You’ve seen them rumbling into the museum — bundles of energy packaged in all sizes, trailed by moms pushing strollers and a few dads in jeans. In they come, and they want a tour! A tour for all, ages six months to 55. Maybe you, dedicated educator and part-rime magician …
A Funny Thing Happened… As a former high school teacher and as a docent now at the Terra Museum of American Art, I should not be surprised by the fact that what you give children is not necessarily what they take away. For instance, it is always encouraging to find …
For over a decade, the docents at the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum have been taking occasional study trips to visit out-of-town museums whose programs and exhibits have something to offer for our professional development. Those of us accustomed to giving tours enjoy being on the receiving end of the educational …
When docents giving our eighth grad local history tour experienced difficulty getting the students to participate in discussion, we looked tor other ways of involving them in our tour and lesson. Knowing that their museum visit is a rare opportunity to encounter authentic historic objects, we wanted to encourage them …
A well constructed introduction does several important things for a museum tour. It establishes the tone, clarifies expectations, and affirms the docent’s role while orienting visitors to a new experience. Just as the seasoned docent can size up a group as they enter the museum, visitors form powerful first impressions …
Before visitors, especially students, can be expected to “read” museum objects on a tour, they should be given an example for practice. Whether during a pre-touring visit to a classroom, or as an introduction before entering the galleries, docents can conduct a simple “object lesson” as preparation. Using ajar of …
History museum docents, like those in other types of museums, are increasingly offering participatory tours that encourage visitors to think creatively about the objects they encounter. Docents challenge their groups to look closely at objects, accurately describe what they see, answer open-ended questions that allow information to be interpreted meaningfully, …
Communication skills usually focus on presentation — delivering messages clearly, establishing rapport, making eye contact, speaking clearly, projecting well, and otherwise being a good speaker. It is also important, however, to expand consideration to include another communication role for museum presenters, that of listener. The following suggests ways in which …