Aquarium of the Pacific Internship Opportunities: Requirements and Overview
The Aquarium of the Pacific (AOP) offers a variety of internship opportunities for individuals passionate about marine life, conservation, and education. These internships provide hands-on experience and valuable insights into the workings of a leading aquarium dedicated to instilling a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the Pacific Ocean, its inhabitants, and ecosystems. The AOP's vision is to conserve and build Natural Capital by building Social Capital. Home to more than 12,000 animals, the Aquarium includes exhibits like Shark Lagoon, the June Keyes Penguin Habitat, and an updated Southern California gallery. The Aquarium maintains a large portfolio of education programs for schools, teachers, families, members, and learners of all ages and also actively participates in conservation efforts beyond sea otters, including mountain yellow-legged frogs and white abalone.
General Internship Information
Internships at the Aquarium of the Pacific are typically offered in the fall, spring, and summer. These are voluntary positions, as the AOP does not offer paid internships. The aquarium seeks applicants who are organized, self-motivated, and possess excellent people skills.
Disciplines
Internships are available in a range of disciplines, including opportunities to work directly with animals, as well as in areas such as audio-visual work. The Aquarium of the Pacific has Aquarist Internship opportunities for the Fall, Spring, and Summer terms. Veterinary Externships are also available.
Time Commitment
The minimum time commitment for internships is generally 16 hours per week over a 15-week period. Some internships, such as the Sea Otter Surrogacy Program Internship and the White Abalone Recovery Program Internship, require a full-time commitment of 40 hours per week for 11 weeks. Shifts may include long days (10+ hours) and weekend days. Over the 11 weeks, the intern may take up to five days off for personal reasons, vacation, or illness.
Specific Internship Programs
Aquarist Internship
Aquarist Interns are trained to provide daily husbandry for a diverse collection of marine fishes and invertebrates. Through one-on-one training and hands-on exercises, interns become competent in the care and maintenance of exhibits within their assigned gallery. The animal collection is divided into three distinct geographical zones: the Tropical Pacific Gallery, the Southern California Gallery, and the North Pacific Gallery. Additionally, the Aquarium of the Pacific also has a changing exhibits gallery coupled with a major elasmobranch exhibit called Shark Lagoon.
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Sea Otter Surrogacy Program Internship
This internship, in partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, supports efforts to pair stranded sea otter pups with adult females that serve as surrogates. The goal of the program is to ultimately release those pups back into the wild. Two positions are available working with the Aquarium of the Pacific’s Mammal and Bird team within the Husbandry Department to directly participate in the Sea Otter Surrogacy Program. The intern will aid in monitoring health metrics, careful observation of animals, proper exhibit maintenance, food preparation, and transportation of individual sea otters in the surrogacy program under the care of the AOP. To support the Aquarium of the Pacific's efforts to communicate with the public on the surrogacy program, the intern will also complete education volunteer training, and actively engage with Aquarium guests. The intern will work with a team of education volunteers to staff interpretation stations around the Aquarium such as touch tanks with small sharks, tidepool invertebrates, and moon jellies (about 10% of internship). Additionally, interns will be encouraged to identify a side project suited to their skills, interests, and experience that aligns with the Aquarium's conservation efforts. The interns will learn about the natural history of sea otters and their population dynamics; details of animal care; permitting requirements related to sea otter care and logistical components of Aquarium’s involvement with the larger surrogacy efforts; and engagement strategies for communicating with the public. The interns will gain hands-on experience working with a team of animal care professionals on food preparation, exhibit cleaning, animal care, and public engagement strategies.
Internship Details:
- Format: In-person
- Dates: June 2 - August 15, 2025
- Stipend: $8,000 (prorated if participation is less than 100%)
Important Note: No AOP staff member (paid or unpaid) is allowed to work with the sea otters if they have COVID like symptoms or have received a positive COVID test.
