Volunteer at the EcoTarium! We simply could not offer the programs and special events that make the EcoTarium a unique resource to our community without our diverse and dedicated corps of volunteers. To be considered for a more specific position, look through the volunteer listings below, and submit an application.

Zoo Ambassador Volunteer

Our zoo ambassador volunteers will assist the Zoology Department to connect with guests through engaging educational experiences about our animal residents We are looking for volunteers who are passionate about animals and excited to interact with guests of all ages. Volunteers may also complete behavioral studies on numerous animals within the care of the EcoTarium to help enhance the welfare for our animals!

Animal Care Volunteer

Animal care volunteers will aid in all areas of husbandry (农牧业), including feeding, cleaning, record keeping, training animals, and behavioral observations. They will work with a variety of animals under our care, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects. The position is physically demanding and requires working in all weather conditions.

Education Program Volunteer

Through conversations and hands-on activities, education program volunteers help visitors make meaningful connections to our exhibits, encourage curiosity and scientific inquiry, and challenge visitors to dive deeper into the concepts explored at our museum.

Collections Volunteer

The EcoTarium seeks volunteers who are interested in making a contribution to science by uncovering lost specimens (标本) in the EcoTarium collection! Photograph, measure, and take notes on birds, eggs, seashells, or pressed flowers. This is an excellent position for a high school or college student considering a career in biology or lab science. It is also appropriate for citizen scientists of any age. It offers an opportunity to see examples of rare or extinct plants and animals.

Today, I've been recording an audiobook. I am excited that I have realized my life-long dream.

I will never forget at primary school I used to wait with breathless anticipation to take my turn reading out a paragraph of great works in front. At my secondary school, when students were encouraged to select and present a reading at "morning talk", I often added my name to the list.

This was all handy background for my career in broadcasting. But, much as I enjoy hosting shows and interviewing people, I often find myself missing the simple pleasures of reading out loud. I'd thought about putting myself forward as a narrator (朗读者) for audiobooks. But I'm not an actor. I can't do regional accents or play female voice. Non-fiction, then, seemed the obvious target, but I felt that such books were best read by their authors. If it were authors' own voice, their stories would touch me.

Recently, delivering my son's nightly bedtime story has reawakened my love for reading out loud—highlights so far have included Charlotte's Web. But I never thought I'd get the opportunity to do it professionally.

Then, last month, I was contacted by James Plunkett, author of End State, a forthcoming book about political ideas. He had no desire to read his book out loud, but as a fan of my program, he thought I might do a reasonable job.

So, I've spent this week in a studio, simply reading stuff out loud. And I'm LOVING IT!

Mind you, it's an entirely unexpected experience. It's disheartening when the recording needs to be stopped because I've just carelessly skipped over a 'the', or had to clear my throat, or catch my breath. I've also learned how many words I've been mispronouncing my entire life: behavioural is BE-HAYVE-YOU-RAL, not BE-HAYVE-EE-AH-RUL.

Though tackling this 339-page book doesn't turn out to be that easy, I've found the whole process awesome, and hope this becomes the first of many.

Popularization has in some cases changed the original meaning of emotional (情感的) intelligence. Many people now misunderstand emotional intelligence as almost everything desirable in a person's makeup that cannot be measured by an IQ test, such as character, motivation, confidence, mental stability, optimism and "people skills." Research has shown that emotional skills may contribute to some of these qualities, but most of them move far beyond skill-based emotional intelligence.

We prefer to describe emotional intelligence as a specific set of skills that can be used for either good or bad purposes. The ability to accurately understand how others are feeling may be used by a doctor to find how best to help her patients, while a cheater might use it to control potential victims. Being emotionally intelligent does not necessarily make one a moral person.

Although popular beliefs regarding emotional intelligence run far ahead of what research can reasonably support, the overall effects of the publicity have been more beneficial than harmful. The most positive aspect of this popularization is a new and much needed emphasis (重视) on emotion by employers, educators and others interested in promoting social well-being. The popularization of emotional intelligence has helped both the public and researchers re-evaluate the functionality of emotions and how they serve people adaptively in everyday life.

Although the continuing popular appeal of emotional intelligence is desirable, we hope that such attention will excite a greater interest in the scientific and scholarly study of emotion. It is our hope that in coming decades, advances in science will offer new perspectives (视角) from which to study how people manage their lives. Emotional intelligence, with its focus on both head and heart, may serve to point us in the right direction.