A variety of volunteer opportunities are available at the Museum, from working behind the scenes on fossil preparation to presenting natural science programs to visiting school groups.

Junior Curators

Available to middle and high school students in grades 8 through 12, this volunteer program gives teenagers the opportunity to expand their knowledge of natural history and animal care as they interact with their peers, natural science professionals and the general public.
Learn more about Junior Curators [2]

Educational Living Collections

• Arthropod Zoo-Volunteers assist with care & husbandry of living arthropods and with preservation and labeling of specimens. Occasionally volunteers run cart programs outside the Arthropod Zoo.
• Fish & Invertebrates-Volunteers assist with daily care and maintenance of marine and freshwater fish and invertebrates
• Program Animal collections-Volunteers assist with daily care and maintenance of native (and some exotic) small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates.
• Terrestrial Exhibits-Volunteers assist with daily care and maintenance of native (and some exotic) reptiles and amphibians.

Areas for Guided Learning

• Discovery Room-Volunteers interact with the public and help Discovery Room visitors examine and touch specimens that normally are only seen.
• Exploration Station Carts-Volunteers interact with visitors and provide information on natural history topics.
• Living Conservatory-Volunteers introduce visitors to the Conservatory and monitor interactions between visitors and the exhibit.  Occasionally volunteers run cart programs outside the Conservatory.
• Naturalist Center (Nature Research Center)-Volunteers greet and assist visitors as they interact with specimens and resources available in the Center.
  
  

Prairie Ridge Ecostation

• Garden-Volunteers assist in maintaining outdoor learning spaces.
• Citizen Science-Volunteers work on ongoing citizen science projects conducted at Prairie Ridge.
  
  

Program Presentation

• Curiosity Classes-Volunteers present hands-on programs to visiting school groups (Kindergarten-Grade 5) using live animals and objects to teach the classes.
• Discovery Room-Volunteers assist and present programs to groups of Preschool-Grade 1 students using live animals and other objects to teach the classes.
  
  

Research

• Geology-Volunteers assist with organizing, identifying and cataloging the Museum’s mineral collection.
• Ichthyology-Volunteers assist the staff with cataloging, labeling, and shelving specimens at the Research Lab on Reedy Creek Road in west Raleigh.
• Library (Archives)-Special projects at times where skills and time commitments vary with each project.
• Malacology-Volunteers assist with the mollusk collection.
• Mammalogy-Volunteers assist with specimen preparation, data entry and cataloging.  Note:  Does not involve working with live program animals. Volunteers may learn study skin preparation.
• Ornithology-Volunteers assist with data entry and updating and organizing bird research publication list.  Volunteers may learn study skin preparation.
• Paleontology-Volunteers assist with paleo collections by picking matrix samples, numbering specimens and cataloging fossils.

Nature Research Center

Research Labs:

• Genomics
• Earth Observation & Biodiversity
• Paleontology & Geosciences
• Astronomy/Space Observation

Investigate Labs:

• Micro World—Hands-on education lab that focuses on everything from Biotechnology & bacteria to chemistry, protozoa, and mycology.
• Visual World—Hands-on education lab that  focuses on some of the most important discoveries and processes in science through the use of maps, models, animations and simulations.
• Natural World—Hands-on lab, where visitors can use a variety of tools to observe and study the natural world — from plants and animals toour world and even ourselves.

Other areas for Volunteering in the Nature Research Center:

• Citizen Science-Volunteers make citizen science opportunities available to the public through the development & presentation of interactive cart programs, assist users in the use of the Citizen Science Center Exhibits, and/or assist in public programs focusing on citizen science activities
• Naturalist Center-Volunteers greet and assist visitors as they interact with specimens and resources available.