Idaho Museum of Natural History to offer docent training program

The Idaho Museum of Natural History (IMNH) is recruiting participants for its fall 2007 docent training program.

Docents are volunteer teachers in the museum who are responsible for conducting guided educational tours to groups of all ages, the majority being school children. Groups visiting the IMNH range from 10 to 80 or more people, and docents must have vocal and physical stamina. Docents in training will learn new information, expand their understanding of natural history, work with children, and, most importantly, have fun. The IMNH is interested in docents with a variety of backgrounds, including those with no previous scientific knowledge.

Docent training begins Thursday, Sept. 20 and runs for 12 weeks. Docents will spend three hours every Thursday afternoon learning about geology, archaeology, paleontology, anthropology and more. Each training class features an important topic relevant to the museum’s collections. These will also provide instruction on working with groups, encouraging interesting and educational interaction. Docents are responsible for attending all training classes and observing at least six gallery tours.

Following training, the IMNH asks that each donate a minimum of 30 hours in providing guided tours to visitors. With the completion of 30 hours of service, docents receive a free membership to the IMNH.

An additional benefit of the docent training program is the opportunity to participate in the annual docent field trip. Each year, all docents are able to visit a locality of interest to learn about a previously unexplored area. Previous trips have included the Bennet Hills and Dinosaur National Monument in Vernal, Utah.

For more information about the docent training program contact Rebecca Thorne-Ferrel, education resources manager, at (208) 282-2195 or thorrebe@isu.edu.