Volunteer
Do you love the zoo environment? Perhaps you would like to volunteer at The National Zoo & Aquarium.
Volunteer work at the zoo
Do you love the zoo environment? Perhaps you would like to volunteer at The National Zoo & Aquarium. We have a number of different areas in which you can volunteer, including the General Zoo, the Aquarium, Education, Maintenance and Grounds Keeping.
You may have a love for animals and enjoy spending time around them. If you have experience in keeping marine life and fresh and salt water aquariums, why not expand your knowledge and experience by becoming an Aquarium volunteer?
Do you have some spare time, and enjoy garden work or have a skill for general maintenance jobs? Are you knowledgeable about the Zoo and the animals and would like to share this with other people? You might like to apply to be a Maintenance or Education volunteer.
The work can be physically demanding and people wanting to volunteer in the zoo must be prepared to work outside in all weather conditions. To partake in our Volunteer Program you must dedicate a minimum of ½ day per week with a maximum of 1 day in each section per week (Grounds Keeping, Education and Maintenance excepted).
Work experience
If you are looking for a career in the industry, we also have opportunities for people to gain ‘hands on’ experience as an animal or aquarium keeper. The experience gained will include general animal husbandry including the cleaning and maintenance of exhibits and food preparation.
Who can apply?
Please fill out the Volunteer application form and send it to us. You will be added to a waiting list and called for a interview at the appropriate time. Generally, the list has at least a 3 month wait and sometimes up to 6 months.
If you have any enquiries, please email [email protected]
If you are accepted as a volunteer you will be required to pay $50.00 for insurance which lasts for 12 months.
You can download the insurance form here, once you have been accepted.
If you would like to do some Work Experience at the zoo then please download the following: Note – we are only accepting applications for students 18 and older.
Adopt an Animal
Adopting an animal is a satisfying and rewarding experience and it makes a great gift too.
Learn more