Inside an aquarium as a career.

I was reading an article about working at an aquarium and it sounds cool. Here is part of the article:

Amaze. Inspire. Educate. Rub elbows with an octopus. You can accomplish all of those feats by working in one place: a public aquarium. Inside an aquarium, a dedicated staff teaches the public about our planet’s incredible underwater ecosystem. If you are fascinated by the environment, interested in education, and enthusiastic about studying the wild world under the waves, you may want to dive into an aquarium career!

Conserving Its Home Waters: THE SEATTLE AQUARIUM

The Seattle Aquarium overlooks Puget Sound, a system of channels, inlets, and islands that lies along the shore of Washington state. “The Puget Sound is the focal point of our aquarium,” explains Leo Shaw, a public education specialist. “It’s all about what lives in these waters. We collect species of fish and mammals and exhibit them in a habitat that reflects life in the Sound.”

Orca whales, giant Pacific octopuses, harbor seals, otters, and many more species of marine life live in Puget Sound, making it a true gem of the Northwest. The aquarium staff teaches people how their actions help–or harm–the health of local marine life. “We are about conservation through education,” Shaw says. At the Seattle Aquarium, 70 staff members and more than 400 volunteers work together to both teach and amaze the aquarium’s visitors.

Sharing the Mission: PUBLIC EDUCATION SPECIALIST

Teaching is what Shaw’s job is all about. As a public education specialist, he creates and carries out educational programs and events at the aquarium. Each year, more than 40,000 local schoolchildren participate in lively and informative programs, such as “Migratory Bird Day” and “Coral Reef Adventure,” that Shaw and other aquarium educators develop together.

One of Shaw’s duties is to introduce schoolchildren to the aquarium. “As an education specialist, it is not difficult to stay interested and motivated at the aquarium,” he notes. “There are new faces and new questions every day.” He offers as an example an e-mail he received from a third grader who had visited the aquarium. “This is what keeps me coming back. A third grader with a need to know!” he says. The e-mail reads, “Dear Mr. Leo: Do fish cough when they get sick?” (For the record, fish really do cough!)

Casting light on aquarium careers is all in a day’s work for Shaw. As he walks through the Seattle Aquarium, he points out the human efforts behind each exhibit and event. “A great variety of positions and talent keep a successful aquarium afloat,” Shaw explains. “Biologists, educators, systems engineers, graphic designers, researchers, administrative staff, and volunteers, just to name a few. No one job is more important than another at the aquarium. Teamwork is the cornerstone of a smooth-running facility.”

Technoratied: aquarium, career, seattle