The Science Educator II - Bilingual Spanish engages visitors in meaningful, relevant, and thought-provoking activities, demonstrations, and conversations-with an emphasis on visitor driven-inquiry-as visitors explore the museum. This position works with the Museum Engagement staff to maintain the Labs, Halls and program spaces.

They also lead engaging, reserved programs for diverse groups of families with young children age birth to 8 years old (e.g.: Play Labs), school groups (e.g.: Oregon Home School), and teenagers (e.g.: Teen Science Alliance) in two languages as determined by the audience. These programs combine informal and structured programming with the goal of strengthening family connections, building early STEM identities, and sharing the power of play and STEAM.

The position also provides supervision and support to volunteer staff, and they are responsible for understanding and following safety protocols and emergency procedures.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Reserved Programming Responsibilities:
  • Play Labs:
    • Delivers Spanish/English bilingual engaging and developmentally-appropriate STEAM-focused experiences ("Play Labs") to diverse audiences of families with children ages birth-8. Delivery modes in both English and Spanish include, and are not limited to, direct instruction, writing info panels, and producing activity sheets.
    • Collaborates with the Equity-based Learning Strategist to share and communicate promptly with external partner groups about Play Labs reserved program opportunities, recruit families, align expectations, and provide excellent customer service;
    • Collaborates with internal partners to coordinate details of Play Labs events.
  • Reserved Labs:
    • Delivers standards-aligned hour-long programs based on specific topics that are booked through OMSI's Program Sales team, with an emphasis on programming for the Oregon Homeschool Science Club.
  • Teen Science Alliance:
    • Delivers youth development programming to teenagers and supports program participants develop professional skills through the practice of informal science education.
  • Collaborates with the Museum Engagement Leadership Team to communicate reserved program opportunities with external partner organizations and with internal teams, such as Program Sales.
• Science Education Responsibilities:
  • Actively interacts with museum visitors while applying culturally responsive practices. Provide hands-on and engaging activities, demonstrations, exhibit interpretation, and conversations in assigned areas;
  • Ensures the safe opening and running of assigned area(s) under the direction of the Manager of Engagement, Learning Strategists, or main point of contact for the day;
  • Maintains safe, clean, and secure environments for guests. Performs walkthroughs to maintain appearance of public programming spaces;
  • Remains knowledgeable of OMSI safety protocols and emergency procedures, which includes (but is not limited to) evacuations, first aid, and reconnecting lost children and caregivers;
  • Staffs and provides temporary supervision and support for hall/lab volunteers in the following areas, as needed:
    • Turbine Hall (Chemistry Lab, Physics Lab, Innovation Stations, and Teen Tech Center)
    • Early Childhood Education areas (Curium and Science Playground)
    • Featured Exhibit Hall
    • Natural Sciences Hall (Life Lab and Paleontology Lab)

Working Conditions:

• This position is non-exempt, paid hourly;
• This position is regular part-time, scheduled for 32 hours/week;
  • Requires working onsite at the museum location;
  • Scheduled to work Sundays and Tuesdays-Thursdays, 9:00am - 5:30pm.
• Physical Demands: 20% sitting, 70% standing, and 5% lifting/carrying 25 lbs:
  • Ability to bend and stoop to and from floor level multiple times a day;
  • Ability to clean vertical and horizontal surfaces at a variety of heights;
  • Must safely navigate around obstacles (children, toys, etc) on floor surfaces;
  • Engages with a variety of sensory materials, including water, sand, slime, playdough, and more.
• Vision Demands include:
  • Close vision (clear vision at 20 inches of less)
  • Distance vision (clear vision at 20 feet or more)
  • Color vision (ability to identify and distinguish colors)
  • Peripheral vision (ability to observe an area that can be seen up and down or to the left or right while eyes are fixed on a given point)
  • Depth and perception (three dimensional vision, ability to judge distance and spatial relationships)
  • Ability to adjust focus (ability to adjust the eyes to bring an object into sharp focus)
• Environmental Demands include:
  • Work near moving mechanical parts
  • Fumes or airborne particles
  • Toxic or caustic chemicals
  • Risk of electric shock
  • Work with explosives
  • Exposure to/working near magnets
• Noise Levels include:
  • Quiet (examples: library, private office)
  • Moderate (examples: business office with computers and printers, light traffic)
  • Loud (examples: metal can manufacturing department, large earth-moving equipment)
  • Very loud (examples: jack hammer work, front row at rock concert)

Secondary Responsibilities

Secondary responsibilities include-but are not limited to-the following:

• Coordinates supplies and site logistics for demonstrations or activity stations. Communicates with Strategist Supervisors and Coordinators about purchasing needs or replenishments;
• Completes regular administrative tasks, such as tracking volunteer schedules and personal timekeeping;
• Actively contribute to and advance Museum Education team goals and objectives, with an emphasis on continual engagement with informal education and museum best practices, scientific knowledge, and safety/operational efficiency practices;
• Additional duties as assigned by Strategist Supervisors.

Knowledge and Skills:

REQUIREMENTS:

• Business Practices:
  • Exercises sound judgment and problem-solving while upholding high integrity and ethical standards;
  • Demonstrated ability to pivot between individual and team work;
  • Ability to effectively handle multiple tasks, often with overlapping and time-sensitive deadlines;
  • Ability to model and support a positive team dynamic with paid and unpaid staff;
  • Ability to adhere to confidentiality, protocol, and community agreements;
  • Excellent organizational, analytical, and problem solving skills;
  • Proficiency with Google Suite and/or Microsoft Office.
• Learner Engagement:
  • Working knowledge of science process skills;
  • Comfort and ability to engage diverse populations of learners in interactive learning, with an emphasis on customer service and presentation;
  • Ability to present engaging content with a diverse population of learners in a culturally responsive way, with an emphasis on building and fostering science identity.

PREFERENCES:

• Knowledge of or ability to learn safe chemical handling, use, and storage practices;
• Familiarity with using or ability to learn how to use Safety Data Sheets;
• Knowledge of and ability to learn safe tool use and handling, including unique learning tools like screen-based experiences;
• Proficient or native fluency in a second language (non-English).

Education & Work Experiences:

REQUIREMENTS:

• High School Diploma or GED, with some college-level coursework in a science-related field;
• Demonstrated success working with people of diverse ages and backgrounds;
• Demonstrated experience providing customer service in a work environment;
• Informal education engagement experience (museum, zoo, nature preserve);
• Experience or ability to work effectively with volunteers.

PREFERENCES:

• Demonstrated experience working in a STEAM education-based environment;
• Experience working in a public-facing role at an informal education environment, with an emphasis on public presentation and engagement;
• Experience using, handling, and storing chemicals;
• Demonstrated experience supporting volunteers;
• Community engagement experience.

Additional Requirements/Preferences; Including Licenses and Certifications:

REQUIREMENTS:

• Pre-employment checks, such as criminal background checks and reference checks.

PREFERENCES:

• None.

Benefits and Perks at OMSI

• Multiple health plans (OMSI pays 86% of employee premiums)
• 403(b) retirement with employer match eligibility
• 2 weeks of vacation per year
• 2 weeks of sick time per year
• 12 personal / cultural days (PTO) per year
• Free annual OMSI Family Membership
• Reciprocal Employee Attractions Pass (REAP)
• Inclusion-centered professional development opportunities
• Employee-led rewards and recognition program
• Discounts on summer programs for employee's children