My parents are in town for the weekend, and I’ve been thinking of fun things to do with them around Chicago. One place that came to mind is Shedd Aquarium. I don’t think that we’ll end up getting a chance to make it there this weekend, but it was certainly a good thought. And once I thought about it, I realized that they’re probably have internships. Shedd Aquarium is much like other aquariums now, but it really stood out when it was opened in the 1930s. The aquarium was founded by John G. Shedd, retired president of Marshall Field & Company, and financed by him with $3 million in gifts. The goal was to bring Chicago up to par with other “cosmopolitan” cities that had aquariums, and by the end of the project Chicago’s aquarium “housed the greatest variety of sea life under one roof.” It also happened to be “the first inland aquarium with a permanent saltwater collection,” which meant that they had to ship millions of gallons of seawater from Florida on trains to provide a proper habitat for the sea life.
To this day, I still find it extremely impressive that an aquarium in Chicago can have whales and dolphins. The idea of a Beluga Whale in the heart of the midwest blows my mind. Although now the aquarium is more focused on education than on bringing up Chicago’s status, it’s still a great tourist attraction and a wonderful resource for the city. I’d imagine that Shedd Aquarium is very much like other aquariums in its mission and values, which means that they’ll have similar internships. Right now they have a number of internships posted, and they all look great. These include positions in Staff Training, Fishes, Horticulture, Marine Mammals, Photography, Public Affairs, Special Events & Donor Relations, and Veterinary Services. All of the positions are unpaid and typically last 12 weeks. Check out their internship listings for more information on specific positions, and then check out this page on how to apply.
Links to Help You Begin Your Research
Have you ever been to Shedd Aquarium?
Do I Know Anyone at Shedd Aquarium? - Check LinkedIn | Check Facebook
Tags: animals, aquarium, development, events, horticulture, Illinois, Internships, non-profit, photography, public relations, training, unpaid, zoology
What a wonderful surprise to see my organization featured on your site! I am currently the Public Affairs Intern at the Shedd Aquarium and can honestly say it is one of the best places to work! Everyone truly enjoys what they do and that passion and excitement comes through with every person you meet. You are correct in stating that aside from being a world-class aquarium, we also have countless educational programs aimed at all groups and ages; truly an institution with something for everyone.
If you are looking for an internship offering substantive work and a unique learning opportunity with people that care about your professional development, you can’t do much better than the Shedd Aquarium!
I am extremely interested in interning for the summer of 2011. I will then be a Junior attending the University of Iowa studying biology. I work in a evolutionary bio lab that studies an invasive snail species. I hope I can make it because I hear the summer is pretty competitive. I am going to try and intern for the fishes department in the Wild Reef exhibit.