Internship: Aquarium Galleries Team
Season: Spring 2025 (Approx March-May)
Location: Onsite
Application Deadline: February 7 at 4pm CST
 
Shedd Internship Program
Shedd Aquarium's Internship Program aims to provide meaningful career exploration for those seeking professions in non-profits, animal care, conservation, research, and beyond.  We hope to inspire and develop future professionals as diverse as the aquatic world we care for.

These opportunities are geared toward those that are new to the field and just starting to establish a career. They have the skills and knowledge, but not necessarily the real-world application.

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.

Department Overview: 
The Historic Galleries team cares for the Lakes, Rivers, and Coasts exhibits at the Shedd Aquarium. The team is responsible for the care of a wide range of animals including those in both tropical and temperate fresh and saltwater habitats. This internship will focus on the husbandry of temperate saltwater habitats and tropical and native turtles. This will include the direct care of the animals, habitat and life support maintenance, animal training, and regular implementation of animal enrichment.  
 
Learning Objectives: 

• Effectively perform husbandry and exhibit maintenance skills including diet preparation, feeding, maintenance of reptile enclosures and temperate saltwater habitats.  
• Demonstrate an understanding of water quality, its importance in aquatic systems, desired parameters for the different systems, and how to adjust water quality as needed. 
• Learn about large life support systems and effectively maintain a simple life support system.  
• Assist with alligator snapping turtle training.  
• Renovate bioactive spotted turtle habitats with an understanding of species and individual animal needs. 

Responsibilities & Projects: 

• Demonstrate commitment to Shedd’s vision, mission and values 
• Complete assigned animal care tasks including, but not limited to, diet preparation, feeding, and record keeping. 
• Regular thorough observation of animals’ behavior throughout the day.  
• Assist in habitat maintenance including scrubbing rockwork, walls, windows, and substrate. 
• Perform water changes, maintain life support systems, and monitor water quality. 
• Work with mentor to develop and perform a project involving either temperate saltwater marine life or native turtles. 
• Distribute animal specific enrichment throughout the week.  
• Other projects as assigned 

Qualifications: 

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

• 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. 
• Comfortable standing in cold water wearing waders. 
• Comfortable working in and around cold water (55°F). 
• 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). 
• Must be at least 18 years old.
• Have a high school diploma or GED. 

On-boarding
All interns attend one full day orientation. These are held in person on select Mondays from 9am-5pm. This is required, even if you will not normally be scheduled on Mondays.

Time & Compensation: 

• This is a non-exempt, temporary position that pays $17 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: Sunday-Wednesday for 7.5 hours per day.  Ability to start between 7 and 7:30am.
• Set schedule based on intern availability. 

Reasonable Accommodations:
Shedd Aquarium is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need reasonable accommodations for any part of the employment process, please email us at internship@sheddaquarium.org.
 
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.