Year-Round Teen Volunteer Roles
Teen volunteers ages 13 and up play a key role in animal care and providing and engaging and fun visitor experience throughout the year. If you are interested in volunteering with us in a year-round or school year position, please review the volunteer opportunities below and fill out the General Volunteer Application Form
Our live animals require daily care, and we have a team of teen assistants who help us make sure they are fed and watered, and that their cages are kept clean and safe. This job often requires the handling of animals themselves, and we need volunteers who are willing to do this without fear.
Discovery Room docents greet families as they come in and help them to find the animals and activities that are interesting and age appropriate for their children.
Volunteers help guide children and their families in fun and educational activities during our Spring Fling, Family Fun Evening, Pumpkin Patch, and Holiday Market. 2 or 3 hour shifts.
Middle and High School students are invited to be counselors at camps for 5 – 10 year olds. One-day School’s Out Day Camps are held during winter holidays and spring break. Camp counselors assist the teachers and help individual campers with crafts, projects, games, etc.
Training is provided for individuals or groups of people interested in volunteer positions that require guidance and specialized instruction
Summer Volunteer Positions
Teen volunteers play a key role in our summer programs. If you are over 13 years old and you are interested in volunteering with us over the summer, please review the volunteer opportunities and fill out the Summer Teen Volunteer Application Form and submit it, along with the General Volunteer Application, by April 10, 2017.
Middle and High School students are invited to be counselors at camps for 5 – 10 year olds. Week-long camps are held between June and August. Camp counselors assist the teachers and help individual campers with crafts, projects, games, etc.
Teens who assist with our Sneak-a-Peek program work with the instructor, an NDC Staff member, to prepare craft and other class materials, help children ages 3.5 – 5 with class activities and and crafts, and help clean up after class is over. Activities will take place both indoors and outdoors.
Group Guides lead small groups of pre-school and elementary aged kids on explorations in the park and visits to the Discovery Rooms – helping them find interesting and age appropriate activities.
Teens lead our Nature Story Time on Wednesdays at 4pm throughout the summer, reading themed books and assisting preschoolers and their caregivers with simple crafts and/or songs and other activities.
Discovery Room docents greet families as they come in and help them to find the animals and activities that are interesting and age appropriate for their children.
Our live animals require daily care, and we have a team of teen assistants who help us make sure they are fed and watered, and that their cages are kept clean and safe. This job often requires the handling of animals themselves, and we need volunteers who are willing to do this without fear.
Mandatory training sessions are provided in May and June for all Summer Teen Volunteers.
"Nature at Your Doorstep provides a way to tap into children's curiosity, wonder and upper level thinking skills."
Teri Consetino, Science and Children, April 1998"This book... provides ways for teachers to share nature with their students. It is well organized and easy to follow....The data sheets are informative and interesting to the students. . .The activities are appropriate for schools with large woodland areas as well as those with just small grassy areas. My students were interested in the investigations and enjoyed collecting the data. This book would be a useful addition to any resource room. The activities strongly support the standards in science, mathematics, language arts, and social studies. The materials needed to teach the lessons are easy to obtain and are available in most classrooms. A sample ten-day lesson plan is provided for those teachers who want more direction."
Teaching Children Mathematics, Jan. 1998, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc.“Very good! I will definitely use these lessons in a classroom. Thumbs up!!”
“… a very hands-on and exciting way to educate.”
“I will definitely recommend this workshop to all educators regardless of their content areas. These lessons would incorporate much more than science.”
