Explorer - High School Student

Job Title:  Explorer – high school student

This Explorer role is exclusively for rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors in high school age 14 and older.

Reports to:  Director of Visitor Services

Schedule:  4-12 hours per week; one base shift per weekend with additional shifts as needed, especially during school breaks, holidays, and summer 

Classification:  Part-time employee, hourly, non-exempt

Compensation:  $15.50 per hour

 

Position Overview

Make a visit to the Discovery Museum memorable and fun! In this dynamic, visitor-focused role, engage visitors of all ages with Discovery Museum’s hands-on exhibits and dynamic programs. Help to maintain a friendly, safe, and clean museum building and outdoor playscape. Take initiative to identify and exceed visitor expectations. Must have excellent communication and customer service skills, and the demonstrated ability to work well with young children and adults in a fast-paced environment. Embrace learning, play, curiosity, and problem-solving while helping all Museum visitors feel welcome and that they belong.

This Explorer role is for current high school students, specifically rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors age 14 and older. We can accommodate a limited number of students as part of our team. You’ll work one 4.5-hour base shift each weekend (Sunday afternoon, for example) throughout the year. Periodically, you might be assigned to another shift based on your availability, and you will be asked to participate in training. If you would like more work hours, it will be possible to pick up additional shifts during school holidays and breaks. 

Key Responsibilities

  • Provide fun and educational engagement opportunities to visitors of a variety of ages and learning styles
  • Engage with visitors in small and large groups; effectively communicate with visitors as well as teammates.
  • Maintain a superior visitor experience by caring for Museum spaces and ensuring they are ready for play.
  • Assist with opening and closing Museum and campus exhibits, daily cleaning and disinfecting procedures, and support teammates with doing the same.
  • In collaboration with Museum Educators, help all Visitor Services team members maintain the Brain Building Together and da Vinci Workshop exhibits.
  • Support all safety practices including but not limited to responding to accidents or injuries, and separated group members.
  • Participate in periodic group trainings, learning opportunities, and meetings.
  • Maintain an approachable demeanor and positive attitude.
  • Remain levelheaded in a busy and energetic environment.
  • Follow written instructions accurately and independently.
  • Help represent the Museum at off-site community events such as fairs and festivals (seasonal, occasional).
  • Opportunities to participate in visitor experience evaluation, field trip group orientations, and pop-up engagement experiences may be available.
  • All other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Qualifications and Requirements

  • Must enjoy working with people in high-energy public spaces. Must have the ability to process information quickly.
  • Excellent communication skills including the ability to understand subtleties in conversation and body language. Must possess great attention to detail and a considerable degree of initiative. 
  • All positions at Discovery Museum require a satisfactory Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) background check. 
  • Bilingual skills helpful.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

  • Must be able to stand for four hours at a time both indoors and outdoors, regularly ascend/descend stairs, lift up to 25 pounds, and be comfortable stooping, kneeling, and crouching.
  • Frequent movement throughout and across the Discovery Museum campus is required, including during inclement or extreme weather and over uneven terrain.
  • Work environment often has moderate to loud noise for sustained periods of time.

Benefits

In addition to a creative, fun, and flexible work environment, Discovery Museum offers the following benefits with this position:

  • Voluntary 403(b) retirement plan
  • Earned sick time and paid family and medical leave eligibility
  • Discovery Museum membership, discounts, and member exchange opportunities
  • Free or discounted admission to other local, regional, and national museums and cultural institutions through specific networks for staff

About Discovery Museum

Discovery Museum is a hands-on museum that blends science, nature, and play, inspiring families to explore and learn together. Our mission is to spark joyful discovery through play to instill STEM confidence, deepen relationships with the natural world, and empower children and their caregivers.

As an organization, we strive to broadly reflect the communities we wish to serve, both in visitors to our campus and our own staff, volunteers, and board members. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive space for all. We believe that a diversity of thoughts, experiences, backgrounds, personalities, and identities helps us think bigger and better, and enables us to reach our goals more effectively. We are committed to building a diverse staff and encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply. 

To Apply

Interested candidates please send a cover letter and resume to Kiersten Dittrich at kdittrich [at] discoveryacton.org (kdittrich[at]discoveryacton[dot]org).