Teen Summer Internships

Summer 2026 Internship Applications will go live February 1! Completed applications must be submitted by April 1 to be considered for Summer 2026 positions.

Note: ZooCamp Teen Assistant and Internship positions have their own webpage and application process. If you are interested in being a ZooCamp volunteer or intern, please click HERE to learn more.

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About The Program

Love animals, nature, and the Oakland Zoo? Join us as a Teen Intern and spend part of your summer on a nurturing team while learning new skills. These positions are designed for teens entering grades 10-12 in the Fall 2026. Applicants should be energetic and flexible.

Read through the available opportunities below and find out how to apply.

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Info meetings to learn more about this program as well as our other summer teen opportunities will be held on both March 8 & 9 at 4:30pm over Microsoft Teams:

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Topic: Teen Programs Info Meeting

Time: March 8 & 9, 2026 4:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Microsoft Teams (Need help?)

Join the meeting now

Meeting ID:276 795 065 500

Passcode:6aa65XN2

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California Trail Interpretation Internship

The California Trail Interpretation Internship provides support to guests while they are visiting the California Trail section of Oakland Zoo. Interns will spend the majority of their time within the Habitarium, an indoor children’s exploration museum, while also providing both formal and informal interpretation within the broader California Trail section of Oakland Zoo, which hosts habitats for 9 animal species native to our state. The Interns will spend the majority of their time within these spaces, providing engaging educational programming to guests between 3 main roles: Habitarium, Roving, and Animal Highlights. The Habitarium showcases 5 California habitats with a theme of field research and conservation, with a large window that looks directly into the Brown Bear habitat. 

As the intern gains familiarity and confidence with the programming within the spaces, they will each take on a project focused on creating micro-programs drawing on the existing missions, habitats, or animals. Their project would involve developing and creating a program, teaching a staff member how to lead it, observing their interactions with guests, and then evaluating the program. We are looking for teens (entering 11-12th grade in the Fall) who are energetic, responsible, and comfortable interacting with guests of all ages.

Responsibilities

• Provide support for 3 main roles within Habitarium
  
  • Greeter - first contact when guests enter the space
    
    • Provide information about the space, positively frame the rules
    • Compile accurate counts of guests visiting space
  • Mission Control - oversee missions and trading card station
    
    • Assess guest engagement and provide various challenging missions to encourage engagement in the space
  • Rover - move throughout the Habitarium and provide guidance
    
    • Provide assistance to guests within the space
    • Maintain conversational knowledge on the animals found within California Trail
• Develop and implement a micro-program throughout the internship session, focusing on expanding the mission of the current programming
• Assist with providing educational and engaging programming for guests in varying age groups, at times utilizing biofacts and other educational artifacts
• Engage with guests on an informal basis, providing in depth programming on the species found within the Trail
• Provide support during animal highlight interpretations with crowd control
• Gain experience leading formalized presentations to guests on a topic relating to California species

Schedule 

Up to 6 interns with scheduled shifts being either Sunday - Wednesday OR Wednesday - Saturday from 9a-4:30p, interning approximately 200 hours across 7 weeks

Summer 2026 shifts begin Wednesday, 6/10 and end either Wednesday, 7/28 or Saturday, 8/1

Requirements

• Applicants must be entering 11-12th grade in the Fall
• Interested in learning more about careers in the animal care field, education, or in environmental education
• Applicants must be flexible and able to adapt quickly to different tasks in order to help out where needed in a fast-paced environment

How To Apply

• Teens interested in becoming a Summer Intern need to submit a completed application online that includes uploading the following documents:
  • ‍A cover letter explaining why you are applying for the internship (500 words or less)
  • ‍A Resume, list of past experiences, or unofficial school transcript

• After we receive completed applications, participants that pass the initial round of processing will be contacted via the email they provided on the application to schedule an interview.
• A $50 non-refundable fee is required for anyone who is selected to become an intern. This fee helps to cover some of our operational costs such as intern shirts and other materials. If this fee would prevent you from applying for one of these positions, please fill out this Summer Internship Financial Aid Form in addition to completing your application and we may have funds available to help cover this cost.

>> Click here for the Teen Summer Internship application <<

Additional Information

Covid-19 protocols for perspective interns

• Oakland Zoo no longer requires masks. Masking at the Zoo is always an option, especially as you may sometimes find yourself in indoor spaces where social distancing may not be possible.

Contact Information

Still have questions? Email Teen Programs Staff

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