Responsibilities:
- Monitoring health metrics
- Careful observation of animals
- Exhibit maintenance
- Food preparation
- Transportation of sea otters
- Public engagement
Preferred Experience and Capabilities:
- Flexibility
- Time management skills
- Organizational skills
- Willingness to engage with Aquarium guests
- Interest in ongoing conservation efforts
Skills Gained:
- Knowledge of sea otter natural history and population dynamics
- Animal care techniques
- Understanding of permitting requirements
- Logistical skills related to surrogacy efforts
- Public engagement strategies
Eligibility/Requirements:
- Ability to work independently
- Professional interaction with the public
- Ability to work as part of a team
- Excellent note-taking skills
- Ability to get to the Aquarium in Long Beach daily
- Ability to work long days (10+ hours) and weekend shifts with advance notice
- Flexibility in shift times and duration
White Abalone Recovery Program Internship
This internship focuses on the Aquarium's work with the White Abalone Recovery Program, in partnership with NOAA, the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, the Bay Foundation, Paua Marine Research Group, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and various other organizations, to breed and raise abalone. The goal of this conservation program is to ultimately reintroduce captive-bred abalone into their natural habitat. The intern will aid in daily food preparation, observation of animals, exhibit maintenance, and the production and collection of macroalgae. To support the AOP’s efforts to communicate with the public on the abalone program, the intern will also complete education volunteer training, and actively engage with guests around the AOP for roughly 10% of the internship hours. The intern will work with a team of education volunteers to staff interpretation stations around the AOP such as touch tanks with small sharks, invertebrates, and moon jellies. The interns will learn about the natural history of abalone, the population dynamics of the species, the permitting requirements related to their management, details of the animal care, logistical components related to the AOP involvement with the recovery program, and public engagement strategies for communicating the work. The interns will gain hands-on experience working with abalone as well as other local California species.
Duties include:
- Food preparation and feeding
- Exhibit maintenance
- Macro algae collection and production
- Detailed record keeping and data entry
- Assistance with spawns, tagging and outplants if they are available
- Communicating with the public
Additionally, interns will be encouraged to identify a side project suited to their skills, interests, and experience.
Eligibility/Requirements:
Interns must be able to work independently, interact in a professional manner with the public, and act as part of a team of animal care professionals. Interns must be able to get to the AOP in Long Beach for each shift.
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Veterinary Externship
This program is open to veterinary students completing their 3rd or 4th year of training in an accredited veterinary school. Accepted students will train under the supervision of the veterinary and husbandry staff during administration of the facility’s preventative animal healthcare program and any current medical cases. No stipend is provided. The Aquarium of the Pacific’s animal collection of approximately 14,000 animals consists of pinnipeds, sea otters, marine birds, psittacine birds, raptors, reptiles, amphibians, marine fish, and invertebrates. The majority of cases presented are fish and birds. Positions are available August 2026 - January 2027. We do not accept veterinary extern students during the months of February - July as we have other trainees rotating with us during that time. Applicants must indicate which time period(s) they are available in their application. The Application period is from August - October 15th of the academic year prior to externship. Example: October 15, 2025 is the deadline for positions in the 2026-2027 school year.
General Requirements and Expectations
Across all internship programs, certain physical and mental demands are common:
Physical Demands
- Ability to sit, stand, and walk for long periods of time.
- Ability to balance, bend, squat, climb, kneel, and twist.
- Ability to lift and carry up to 0-75lbs.
- Ability to pull and push up to 0-100lbs.
- Full functional range of motion in all major body joints.
Mental Demands
- Flexibility and adaptability in dealing with high levels of responsibility.
- Resilience and ability to prioritize tasks in a fast-paced environment.
- Ability to maintain positive relationships with colleagues and guests.
- Strong problem-solving skills.
- Critical thinking and decision-making abilities.
- Empathy and emotional intelligence.
- Ability to maintain composure in difficult situations.
- Ability to cope with occasional illness, injury, or loss of animals.
Work Environment
The work environment may include:
- Food preparation with fish and shellfish.
- Exposure to various temperatures, humidity, or wetness.
- Small boating vessels.
- Wet, dirty, uneven surfaces and walkways.
- Elevated platforms.
- Exposure to biohazards.
- Use of hand tools, machinery, and company vehicles.
- Aquarium habitats and open ocean environments.
VolunTEEN Program
For younger individuals, the Aquarium of the Pacific offers a VolunTEEN program. This program allows teens to engage with guests about conservation and marine science during a 60-hour volunteer commitment on-site at the Aquarium of the Pacific. VolunTEENS are trained to interpret to our guests about the Aquarium, its inhabitants and ecosystem, focusing on experiential learning for guests. The VolunTEEN program is a 60 hour program over a 10 week session (Fall, Spring, or Summer).
Application Process
Applications for internships are typically accepted year-round, though specific deadlines may apply for certain programs, such as the Veterinary Externship. Due to the overwhelming response from applicants, application periods may be closed. For instance, the application period for the White Abalone Recovery Program Internship closed on Friday, 4/11/2025 at 11:59am.
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