Reports to: Environmental Exhibit Specialist/Director of Animal Care and Facilities

Compensation: College Credit

Description: This internship is specifically for students who wish to earn academic credit from their college/institution for their time at ECHO. Animal Care Academic Interns assist and support staff in a professional, state of the art animal care environment, as is provided in Association of Zoo and Aquarium accredited institutions throughout the US, for native fish and reptiles, as well as native and exotic amphibians. After initial hands-on training, Interns will be required to accomplish husbandry tasks independently and must complete assigned individual project work. Responsibilities include but not limited to: feeding animals, cleaning animal enclosures, medicating animals, creating and installing naturalistic habitats, animal handling, animal collecting, record keeping, researching natural history and captive husbandry.

Animal Care Academic Interns arrange for internship credit with their college/institution. Any requirements (paperwork, contracts) must be presented before start of internship to ensure Intern and ECHO staff can and will meet all requirements.

Qualifications: Three months prior experience as volunteer or intern in professional animal care facility. Applicants should be enthusiastic, detail-oriented, reliable, and willing to get wet and/or dirty! Occasional heavy lifting (up to 60 pounds) may be required. Majors in animal science, wildlife biology, pre-vet, aquaculture, environmental science, or related fields preferred. Desire to continue learning about the sustainability challenges facing the Lake Champlain Basin and the way individual actions can affect change.

Time Commitment: Internships require a full semester or summer commitment. Fall (September-December) Spring (January-April) Summer (May-August). Fifteen week commitment with a minimum of 12-15 hours a week.

Reports to: Director of Guest Service/Event Managers

Compensation: College Credit

Description: Guest Service/Event Interns will assist at our front desk, in our gift shop and help with some events at ECHO. Interns will get a complete understanding of our front of the house operations including daily admission sales, gift shop sales and merchandise, group check in and event management. Interns will be able to develop customer service and hospitality skills, work with point of sale computer programs, and assist with event execution.

Qualifications: We are seeking a person with good written and verbal communications skills, a customer service background, a pleasant telephone manner, a bubbly personality and a flexible schedule. Computer skills including proficiency with Microsoft Office and familiarity with using database applications are desired. Hours vary and some evening work is necessary. Some heavy lifting may be required. Interns seeking careers in hospitality, customer service, or non-profit-specific positions will find the most direct benefit from this Internship.

Time Commitment: Internships are a semester commitment. Fall (September-December) Spring (January-April) Summer (May-August) Fifteen week commitment with a minimum of 15-20 hours a week. Must be able to work weekends and some evenings.

Reports to: Development & Communications Staff

Compensation: College Credit

Description:ECHO’s Development Internship offers a challenging and highly rewarding experience for anyone considering a career in communications, fundraising or non-profit management. Interns work with ECHO’s development staff to broaden community understanding of ECHO’s charitable mission, particularly via non-traditional and multi-media platforms; evaluate and build understanding of ECHO’s Open Door community access program; and provide outreach support to ECHO’s donor and member constituents.

Responsibilities may include:

• Assist with creating outreach material to existing donors/members.
• Support mission marketing and fundraising efforts via direct mail and e-mail.
• Work with Open Door program partners to increase availability to underserved communities.
• Assist with the planning and execution of recognition and fundraising events.
• Support community outreach efforts including in-kind giving program.
• Support departmental record keeping and database management.
• Additional duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• Strong communication skills
• Experience with or desire to learn about non-profit business
• Experience with or desire to learn interactive/social web platforms and databases
• Ability to synthesize quantitative and qualitative information to draw informed conclusions
• Desire to continue learning about the sustainability challenges facing the Lake Champlain Basin and the way individual actions can affect change

Time commitment: Internships are a semester commitment: Fall (September-December), Spring (January-April) or Summer (May-August). Fifteen week commitment with a minimum of 12-15 hours a week. You must be available to work occasional weekend and/or evening shifts.

Reports to: Marketing Manager and Communications Coordinator

Compensation: College Credit

Description: ECHO’s marketing and communications interns will help tell the story of this incredible non-profit science center dedicated to the ecology, culture, history, and opportunity for stewardship in the Lake Champlain Basin. With a growing digital audience and endless ways to communicate, the role is exciting and allows students to enhance the skills they have and create a portfolio to get the job they want.

Responsibilities may include:

• Representing ECHO’s brand by creating unique, thoughtful content
• Storytelling through all mediums available (writing, photography, and videography experience a plus)
• Sharing with social media followers up-to-date information and engaging content.
• Analyzing social media performance and finding new creative ways to take the brand forward
• Researching, writing, and publishing stories on ECHO’s official blog, “Below the Surface”
• Planning and documenting ECHO events (some nights and weekends may be required)
• Creating a cumulative multimedia project to showcase an agreed-upon aspect of the center

Essential skills:

• Writing
• Photography
• Videography
• Audio management (for ECHO’s podcast)
• Prior social media management
• Prior knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite, particularly Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere a plus
• A passion for animals, early education, and the environment and a desire to manage the brand

Time Commitment: Internships are a semester commitment. Fall (September-December) Spring (January-April) Summer (May-August). Fifteen week commitment with a minimum of 12-15 hours a week - some weekends required.

