What does the day of an education intern look like at the Blue Ocean Discovery Center? This overview will help you decide if our education intern program is right for you!
Arrival
It beings with a walk down Ocean Boulevard. Our staff is given free parking in the Hampton State Park south lot. It is about a 15minute walk along the ocean to the center. When I first heard how long the walk was, I was skeptical. However, I shortly discovered it’s a great way to start my morning. The beach is still relatively quiet at this time of day, and most people haven’t started arriving yet. A lot of wildlife that hides during the day is out and about. On a sunny day, you will most likely see eastern cottontail rabbits hopping in between the houses and feeding on the grass in the parking lot. Some days you are lucky enough to spot a piping plover scurrying around the dunes as well. As you make your way to the center, you have the water sparkling to your right almost the entire way. You tend to see familiar faces of the residents of Hampton as they walk their dogs, open their businesses and simply enjoy their morning at the beach.
Before We Open…
There is a lot to accomplish before we open the Blue Ocean Discovery Center, but it always seems to get done just in time for the first visitors of the day to wander in. We begin with checking on our resident animals. There are two 100 gallon display tanks that contain animals such as an orange lobster, a horseshoe crab, rock crabs, sea stars, fish, and more. We keep 200-300 small Asian shore crabs, Green crabs, snails, and hermit crabs in our touch tank. These crabs are tiny so that even a small child can hold one and not worry about getting pinched. We feed the animals and perform any aquarium maintenance required for the day.
Next, we put out our advertising signs. Many of our summer visitors are not local to the area. So, to attract visitors passing by, we have lots of signs to draw their attention to us. In addition to these signs, we also create fun pathways for children to follow to lead them into the center. Our guests love finding our artwork, and it’s fun to watch the excitement build as the new guests make their way down the boardwalk.
It’s Time to Open!
The Blue Ocean Discovery Center is open to the public daily during the summer from 9 am to 5 pm. There is no official entry fee, but donations are always appreciated. We can have 120- 300 visitors a day on a sunny day. If the guests want to use the touch tank, we ask them to wash their hands before entering. Handwashing is essential to keep toxic materials such as sunblock, hand sanitizer, nicotine residue, and lotions out of the tank.
Guests are then free to explore the center. As educators, we place ourselves by each exhibit to teach our guests about various topics, including native tidal pool animals, whales, and marine debris. We get to meet people from all over the country, from all different walks of life, and answer all their marine life questions to the best of our ability.
Daily Beach Clean Up
After each staff member has had a lunch break, the daily beach clean-up will occur! Each intern will run a beach clean-up for the general public once a week. Having a solid team of interns will allow us to clean the beach almost every day in the summer. Outside the center is a sign that says “Beach Cleanup Today!”, where anyone who would like to join you will meet you. If no one shows up, you still will have the option to clean the beach independently. The intern in charge gives a small introduction explaining how to clean the beach and hands out supplies. We also collect data on every item we collect during our beach cleaning. This data contributes to the Blue Ocean Society’s marine debris research to better understand the human impact on the Gulf of Maine’s wildlife.
It’s Time to Close!
At 5 pm, the Discovery Center closes for the day. The interns and educators on staff clean the center and bring in all the items we put outside that morning. After lunchtime has passed, I have always found that the rest of the day flies and before you know it, the day is over. Then just as we started, we will return to our vehicles, but this time with the ocean on our left.
Testimonials
Working at the Blue Ocean Discovery Center has been one of the best life experiences I have ever had, but don’t just take my word for it.
Here is what last summer’s interns had to say about their experience working at the Discovery Center…
“My favorite part of this internship was being at the Discovery Center and seeing people come in who have been in before and remember me from their last visit. This happened a few times, mostly with younger kids, but also with one girl in a summer group that came to learn at the center and do a beach cleanup afterward. I like seeing them come in and ask them if they remember anything from their last visit, and usually, they do. It’s a really nice feeling to know that there are people who come in and can come out of it have absorbed at least a little bit of the information you tell them”. – Kaden Ballou
“I loved meeting all of the visitors to the Discovery Center during summer 2021, humans and animals alike! My personal favorite non-human visitor was a snake. My favorite non-snake visitors were the curious kids who exhausted every question I never thought to ask. It’s very practical to wonder why we have water in our tanks, but I would never have brought it up without someone’s inquiring. Here’s to every kid in awe of the fans under the tanks and the bubbles from the filter. And a thank you to every child who flipped the script and wanted to teach me, whether about lobster claws or sea snails. This summer reminded me that children really are some of the best scientists among us. Perhaps more important than facts about dinosaurs, they taught me always to keep asking questions. I’m so grateful to Blue Ocean for setting me up to meet them all!” – Ashley Goland
“One of the best things about working at the Blue Ocean Discovery Center this summer was meeting children who were so excited and passionate about learning all they could learn about the ocean and its creatures. I remember being like that when I was young, which led me to New Hampshire and this internship in the first place. I will never forget this incredible experience or the amazing people I met. This will be a summer I cherish and remember for many years to come”. – Eva Anderson
Apply Now!
Applications due March 1st!
