". Creature comforts are hard
to come by, but the island's spectacular beauty and atmosphere more than
make up for any lack of modern
conveniences.
During the fall, the Aquarist Interns assist the Marine Science Director
in giving instructional tours to guests at
camp, aquarium maintenance and operations, development of current and
future aquarium exhibits, and all aspects of
maintaining a healthy, diverse aquarium.. Additionally, Aquarist Interns
will be asked to perform camp staff tasks as
needed; these duties are required of all staff, camp wide, no matter
which area they work. Aquarist Interns must have
a strong scuba background since they will be assisting in the release of
aquarium specimens as well as experience
operating small boats in the ocean under varied conditions.
One Aquarist Intern will be competitively chosen on the basis of
knowledge, abilities, experience, attitude,
reliability, punctuality and recommendations. We recommend contacting
your registrar's office in order to earn
college credit for this internship. Preference will be given to those
who can stay for the duration of the internship and
that meet the qualifications above. Aquarist Interns will work on a
research project of their choice and report the
results by the end of the internship.
Drug Testing: PMSC staff must understand that if they are involved in a
workplace accident or it is
determined by their supervisor or the camp director that there is a
reasonable suspicion that they are under the
influence of alcohol or illegal drugs, the intern may be subject to
saliva drug testing.
If interested, please contact the Marine Science Director by email for
an application.
Applications are due by Friday, July 23, 2010.
Requirements: A successful applicant will possess the following:
-Undergraduate, graduate student or recent graduate in/with a related
degree.
-SCUBA certification. The more experience the better. Must own mask,
fins, and booties. All other gear is provided.
-Strong writing skills and organization.
-Mechanical aptitude / willingness to work with your hands.
-Strong background in record keeping with Microsoft Excel.
-Interest in marine aquaria, marine conservation, and the teaching of
marine science.
-Ability to work with a variety of people in close quarters for long
hours as well as independently.
-A sense of adventure.
Contact: Kevin Erickson, [email protected]
Marine Science Director
Pennington Marine Science Center
1-310-510-1795 ext 36
