Featured Exhibits Guest Services Volunteers provide OMSI visitors with friendly and helpful service as they navigate OMSI's Featured Exhibit. This opportunity is open to youth and adult volunteers. .
Volunteer
Thank you for your interest
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OMSI is currently closed to the public. Because we do not yet have a confirmed reopen date, we are not currently accepting volunteer applications. Use the form below to submit your contact information, and we will contact you once we reopen applications. For more information, contact volunteer@omsi.edu or call 503.239.7814.
It takes a village.
Our volunteers come from all over, bringing energy and talent to the museum. From greeting visitors to presenting amazing science demonstrations to helping behind the scenes, there’s a place for you here.
We're Ready for You.
We're Ready for You.
Share your passion for learning and science with your community by joining our volunteer team. As an OMSI Volunteer, you'll gain new skills and experience, meet interesting people, and enjoy a fun, family-friendly atmosphere. What does it take? Most volunteer positions require at least 8 hours per month for at least 9 months.
Interested? Take a look at the openings and then fill out an application.
Questions about getting started? Contact volunteer@omsi.edu or 503.797.4596. We look forward to hearing from you!
Perks Galore.
- Volunteering is rewarding in itself, but you do get some special bonuses.
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- Admission to the museum and attractions
- Family membership upon completion of 50 hours of service
- Discounts at the Science Store, Theory eatery, and the Empirical café
- Discounts on OMSI Outdoors and Science Classes
- Individual recognition for service
- Ongoing training and support for an exciting and rewarding experience
Teens, looking to get involved?
Look no further than the Teen Science Alliance.
Current Openings
To see more options for high school students, check out the Teen Science Alliance.
Featured Exhibits Interpreter Volunteer
Featured Exhibits Interpreter Volunteers share science in the context of a regularly changing exhibit within the Featured Hall
Special Event Volunteer
Special Event Volunteers provide customer service and general support for a variety of special events at OMSI.
After Dark Education Volunteer
POSITION SUMMARY: OMSI After Dark Education Volunteers perform educational demonstrations and provide customer service at OMSI After Dark, a monthly evening event for adults ages 21 and up. Because these events have a variety of themes, duties may vary considerably. Flexibility and enthusiasm are a must! Volunteers will be able to enjoy OMSI After Dark from an insider's perspective!
Chemistry Lab Volunteer
Visitors to the Chemistry Lab wear goggles and perform hands-on,
wet chemistry activities, view displays, and observe chemistry demonstrations.
Chemistry Lab volunteers assist with laboratory management and inquiry-based teaching.
Looking for real-world experience?
Have we got an internship for you.
Curium Volunteer
Summary of Position: The Curium in the Center for Innovation is OMSI's newest exhibit, designed for children aged 4-8. The Curium features a number of rotating activities, which allow early explorations of science, art, engineering, and design process skills, including but not limited to Bernoulli blowers, a sound wall, and Imagination Playground blocks. Curium volunteers assist education staff in the maintenance of the Curium, support parents and children while they experience activities and exhibits, and help to ensure the safety of our youngest visitors and their families.
Design Challenge Volunteer Position Description
Design Challenge volunteers help visitors to design, build, and test solutions to personal, local, and global challenges at the Design Bay in the Turbine Hall. Challenges rotate throughout the year and apply to a variety of age ranges.
Early Childhood Education Volunteer
Science Playground and Discovery Lab are OMSI's areas where young children are able to learn and explore in fun, educational settings. Volunteers assist parents and children in experiencing hands-on open-ended activities and exhibits, and assist staff in maintaining the space to ensure the safety of our youngest visitors and their families.
Earth Science Volunteer
The Earth Science Hall focuses on how earth systems and humans affect
each other. The Earth Hall includes the Earth Science Lab and an exhibit called Science On a
Sphere (SOS). SOS is a six-foot diameter globe with data visualizations projected on it. These
include weather, real-time earthquakes, climate change models, and ocean currents. Earth
Science volunteers facilitate learning in the hall and Earth Science Lab through one-on-one
interactions, hands-on demonstrations, and Science On a Sphere presentations.
Food Science Classroom Assistant
The Food Science classroom assistant will work directly with the Food Science Educator to set up and facilitate activities and experiments. The class is hosted for the Oregon Home School program and is 10 weeks long. Class takes place every Tuesday, beginning January 21st and ending April 7th. The volunteer shift will be from 9:30 AM – 1:00 PM. This class covers the basics of what food is, how and why we eat, how food is grown, and how it affects our bodies. Class structure is rotation based, and students will have 3-4 activities that they will rotate through in groups. Activities include games, scientific inquiry, chemistry experiments, food making, and food tasting!
Food Science Volunteer
Food Science volunteers perform educational demonstrations and
provide customer service at Theory, OMSI’s eatery. Current demonstrations focus on
topics such as nutrients in food, food and your senses, agriculture and modernist cuisine.
Demonstrations take place every week, Wednesday through Sunday, and all holidays.
Group Host
Group Hosts greet groups from schools and other organizations and assist them
throughout their visit to OMSI.
Guest Services Greeter
Greeters welcome visitors to OMSI as they enter the lobby, and
provide them with friendly and helpful service as they enter the museum’s exhibit areas.
Life Sciences Volunteer
Life Science Volunteers invite visitors to explore the nature of
human growth and development, the structure and function of the human body, or learn
about the comparative anatomy and adaptations of the diverse group of animals, including
reptiles, amphibians, insects, and rats, living in the Life Science Lab.
Physics Lab Volunteer
Volunteers in the Physics Lab provide visitors with the opportunity
to learn about the fundamentals of physics as they participate in a variety of hands-on
activities and demonstrations.
Rube Goldberg Mentor Volunteer
Rube Goldberg volunteers will help OMSI Museum Education staff offer fun, hands-on science learning experiences to Portland Public Schools 7th graders. The program is a student driven designing and building of Rube Goldberg machines. Successful volunteers will encourage students to create their own solutions through questions rather than through lecture-style instruction, maintain a flexible outlook and be ready to take on any challenge.
The programming will be happening periodically throughout the Portland Public Schools (PPS) school year and will occur at OMSI in the mornings on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Dates will be shared to interested candidates who have morning availability.
Submarine Maintenance Volunteer
Volunteers in Submarine Maintenance support OMSI’s efforts to
maintain and improve the condition of the USS Blueback submarine exhibit.
Submarine Queuing Volunteer
Submarine Queuing Volunteers assist visitors and the Guest Services staff as they prepare for tours of the USS Blueback submarine.
Submarine Tour Guide Volunteer
Submarine Tour Guide Volunteers provide tours of the USS Blueback, a diesel-electric submarine of the Barbel class, launched in 1959.
Teen Tech Center Volunteer
Volunteers engage visitors to design and create projects in the Teen Tech Center (TTC). The TTC is a free multimedia and creative technology-focused maker space specifically for ages 13-18. We provide space, materials, and support so teens can express themselves creatively and gain hands-on experience with high tech tools and programs. Successful volunteers will encourage youth to create through questions rather than lecture-style instruction, maintain a flexible outlook, and be ready to take on any challenge.
Questions? We are here to help!
Contact us at volunteer@omsi.edu or (503) 797-4596.
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