Volunteering Docents: The hidden forces that keep museums running

Something that grabbed my attention in the internship is the docents’ important role in the Kimbell Museum. I have always been ignorant of how important their work is to a museum because of my experience about what their job is about, why they are important to a museum and how they could get this position. Also, because of the lack of docents’ tours in Saudi Arabia, even when I travel abroad and visit a museum, because we are tight in time, we just walk around in a self-guided tour where we just read the objects’ labels, or maybe not.

            When I first studied about museums and museums’ education academically at UNT, I was exposed to this realm by readings, discussions, and museum visits offered in these courses. This was done to observe docents tours and curators talking about how they teach docents, in this sense I had more understanding than I did before. However, the theories weren’t shaped fully until I had the chance this semester to observe what docents really go through behind the scenes in the preparation process, and what they do as the front line at a museum, and in this case at the Kimbell. Through this internship opportunity, I really built more understanding and appreciation of what they do and how important they are in this museum ensemble. To me, they are considered vital players of this collective system, where without their work, museums won’t be able to function to the maximum. Of course, in this ensemble the curators’, and educators’ job is very important, but without the docents who are always there for any activity the museum plan cannot happen or might happen poorly.

An important reason I assume is that there is not enough money to hire a very big number of docents such as in the Kimbell, and pay them, I assume it is incredibly expensive for museums without a big budget to do. Another reason is that the training required to be a docent at a museum takes a very long time. For example, I asked a docent at the Kimbell about the process and she answered that it took three years for her to finish the required training. Add to that commitment and passion. This is really a long time for an unpaid position for a person who is just building their career, starting with school, or trying to make a decent living. An intern also talked to me about how she wanted to apply for a volunteering docent position but the manager of the education department advised her to choose the internship option which was more convenient for her at this age, and as a student in higher education. So younger generations might find it harder to be a full-time docent going through all these years of training, unless they work at the museum as educators when they acquire the required qualifications, then they can guide tours and be part of the museum work as employees, or interns.

            Thus, some scholars consider the docents’ training as adult training that requires Andragogy theories (specialized curriculum designing for adults (The principles of adult learning theory, 2017)) that they apply in order to reach the most benefits in investing in their docents. This is because they are the creators of the visitors’ experiences, and who are able to transfer this experience to a meaningful, educational, and pleasant experience (DePrizio, 2016; Empower docents with experience training, 2016; McCray, 2016). From my observations, I find that the Kimbell follows adult teaching methods in a very effective way. For example, they have a really great approach in providing visual knowledge such as videos, presentations, documentation and even a study room for them to spend time on the materials. They also offer lectures led by the curator, the education manager, outside scholars, and training with each education/art staff member for each activity. What I really liked about some of these trainings is the interactive approach that empowers the docents, demonstrates their point of view, and then for the museum to consider what they offer.

I also observed that there is also a consideration of the age of the docents. Wherein there is always recording for these lectures that can be listened to later, and there is always a microphone attached to the speakers to help the docents who have hearing difficulty. Another aspect that I find great is the chance for the docents to grow and learn by trial and error, where they have a chance to try their teaching style after a training for a certain exhibition. After that they get feedback most of the time from the education manager to adjust and meet the museums’ expectations.

On another note, I find this particular volunteer work beneficial, important, and fascinating for the structure of any society in many levels. First, it offers an opportunity for retired society members to feel as important as they were when they had important positions in their jobs. This is important for inclusion in the museum of all members of society to be active and contributing to the museum mechanism. I find it very important for museums to be the place to connect older and younger generations through the docents’ participation in activities such as art activities. For example, at the Kimbell, docents help in art activities with educators especially in annual big events like spring break, and in regular school tours. Another benefit is for docents to memorize and learn all the information needed for the exhibitions’ tours. From my observations by attending many docent trainings that the Kimbell prepared for them and education staff, I found the information challenging. It requires a lot of studying, memorizing, and other skills such as presenting and performing the information in an interesting way to engage the visitors and make visitors’ experience more effective. Thus, I think these trainings that the Kimbell offers (and other museums who takes docents’ training seriously) are very important to the community as a whole not just the docents, museums, or visitors as individuals. It is an orchestrated work that requires all these participants, and can’t work without them, and at the same time, benefits all of them.

            At the end, I wish to see such initiative like this start among museums in Saudi especially since the country is recently changing drastically and rapidly. This idea started after a conversation with my father who nowadays complains that there isn’t any function for retired people like him in the society, so they end up with a feeling of boredom, and invaluable to the community. However, based on a conversation with a friend over in Saudi Arabia, I understand that this subject is under study by the authorities which is exciting to me and I look forward to being part of its development.

  

References

DePrizio, J. (2016). Making the case for transforming training. Journal of Museum Education, 41(1), 3-9. doi:10.1080/10598650.2015.1126057

Empower docents with experience training. (2016). Retrieved from https://museumhack.com/empower-docents/

McCray, K. H. (2016). Gallery educators as adult learners: The active application of adult learning theory. Journal of Museum Education, 41(1), 10-21. doi:10.1080/10598650.2015.1126058

The principles of adult learning theory. (2017). Retrieved from https://online.rutgers.edu/blog/principles-of-adult-learning-theory/