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The environmental education internship at the Prince William Sound Science Center in Cordova, Alaska is an excellent opportunity to gain valuable experience in outdoor environmental and science education. We provide a variety of summer educational programs to youth and audiences of all ages, including day and overnight science camps for youth, field courses for high school students, and community events. Program emphases include Alaskan coastal ecosystems, wetlands ecology, and climate change.
The intern will be actively involved in all aspects of our summer programs, including assisting education staff with program planning, teaching and supervising youth, and logistics support. The position involves long hours, living and working outdoors, and vigorous physical activity (heavy lifting, hiking, etc.). Depending on the intern’s experience and interests, he/she may also have the opportunity to take leadership in special projects such as coordinating community events or developing “green” initiatives for our field camp.
Internship Description
Qualifications:
The internship pays a weekly stipend of $150 and provides housing in Cordova. We offer partial reimbursement of travel expenses to offset the costs of travel to Cordova. Dates of the internship are mid-May to mid-August.
About PWSSC summer education programs:Our mission is to provide tools and guidance to campers to increase their awareness of the interdependence of local ecosystems. We combine hands-on environmental science education with positive experiences in the outdoors to build a foundation of knowledge for campers to use as they grow into wise decision makers and good stewards of the land. All of our activities are exploration based, designed to help campers form a deeper scientific understanding of the ecosystems of the area and build personal connections to the land, while developing self confidence and teamwork skills.
Our programs are located on the beautiful Copper River Delta and Prince William Sound regions of south central Alaska. The landscape provides an excellent classroom for participants (and staff) to explore the temperate rainforest, wetland, glacial, and marine ecosystems that make this area so diverse. With a student/teacher ratio of 4:1, we offer a high quality and personal learning experience for all of our participants. Campers attend from Cordova and other Alaskan communities, and throughout the United States.
Summer Internship
This position is currently closed .
The Science of the Sound education internship offered at the Prince William Sound Science Center is a distinctly unique opportunity to gain experience in a variety of hands-on science education programs. Science of the Sound programs include the Discovery Room, Outreach Discovery, Community Education programs, Research Discovery, and web-based education. The intern is able to work with the programs that best meet their interest-involvement in all of them is not required! During the time spent in Cordova, a intern will also be required to complete a project that aligns with his or her specific interests. Potential project topics are limitless and can fall under any of the Science of the Sound programs described below
Discovery Room- This program is a hands-on science and
environmental education program for K-6 grade students in
Cordova, Alaska. It is a joint project of the Prince William
Sound Science Center and the USDA Forest Service/Chugach National
Forest. The "Disco Room" itself is series of three
rooms filled with environmental and science education resources.
Each month we transform the rooms with posters, activities, and
experiments to illustrate a topic and learning themes. Since
1992, nearly 300 students have visited the Cordova Discovery Room
each month.
Responsibilities would entail:
Outreach Discovery- This program takes the educational
materials and lessons from the Discovery Room program to the
air-and to the Alaska Native villages of Chenega Bay and
Tatitlek. We also deliver programs to Whittier and other
communities by request. All of these communities are located in
Prince William Sound or in the Copper River region.
Responsibilities would entail:
Community Education Programs-This weekly program is
offered to adults and families in Cordova and often includes
interpretive hikes, field trips, slide presentations and
mini-workshops. Outside researchers and biologists from other
local organizations such as the Forest Service and Alaska
Department of Fish and Game also make presentations. These
programs draw a wide range of audiences depending on the topic,
with average attendance 20 people.
Responsibilities would entail:
Research Discovery-This program is still in the initial phases. The main goal is to work with the local high school students to increase awareness and understanding of research science. This is accomplished through participation in the National Ocean Science Bowl, participation in data collection with Science Center researchers, and field trips both outside and in the lab with Science Center researchers.
Web-based Education-This program is in still in the initial phases. The main goals are to bridge the gap between research and education using the internet and to broaden the scope of students that have access to Science Center resources and education materials. Current projects include an educational site for the Orca Project and an on-line version of the Alaska Oil Spill Curriculum.
Logistics
The internship pays a weekly stipend and provides housing. Depending on funding, we hope to offer partial reimbursement of travel expenses in addition to the weekly stipend. Dates of the internship are between September and mid-May. Specific dates are flexible.
Communication by email or fax is preferred.
Summer Internship
Cordova
Cordova is a small fishing community of approximately 2,500 year-round residents located on the southeastern corner of the Prince William Sound. The population swells to over 5,000 people in the summer with the return of seasonal workers and commercial fishers. Our nearby natural resources include the 700,000 acre Copper River Delta (the largest contiguous wetland on the Pacific Coast of North America), thousands of glaciers in the surrounding Chugach Mountains, the marine wilderness of the Prince William Sound, and the coastal temperate rainforest of the Chugach National Forest.
In the winter, Cordova can be cold, rainy, and dark, although even Winter Solstice brings almost 6 hours of daylight. Sunny winter days provide for exceptional winter recreation, including snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, backcountry skiing and snowboarding (with the oldest operating ski lift in North America at Mt. Eyak), and ice-skating on lakes and glaciers.
Amenities found in larger towns are scarce. No roads connect Cordova to the highway system; the town is accessible only by air and ferry. Cordova has no movie theater and a few restaurants. Cordova's isolation creates a sense of community that is difficult to find in larger and accessible towns. Prices for food and other items can be high, although subsistence activities provide for fish, game, and berries.
Although the climate is a rainy one, there are still many opportunities for recreation in this beautiful area. With an abundance of forests, mountains, glaciers, and coastline, this area is a perfect for anyone who likes to explore the outdoors.
For more information, visit the Cordova Chamber of Commerce.
Questions?
Contact Lindsay at the Science Center with any questions you may have.
email: lbutters at pwssc.org Phone: (907) 424-5800 ext. 231