Astronomers don't have ho-hum jobs like everyone else.

And the Marion Natural History Museum is hiring a crop of them. The museum has been short an astronomer for about a year after the previous one, Heather Morrison, had a baby. Now, the search is on to find two or three stargazers willing to share with the public the wonders of the cosmos.

"It's an educational consultant position," said Elizabeth Leidhold, the museum's Director. "It's on an as-needed basis."

Would-be astronomers will first need to be trained in using the Starlab, the museum's mobile planetarium. The Starlab is an inflatable structure capable of fitting 22 children plus a handful of adults.

"The last week of September or so, Heather is going to come in and show everyone how to use it," said Leidhold.

The entire system is stored in several large luggage cases on wheels. Once kids settle in to the inflatable universe, they can be shown a variety of programs from "Where in the Solar System are we?" to "Moon Madness."

The Starlab programs meet the fourth grade MCAS requirements for astronomy and the museum's customers are local schools from New Bedford to Wareham who want their students to get a little more than just a textbook answer for why Mars is red or the names of Jupiter's moons.

"It depends on how many fourth grades there are," said Leidhold regarding the amount of hours would-be astronomers can expect to work. So far, she has received over 10 applications for the position ranging from members of the Astronomical Society of Southern New England to physics students at UMass Dartmouth and was surprised by the response.

"I didn't think it'd get such a strong response," she said, adding that the position is not a steady job but rather a very limited part-time opportunity. "Someone who wants a certain number of hours per week, we can't offer that."

Leidhold intends to hire two or three astronomers and expects that school bookings will pick up in October or November and again in May, when the astronomy portions of science curricula are typically taught. Astronomers would work during school hours and present 45-minute shows with no less than two consecutive shows and up to six in a work day.

"You need to be willing to work with kids," said Leidhold, with a laugh. "By the end of the day you might be a little hoarse, but they're fun."

By the end of the month, the museum's astronomers should be ready and able to handle anything the school's can throw at them, including having to explain why Pluto isn't a planet anymore.

"I was kind of sad about last year," said Leidhold. "We're excited to get going again."

Anyone interested in applying to be an astronomer at the Marion Natural History Museum can call Elizabeth Leidhold at 508-748-2098.