Program Educator

The Oceanographic Teaching Stations (O.T.S.) was founded in 1979 with the mission to foster and promote the public study of, and interest in, the oceans, tidelands and beaches of Southern California, the marine life therein, and the impact of human populations on that environment. Located at the end of the Manhattan Beach pier, the Roundhouse Aquarium Teaching Center serves as O.T.S.'s educational facility. The Roundhouse is home to over 100 species of marine life. Viewing and touching tanks and interactive displays allow people of all ages to learn about and experience the ocean environment. In 2018 the facility underwent a complete renovation funded by the Harrison Greenberg Foundation. This allowed us to greatly improve the quality of our tanks, educational displays, and visitor and student experiences.

The Roundhouse has three programs that help fulfill our mission to connect visitors and students to the oceans, provide hands-on and interactive experiences with marine life and habitats of Southern California, and inspire people to have positive impacts on the environment.

1. Student Education Program:

Each year, over 35,000 students take part in the Roundhouse’s educational programs. Students learn about the ocean, marine life, the environment, science, and human impacts in a hands-on, experiential atmosphere. The Roundhouse offers a variety of classes to meet any need, including on-site, outreach, and virtual programing.

2. Public Education Program:

The Roundhouse is open to the public free of charge every day. Each year we receive over 300,000 visits during our public hours. Through our tanks, hands-on displays, volunteers, and staff we strive to educate each visitor and provide them with the opportunity to interact with marine life.

3. Volunteer Program:

We rely on support from volunteers to assist with facility care and public education. The Roundhouse volunteer program currently includes over 75 dedicated individuals (primarily students) who donate over 6,000 hours of their time annually. They gain life skills while assisting with education programs and facility care.

Facilitation & Teaching of Programs

• Facilitates and teaches on-site and off-site education programs for multiple grade bands including family/public programs (public education during public hours, community events, MB farmer’s market, summer camp, guided behind the scenes tours, and birthday parties), on-site School Programs (virtual classes, classes in collaboration with West Basin, 1hr and 2hr onsite classroom programs, squid/fish dissections, plankton classes, beach exploration classes, and other class program types), Adult Programs (volunteer education, speaker series, and special events), and Outreach Programs (libraries, after school classes, Ocean Discovery Outreaches, and other types of outreaches.

• Exhibit Interpretation on our exhibit pathway.

• Deliver all programs in Spanish when needed or requested by guests.

Other Duties

• Develops curriculum and content materials for programs in accordance with NGSS and the OTS Program Department’s Education and Science mission and professional standards.

• Prepares materials/supplies for all education programming as needed.

• Takes lead on specific departmental responsibilities (aquarium events, scout programs, day programs, evening programs, weekend programs, etc.)

• Assists in the care of Education Program animals as needed.

• Orders/purchases teaching tools and materials within budget guidelines and with proper authorization and only as assigned.

• Participates in the evaluation of programs to ensure high quality programs and teaching performance.

• Collaborate with all members of the Programs Education Team on other projects as assigned.

• Perform other tasks and duties as assigned and required.

Experience Required:

• Bachelor of Science in education and/or science-related field required, and/or equivalent experience.

• Fluent in Spanish is preferred, but not required.

• At least 2 years of experience teaching in an informal education setting.

• Experience teaching and presenting to multiple age levels and a variety of group sizes.

• Experience or comfort with using a microphone or voice amplifier.

• Basic knowledge of developmental learning theories.

• Current knowledge of major national education and interpretation trends and the NGS Standards, and FOSS Next Gen and Amplify teaching frameworks.

• Proficiency in use of computers including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Canva, and Excel.

• Must possess a valid driver’s license and an insurable driving record.

Additional Position Requirements:

• Excellent time management and organizational skills.

• Ability to work independently as well as participate as a team member.

• Ability to work positively and effectively with paid and unpaid Aquarium personnel.

• Ability to actively engage children in educational settings.

• Ability to write appropriate lesson plans for a variety of ages and audiences.

• Ability to speak comfortably to adults, children and educators in both small and large groups.

• Ability to lift 50 pounds and stand for six hours.

• Ability to work with hands in water for an hour at a time.

• Comfortable with handling a variety of small animals.

• Excellent writing and public speaking skills.

Live Scan and TB test