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Galaxy Explorers

Two students who are Galaxy Explorers working outdoors on a project

The Galaxy Explorer program provides high school students with an opportunity for hands-on, fun community service work while giving them a chance to develop their job skills, increase their STEM knowledge, and enhance public speaking.

The program is a year-round commitment and Galaxy Explorers are required to participate in a minimum of 12 hours of enrichment per month.

 

Opportunities for Galaxy Explorers:

SCIENCE ENRICHMENT

Explorers further their knowledge by participating in many exciting opportunities including field trips to tech companies, research institutions, state and national parks and other centers.  Chabot also hosts a monthly enrichment lecture series for our volunteers that features renowned scientists discussing their research and field of work.

CENTER EXPLAINER

Explainers are the most visible volunteer roles, engaging with visitors at Chabot; staffing exhibits and science activity stations. This is component is known as “floor hours.” All Galaxy Explorers are required to work at least one floor shift per month.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Galaxy Explorers assist with outreach science education for younger children, peers, and families at schools, libraries, fairs, and community centers. Students can be trained to operate the Cosmic Ray Planetary Theatre. Teens interested in public speaking can complete our training program and perform their own traveling planetarium shows.

UNLOCKING POTENTIAL WORKSHOPS

These monthly workshops are geared toward skill-building, leadership development, and college planning. Topics covered include public speaking, job interviewing, career planning, resume development, personal budgeting, careers in STEM, and more.

SPECIAL INTEREST TEAMS

These special interest teams allow Explorers to delve deeper into a specific area of science, engineering or communication. Each team works throughout the school year on long-term projects that will eventually benefit the Center and its visitors. Team membership lasts one school semester at a time, and most teams do not meet during the summer months.

HOW TO APPLY

The Galaxy Explorer Program is building a focus on the exploration of space-related careers. During this transition, we are not accepting new student volunteers for the 2023-24 school year except for specific grant supported school partners with related career pathway programs.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Galaxy Explorer program is supported, in part, through the generosity of:

  • The Hearst Foundation
  • The Bayer Foundation
  • Kinder Morgan Foundation
  • Lockheed Martin
  • PG&E