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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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A few of us have been working to start up a network of people interesting in
just this topic (not specifically for volunteers, but for interpreters,
explainers, facilitators in general.) I think we could all collaborate to
develop best practices for everyone who does this kind of work- and within
that conversation address some of the differences between paid and
volunteer. We started with a pre-conference session called NetLIFE, which
grew out of the Pilots project in Europe, and hope to continue it next year.

So unless there is a group out there already doing this (no sense in
re-building the wheel) we can include all of you in the NetLIFE Ning that is
being developed, and give everyone an opportunity to share best practices
and challenges of training both paid and volunteer staff.

Happy Turkey Day!
------

Andrea Motto
Doctoral Student
Virginia Tech University
Blacksburg VA

On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 6:35 PM, Megan Gray <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Our institution has an all volunteer exhibit floor staff (exhibit
> explaining and general information).  We recognize the special needs,
> benefits, and challenges volunteers (vs. paid staff) bring to this role.
>  Without regular, trained, experienced, floor staff available to train,
> model, and evaluate volunteers in this role, volunteers have relied on
> mostly content information resources and other volunteers (many of whom have
> scientific backgrounds and experience versus educational background,
> especially in the area of pedagogy).   While we have lots of formal
> expertise in the community, we feel this sort of
> didactic/information-focused approach is not as effective with our young
> learners in our informal environment.  Therefore, we have developed and
> implemented a new training approach for exhibit volunteers that focuses on:
>
>
> 1)      Building rapport with visitors and tuning into their needs
>
> 2)      Creating a safe and inviting environment for exploration and
> inquiry
>
> 3)      Using effective questioning strategies and unique "hooks" to engage
> and inspire
>
> I am looking to collaborate with fellow Volunteer and/or Program Managers
> who lead their institution's volunteer explainers. I'd love to share our new
> training outline with others and discuss best practices and strategies for
> training  our volunteers to be successful with our visitors.
>
> Megan Gray
> Manager of Volunteer Services
> Chabot Space & Science Center
> ph: (510) 336-7414
> fax: (510) 336-7491
> www.chabotspace.org<http://www.chabotspace.org/>
>
> Stay Close, Go Far!
> P Please consider the environment before deciding to print this e-mail.
>
>

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