The Cernan Earth and Space Center, on the campus of Triton College just west of Chicago, is seeking a creative, knowledgeable, energetic, flexible, and dynamic Full-Time Planetarium Educator. Some would compare this position to Assistant Director. We are looking for candidates who truly enjoy presenting programs, whether it’s the first or the thousandth time. There is plenty of opportunities to develop and program new content, participate in star parties, collaborate on events and activities, make suggestions and implement new ideas that will increase the awareness, audience, and revenue of the Space Center while serving our community.

This position is primarily responsible for accurate and quality presentation of all types of planetarium programs: public, schools, events, laser shows, and others, including on weekends and evenings. The Planetarium Educator collaborates in the development of educational materials and programming planetarium control systems. This position also participates in performing all types of office duties as needed to provide quality services to Cernan Center visitors, members, other Triton College departments, and our surrounding communities.

Presentation of the Duties

1. Deliver programs in the Cernan Center Planetarium to all types of visitors and groups.
2. Maintain familiarity with current events and develop further knowledge in the areas of astronomy and space exploration past, present, and future in order to interact with all types of visitors.
3. Collaborate on development of educator guides and related activities.
4. Take group reservations, generate confirmations, and check-in groups when they arrive.
5. Staff the Star Store as a cashier, open and close the register, stock and straighten merchandise as needed.
6. Maintain electronic attendance and revenue records.
7. Assist with supporting Cernan Center members as needed.
8. Perform general monitoring and troubleshooting of Planetarium equipment to maintain quality presentation.
9. Respond to public and other inquiries about the Planetarium, astronomy, and other topics.
10. Assist with programming planetarium control systems.
11. Assist with special events such as star parties, College-wide events, member parties, and facility rentals.
12. Perform other job-related duties as assigned by the supervisor.

Specific Skills

1. Speak in front of a large audience.
2. Present a wide variety of programs in a clear and effective manner.
3. Communicate effectively to people of various ages and experience.
4. Have good organizational skills.
5. Proficient in MS Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).
6. Ability to learn specialized programming languages and techniques for planetarium and other control systems.

Minimum qualifications

1. EDUCATION: Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university in education, science, or communications.
2. EXPERIENCE: Two years of experience working in a planetarium or informal science education, including creating and delivering complex content.
3. KNOWLEDGE: Be able to demonstrate proficiency in public speaking.

Learn more about this job posting and apply on the organization's official website.