Question about volunteering at an aquarium

[snhrph]

Does anyone volunteer at NJ Aquarium at Camden?

Their website indicates one of the requirements as "Ability to volunteer 16 hours a month by committing to a set schedule of two full days ( 9:00am – 4:00pm ) per month on permanent days. (i.e.: 1st and 3rd Tuesday, 2nd and 4th Saturday".

How strict are they with this policy?

I would like to volunteer (and get some bottom time in the warm water locally ) and have no problem with 2 full days, but my work does not allow me to commit to a set schedule.

Thank you for your responses.

Stan.

 

[seastargf]

HI Stan,

I don't volunteer at the aquarium you are asking about, but Oklahoma has an aquarium and I did volunteer work there for about a year. I was not a diver, but I can tell you that they need a fairly secure commitment from all volunteers. The way it worked for us was that all the volunteers were on a schedule for about 16 hours a month, as yours is. It is just as important for the aquarium to know when the volunteers will be there as it is working at a job. The one I volunteered at allowed us to try to find a replacement when we couldn't make it or we needed be there rain or shine.

Volunteering at the Oklahoma Aquarium is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. I hope it all works out for you at your aquarium and you enjoy it as much as I did. Being a diver, they may need someone to clean tanks at YOUR instead of their convenience.

Good Luck to you - as far as I'm concerned, it is a great thing to do to desire to give of your time and energy for your local aquarium!

 

[Carribeandiver]

The New Orleans Aquarium (The Aquarium of the Americas) requires a volunteer diver to work for one year and have completed the specialty course of naturalist Before he can dive.
I cannot remember exactly but I believe the volunteer work required is one weekend a month for the year.

 

[scubadobadoo]

And also keep in mind that much of the time you spend at the Aquarium won't be in the water. Diving is just one SMALL part of the experience with most programs and much of the diving is grunt work. Still, it's a rewarding time if you can commit to the set schedule.

 

[JohnnyH]

Does anyone volunteer at NJ Aquarium at Camden?

Their website indicates one of the requirements as "Ability to volunteer 16 hours a month by committing to a set schedule of two full days ( 9:00am – 4:00pm ) per month on permanent days. (i.e.: 1st and 3rd Tuesday, 2nd and 4th Saturday".

How strict are they with this policy?

I would like to volunteer (and get some bottom time in the warm water locally ) and have no problem with 2 full days, but my work does not allow me to commit to a set schedule.

Thank you for your responses.

Stan.

Stan -

I work for the New England Aquarium in Boston. My first experience with NEAq was as a volunteer many years ago, and I can assure you that it is both lots of hard work and very rewarding.

Though I can't comment on the vol program at NJ Aquarium, Camden (though I do have a friend that works there), I do know that a fixed schedule is usually rather important as aquariums often depend on heavily vols and therefore knowing who is going to be in on what day is rather important.

Beyond a time commitment there are also other requirements for being a volunteer diver for an aquarium - which varies, but is usually modeled after AAUS requirements. For NEAq, we require, among other things, 75 logged dives (10 > 60ft & 10 night), 6 months DViT service (Dive Volunteer in Training), recommendation by the diving staff, a medical and a check-out dive by the Diving Safety Officer.

I recently attended the (ADPA) Association of Dive Program Administrators meeting at DEMA, basically a gathering of aquarium DSOs, and one topic of conversation was our volunteer diving programs. One thing we all agreed on was how critical it was to retain good dive vols - as they are just as important as staff.

I wish you the best of luck and let us know how things work out.

John

 

[KazooDiver]

This is a great topic...

I would love to be able to vol at an aquarium...but all the aquariums near me are several hours away and make a regular commitment impossible.

My advice is, to give them a call..perhaps they know someone else in your situation and you could share a commitment.. you never know unless you talk with someone there..

 

[Sveta]

I thought about volunteering in the New York Aquarium too. That's why i'm going to Key Largo for NYE so i can get some extra dives that i need to apply for this position. I'm not sure about the full time commitment because of my crazy work and travel schedules but i think these kind of things could be sorted out.

 

[scubadobadoo]

I'm not sure about the full time commitment because of my crazy work and travel schedules but i think these kind of things could be sorted out.

Think again and good luck. I looked into it and even did the orientation. The schedule and commitment are both very strict. Most people have weekends free but what the Aquarium really seemed to be interested in was people who could come on weekdays. I fell into that category but the strict commitment on days wasn't negotiable. Too bad but I understand. The fact is that sometimes it takes the aquarium just as much energy to get ready for volunteers to come and work as it takes for the volunteers to actually do the work.

 

[snhrph]

Thank you all for your insight and advice.

I'll give the NJ Aquarium a call and will take it from there.

Stan.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

The Pittsburgh Zoo has a program but it is locked up by a certain dive shop. Even though it's a public aquarium you cannot get in to the program with out going through this certain shop. And if you do not use that LDS good luck getting them to recommend you. I've written several letters and emails( to the aquarium) but they will not even call me back. I refuse to go through this shop as I've seen first hand how some of their instructors operate and I will not be associated with them in any way. I have talked to many who have tried to get in also with no luck. The aquarium does not do the check outs, the shop does, and you have to provide all of your own gear, which I do not have a problem with, but it seems the issue of contamination of the tank(s) would be an issue.