FAQ: How many people does it take?

Over the past few months we have talked a lot about the penguins at the New England Aquarium (that is, African, rockhopper and little blue penguins), but you can't forget the group of staff and volunteers that take care of all the penguins each day. So, how many people does it take to take care of the penguin exhibit?


Our food prep room crowded with volunteers and staff getting the penguins' food ready for the first feeding of the day.

It takes a whole team of staff, interns and volunteers to care for our penguins and their exhibit every single day of the week. From twice-daily feedings to scrubbing the rock islands to vacuuming the floors, there's a lot to do! So on any given day, you'll find at least two staff members plus up to another six volunteers wading in the penguin exhibit.


Scrubbing and rinsing the rock islands


Feeding the penguins, bon appetit! Note the clipboard in the foreground used to keep notes on how much fish each bird eats.

To be a penguin volunteer you must be at least 18 years old and able to come in once a week for at least six months, this is to give you enough time to learn all the birds' names (our readers have met a lot of our penguin pals already!) and pick up the skills needed to take care of them. Our volunteers work side by side with the staff for all the daily chores from food preparations and doing laundry to cleaning the exhibit and feeding the penguins.


Vacuuming the penguin exhibit


Cleaning the underside of one of the rock islands

Stay tuned to meet penguin staff members Heather, Paul, Caitlin and Andrea.

To learn more about how to become a volunteer, click here. And very soon you can learn what it is like to volunteer in the penguin exhibit, straight from one of our very own volunteers.

We could not be able to take care of the 85-plus penguins if it wasn't for the great group of people who come in day after day, week after week to help us take care of the penguins.