Youth Development Programs at the Aquarium

With one of the longest-running paid teen intern programs among U.S. aquariums, the New England Aquarium is at the forefront of shaping the next generation of ocean advocates and leaders. 

From hands-on summer teen internships to the ClimaTeens program, teens have opportunities to gain real-world experience, build valuable skills, and make an impact on marine conservation at the Aquarium. Here’s how they can get involved:

Summer Teen Internships

Running for more than 30 years, the Summer Teen Internship Program is a cornerstone of youth development initiatives at the Aquarium. About 40 teens from Boston, Cambridge, and the surrounding area join us as paid interns each summer to challenge themselves and learn valuable skills—while having fun and meeting new friends. 

First-year interns work with either the Visitor Experience team, assisting with all aspects of customer service, or with the Interpretation and Engagement team, helping educate visitors about animals and ocean conservation. After a week-long orientation, interns spend six weeks gaining hands-on experience working in their chosen department for two days each week. 

Interns also build skills during two hours of professional development courses per week. In Ocean Advocacy Training, they learn how to be effective ocean stewards and advocates for any cause. In career development courses they gain practical skills customized to their grade level. Rising freshmen and sophomores learn career skills like creating a resume and interviewing, while rising juniors explore career options and rising seniors prepare for their next step after high school. Recent graduates hone skills that will come in handy while living independently, from financial literacy to cooking. 

A yearly environmental stewardship trip connects interns firsthand to the environment they’re working to protect each day during the program. Optional weekly social nights, which include movies, games, or karaoke, build community among teens. And a summer celebration thanking the teens for their hard work caps the program. 

Teens are eligible for the Summer Teen Internship Program from age 14 through the summer after high school graduation.

Academic-Year Internships 

Once teens have completed their first summer internship, they can apply for an academic-year internship (or a future summer internship) in the same department or a new one. If they’ve taken a Behind-the-Scenes Workshop, an optional class focused on building animal care skills, teens can apply to work in animal care departments like Penguins or the Giant Ocean Tank. Academic-year interns work one day a week, either Saturday or Sunday, starting around the first weekend in October and ending around the first weekend in June.

ClimaTeens

ClimaTeens come from different backgrounds but share a passion for combating climate change. The program helps teens build knowledge about climate change mitigation, such as climate science and community organizing, and communication strategies to help raise awareness. They meet twice monthly, once at the Aquarium and once online, from October to June. All academic-year interns participate in ClimaTeens, so the 25-person cohort is usually about half Aquarium interns and half volunteer teens.

“[ClimaTeens] are usually from a little further away, so it would be harder to get to the Aquarium all the time, but they can engage once a month coming in,” said Tiffani Macarelli, youth development programs manager at the Aquarium.

At the beginning of the year, ClimaTeens brainstorm climate-related topics that interest them. Tiffani and her team organize guest speakers guided by the ClimaTeens’ interests, including many of the Aquarium’s own experts and scientists, to teach them more about climate change solutions and how to talk about them.

In the spring, ClimaTeens use the knowledge they’ve gained to choose a topic that resonates with them and create one large project around it, which they tour at summits and festivals like World Ocean Day. In recent years, ClimaTeens have built presentations about microplastics and how they impact the environment and humans, a composting and waste management activity inspired by the city of Boston’s composting initiative, and an art piece made of trash they collected on beaches in partnership with the Institute of Contemporary Art. 

It’s very common for ClimaTeens to return to the program for multiple years. 

“The majority of people, once they’re a ClimaTeen, usually stay with that program until they graduate,” Tiffani said.

Youth Advisory Council

A new initiative as of this year, the Aquarium’s Youth Advisory Council meets about once a month to determine what we are doing well and what we can improve in our youth development programs, including by analyzing data from a recent community needs assessment. The Youth Advisory Council is made up of about 13 teens and young adults who are currently part of the Aquarium’s programs and youth development program alumni, ages 16 through 23. 

“The main intention is really to have a youth voice present at the Aquarium, particularly when we’re thinking about rebuilding programs and changing programs in the youth development department,” Tiffani said.

Because the Aquarium is gaining so much experience and knowledge from the council members, we provide professional development in return, focusing on leadership skills they can use in any field and giving them a behind-the-scenes understanding of how nonprofits like the Aquarium operate. Youth Advisory Council members are paid for their time, and each member serves a two-year term before helping hire their replacement. 

Want to get involved but not sure where to start? Summer Teen Internships and ClimaTeens are the two entry points to getting involved in the Aquarium’s youth development programs. Apply for an Aquarium Youth Development program this year!