Visitor Engagement Educator

Description

Status: Part Time, Temporary.  Weekend hours required. 

Wages: $16.75 – $18.50 DOQ

About Hands On: 

The Hands On Children’s Museum is located on the picturesque East Bay waterfront in downtown Olympia. We are a nationally known family learning destination and the most visited children’s museum in the Pacific Northwest, hosting more than 300,000 visitors each year. Our mission is to stimulate curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking skills through rich, interactive learning experiences. We believe that all children deserve respect and the opportunity to learn, regardless of their ability to pay, which is why the Museum works hard to serve more than one-third of its annual visitation through the Inspired Learning for All initiative. The Museum is recognized as a national Museum for All and won a Noyce Foundation Bright Lights Award for bringing art and science education to underserved populations.

Voted a “Best Place for Kids” for more than a decade, the Museum offers a state-of-the-art LEED Gold facility with 150 indoor exhibits, a half-acre Outdoor Discovery Center, Art Studio, a MakeSpace for tinkering and inventing, café and gift shop, and award-winning education programs including camps, workshops, preschool, parenting classes, field trips, community outreach and family support programs.

Essential Functions:

This temporary position facilitates museum summer education programs in the Outdoor Discovery Center, including Nature Play, Mudpie Mondays, and Kitchen Tool Tuesdays. Facilitator will provide engaging education experiences while also ensuring that proper child safety practices are used with educational tools and equipment. 

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Position actively engages with the public. 
• Excellent customer service skills. Must be outgoing, organized, and task-oriented. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• High School diploma; some college or relevant life experience is a plus
• Must be able to manage time, solve problems, and think dynamically.
• Interest in nature, the arts, tinkering, and education is essential. 
• Able to work independently with limited direction in a fast-paced environment with a great deal of flexibility.
• Must care about and value the viewpoints of the other team members and the organizational mission.
• Must be willing to work outside through most summer weather
• Must be able to lift 50lbs and be able to be on feet for most of the workday.

Additional Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities preferred:

• Experience in providing educational programming for children, including craft make & take activities, science explorations, and garden/planting activities.

Educational Programming

Works with the VE Team to present VE programs such as Art Studio, Nature Play, and Onsites. Completes the following duties as assigned:

• Ensures designated facility areas are set up clean, safe, well-stocked, and inviting.
• Closure of designated spaces.
• Ensures Museum security, customer service, and cleanliness procedures are practiced 
• Ensures proper child safety practices are used with educational tools and equipment 
• Practices proper sanitation and cleaning procedures as assigned.

Workplace Values: 

Achieving our mission requires great people who actively demonstrate our core values.

To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, and 3 professional references.

Compensation & Benefits: $16.75 - $18.50 hourly DOQ; medical, dental, and vision, employee wellness program, paid holidays and time off, a 401(k) retirement plan, and lots of adorable children. Benefits vary by number of regularly scheduled hours worked, length of employment, and employment status. See the benefit details for this position here. 

For more information, please visit our website at www.hocm.org 

The Hands On Children’s Museum exhibits, education programs, and employment are available to all without discrimination.

Salary Description:

$16.75 - $18.50 hourly DOQ