Science Center Guide

Job Duration: Late April through September

SSSC Status: Seasonal, full-time(35-40 hours/week)

Supervisor: Community and Visitor Engagement Manager

Location: 834 Lincoln St, Sitka, AK 99835

Pay Rate: $20/hour, subsidized housing available

Start Date: Late April 2026

Science Center guides are the public face of the Sitka Sound Science Center. The position requires daily interaction with diverse groups of locals, tourists, and visitors to Sitka. Science Center guides will contribute to an atmosphere of fun, inclusion, education, and curiosity among both staff and visitors. Over the course of a single day, a Science Center guide might welcome visitors at the front desk, lead a tour of our working salmon hatchery, teach visitors about our food system while visitors enjoy a meal of local salmon, lead an informal educational program in the aquarium, and answer questions about life in Southeast Alaska.

• Welcome visitors to our facility
• Facility upkeep (general cleaning, restrooms, aquarium, public spaces, etc.)
• Contribute to daily planning of visitor operations
• Follow a daily schedule including tours and other educational programs
• Daily opening and closing procedures
• Develop and deliver educational tours and interpretive programs within the aquarium, salmon hatchery, on the beach, and other parts of the facility
• Answer questions and share information about marine life, Sitka, hatcheries, scientific research, and more
• Collaborate with volunteers as needed
• Lead the facilitation of children’s birthday parties when booked
• Collaborate with the education team and other staff to create new visitor programsor community engagement opportunities

• You are comfortable standing and walking both indoors and outdoors throughout the workday.
• You are familiar with ecology and interested in learning about fisheries and marine and intertidal ecosystems.
• You are interested in interdisciplinary learning and communication.
• You have cash management skills.
• You have strong customer service skills.
• You enjoy speaking to both large and small groups of people in formal and informal settings.
• You thrive in a busy environment.
• You can take initiative and be self-directed.
• You actively work to build community with the people in your life.
• You are a good improviser.
• You can manage your time effectively.
• You feel comfortable and enthusiastic about interacting with diverse groups of visitors.
• Speaking a language other than English is a plus but not a requirement.

The Sitka Sound Science Center is a non-profit dedicated to scientific research and science education relevant to our community, region, and state. Our research is responsive to our community’s pressing questions and concerns, and built in partnership with local people, Tribes, agencies, and other experts. Our education programming is dynamic and comprehensive to meet our mission of increasing understanding of Alaska’s ecosystems through research and education.

Respect, acceptance, and caring are core values of the Sitka Sound Science Center. We are passionate about building and sustaining a working and learning environment for students, researchers, and staff from broad and different backgrounds and perspectives. We believe every member of our staff and visitors to our facility enriches our workplace by sharing a range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and discover solutions.

We welcome the unique contributions of every individual. SSSC considers equivalent combinations of experience and education for certain jobs.

All candidates who believe they possess equivalent experience and education are encouraged to apply.

Benefits for Science Center Guides :

• Subsidized housing
• Five days of paid sick leave
• Electric bikes for transportation
• Exposure to and/or participation in animal husbandry in the aquarium, hatchery work, research projects, education programming, and other Science Center projects and programs
• Access to outdoor gear and equipment

How to apply:

Please provide a letter of interest, a current resume, and contact information for 2 professional references. Application documents should be submitted in Word or PDF format to Lina Kapp, Community and Visitor Engagement Manager ( lkapp ).This position is open until filled. Interviews will begin in mid-January.