Reports to: Education Department

Compensation: College Credit

Description: Interns serve as an integral part of our team which is committed to top-notch educational opportunities for visitors to ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center. Primary duties include supporting the development of activities and exhibit components based on natural sciences, culture, history, and stewardship opportunities in the Lake Champlain Basin as well as facilitating guest experiences at our Champlain Sea Tank exhibit. There may be additional opportunities for supporting the guest experience during high-volume times, such as school vacation weeks. The public program internship offers a challenging and rewarding experience for anyone considering a career in education.

Qualifications: Applicants should be dynamic, enthusiastic about science, and interested in creating activities, experiments, and adventures that highlight science-learning and the Lake Champlain Basin. Experience in education, environmental studies, or related majors preferred. Interns should be comfortable speaking in front of small groups and be generally familiar with the natural history of the area.

Time Commitment: Internships are a semester commitment. Fall (September-December) Spring (January-April). Fifteen week commitment with a minimum of 12-15 hours a week. Must be available to work weekends and public school vacation weeks. ECHO is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve & Christmas Day.

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Reports to: Youth Programs Manager

Compensation: College Credit

Description:This internship provides undergraduate and graduate students opportunity to gain practical experience with formal and informal teaching opportunities with young visitors ages 0-6 and their caregivers. ECHO’s Early Childhood Education Internship offers a challenging and highly rewarding experience for anyone considering a career in early education. This is a high paced environment which requires both team and independent work; the ability to work with visitors of various backgrounds and ages, and an interest in the Ecology, Culture, History, and Opportunity for stewardship in the Basin.

Essential Duties:

• Assist lead instructors with ECHO’s Early Learning Readiness Program on Tuesday and/or Thursday mornings 8:30am -11:30am
• Develop and conduct preschool STEM related activities for visitors in ECHO’s early learning exhibit space
• Interact informally with visitors to facilitate engagement with exhibits
• Set up and clean up exhibits and activities throughout the day
• Work with an advisor on ECHO-related early childhood educational projects

Essential Skills:

• Understaning of early childhood development.
• Experience working with young children.
• Experience working independently and in diverse teams.
• Self motivated to complete projects in a timely fasion.
• Flexiblity and adaptability to complete a wide variety of tasks, including light cleaning.
• Eagerness to engage young children in daily activities or crafts.

Time Commitment:

• Three month commitment for Fall or Spring Semester
• Participation in an evening ECHO Orientation Training and Education Department Training
• 8:30 am to 11:30 am, on Tuesday and/or Thursdays plus additional hours to complete 12-15 hours per week. Scheduled based on your candidate availability.

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Reports to: Public Programs Coordinator

Compensation: $11/hour

Description: A team of Education Interns serve as ECHO's floor staff during our fast paced, busy summer months. This paid internship provides graduate and undergraduate students the chance to gain practical experience with formal and informal teaching opportunities with visitors of all ages. This internship requires both team and independent work, four days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

You and your team will:

• Coordinate volunteer exhibit interpreters on a daily basis
• Interact informally with visitors to facilitate engagement with exhibits
• Conduct live education demos on a daily basis
• Conduct on-floor interactive encounters for visitors
• Set up and clean up exhibits and activities throughout the day
• Work with an advisor on ECHO-related educational projects

Qualifications: Applicants should be dynamic, enthusiastic about science and interested in working with people. Experience in education, theater, environmental studies, or related majors preferred. Interns should be comfortable speaking in front of small to large groups and be generally familiar with the natural history of the area.

Time Commitment: First week of June - Last week of August. Four days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (1st week of June is a training week).

Application Deadline: March 1, 2017

Reports to: Information Technology Systems Manager

Description: Assist the IT Coordinator in providing support to Staff and Volunteers, maintaining servers, wired and wireless networking hardware, and VoIP PBX phone system. ECHO's IT infrastructure is a unique blend of a typical small corporate network, retail environment, and unique technology based exhibits. You'll work with IBM and Cisco equipment, VMWare ESXi virtualization, and a mix of Windows and GNU/Linux network operating systems. Projects may involve documenting existing infrastructure, researching, planning, and deploying new technologies, and auditing network policies. This is an exciting opportunity to gain practical experience in many diverse areas of Information Technology, with an institution making a significant difference in the quality of life in the Lake Champlain Basin and beyond.

Qualifications: We are looking for students who are responsible, detail-oriented, and able to work independently and as part of a team. Ideal candidates will have good communication skills and the ability to explain technology to non-technical staff. Experience in computer networking, information security, and computer science majors a plus. Desire to continue learning about the sustainability challenges facing the Lake Champlain Basin and the way individual actions can affect change.

Compensation: College Credit
Time Commitment: Internships are a semester commitment. Fifteen week commitment with a minimum of 12-15 hours a week. The ideal candidate for this internship would be available for both fall and spring semesters.

Compensation: Hourly wage of $11.00
Time Commitment: 12 Week, 28 hours/week paid internship from Mid May - Mid August. Typical schedule consists of 4 days a week, 7 hours a day.