Shipboard Volunteers

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The USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum preserves the World War II aircraft carrier of that name in Alameda, California, across the Bay from San Francisco. In addition to a distinguished record of service in WWII, she ended her career by recovering the astronauts of Apollo 11 and Apollo 12. The Museum maintains 14 decks and levels of the ship for visitor experiences and restores new spaces on a continuous basis.

The Museum also restores and features a variety of aircraft representing those which served during her 26 years of service as well as unique Apollo artifacts, like an Apollo capsule and the Apollo 14 mobile quarantine facility (MQF). The Museum is open 362 days of the year.

Volunteers form the biggest portion of the Museum's organization chart who serve in the below divisions. Previous military or museum experience is welcome but more important is a passion for the subject and the many benefits that accrue from volunteering. See: www.uss-hornet.org/support

- Ship Restoration: those who paint, finish, and bring back to life internal spaces of the ship. Most recently, this team restored the Officer's Galley, the Cobbler Shop, and the Forward Gun Mount and guns. Work is ongoing in a machinery space at present. No specialized background is required, other than team spirit and readiness for hands-on work.

- Security: The Security Team provides traditional security functions, such as safety, fire control, crowd control, and other similar functions. Here again, no particular experience is required. New volunteers receive training and must be at least 21 years of age for this division.

- Aircraft Restoration: The Air Group most recently finished the complete restoration of a World War II-era FM2 Wildcat that had spent nearly 50 years at the bottom of Lake Michigan as well as a S-2 Tracker. They are presently restoring a F4 Phantom fighter. No skillsets are required other than a willingness to learn and participate with hands-on restoration.

- Events and Community Outreach: Ideal for those with less regular volunteering opportunities, these functions are typically one-off requests for event management assistance, space minders, directional guides, etc., including the 4 th of July and significant anniversaries.

- Docents: this team provides tours of the ship, relate stories of its history, and interprets the artifacts for museum guests. Many docents are veterans of one of the armed services but many have no military experience-none is necessary, we will train you.

-Radio Division: these volunteers help restore and preserve Hornet electronic equipment, assist the Exhibits Department with immersive elements, and manage and participate in the USS Hornet Amateur Radio Club (NB6GC)

- Collections & Exhibitions: The Collections and Exhibitions Department manages some 20,000 artifacts and seeks volunteers who enjoy the traditional work of a museum including working with artifacts, database entry, object research, and more.

Matching Skills: Education, Training, Handyman, Painting, Information Systems