Adventure Camp Summer Internship
Positions for Summer 2024 are full. Please check back in December for Summer 2025 positions!
If you love working with kids and/or animals, the Topeka Zoo’s Education and Conservation Department is offering a truly unique and exciting summer internship with our Adventure Camp Program! Interns will have the opportunity to get their feet wet in environmental and conservation education by using the zoo as an active, living classroom. Not only will interns schedule and oversee daily summer camp activities for children ages 6-12, but they will also get a backstage pass into how the zoo operates. Starting with a two-week training period and then diving into eight weeks of summer camp, interns will learn how to give presentations and lead hands-on activities. Interns will also complete a course on animal handling to use a variety of education animals (invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds) during programming. Our internship is flexible and offers many opportunities to personalize your experience.
QUALIFICATIONS: Candidates are preferred to have completed at least one year of a college degree program in education, biology, animal science, zoology, psychology, or other related fields; however, students age 18 and older may apply. If you are still in high school, please include one letter of recommendation in your application along with your resume and cover letter. (College applicants may send in a letter of recommendation if you’d like, although it is not mandatory.)
Candidates must also have excellent communication skills, enjoy working with people of all ages, and possess the ability to work in a team environment. They must be self-motivated, reliable, prompt, able to work in all weather conditions, and have strong attention-to-detail skills. A negative TB test must also be provided.
Interns must provide their own accommodations and transportation. While the zoo does not pay for accommodations, we do have partnerships with a few local housing agencies that offer affordable living for our interns. Feel free to contact the phone number below with any questions regarding housing or other internship information.
Please note this is not an animal care internship. This is an internship with the Education and Conservation Department working with our summer camp kids. You will work with our education animal collection to give programs, but will not be involved in the daily care/feeding of these animals. Do not apply to this opportunity if you are seeking an animal care internship.
To apply, please send a resume and cover letter to Ms. Hunter Mangel at hmangel@topekazoo.org. To contact the Education Department by phone, please call 785-368-9137.