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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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I too, worked with a group of enthusiastic volunteers who were retired engineers and technicians from Martin-Marietta at the Orlando Science Center. These fellows of course had a head full of knowledge and were eager to pass that along to visitors. My task was to keep them focused on concepts and ideas that mainstream visitors would understand and relate to. The best way I found was to get them accustomed to asking open-ended questions rather then 'lecture' and keeping the main message of the demonstration focused and clear. Using hand props that they could let visitors manipulate helped keep the demo really focused, and after the demo, the volunteers could use these same props as 'pocket science' activities. There is just something about putting a simple prop in the hands of these volunteers that helped them engage and communicate clearly with visitors. Encouraging them to frequently use variations of the question "what do you think will happen when..? really sets the tone and gives them a good communication approach. During your training, practice what you preach. don't tell them 'ask more questions' but set up a series of roll-playing training sessions where you can model the methods you're looking for. That worked well for me. What I always had to remember was 'these fellows will 'teach' to the visitor in the way that they were taught' unless I model for them another method. Yes, occasionally, when working with a particularly enthusiastic 10 year old, they would go a it too far into the content, but also reminding them to make eye contact, and read the expressions and body language of their audience, was an excellent way for them to see if they're taking their discussion too far--in other words, they got quite good in detecting immediately when a visitors expression went from focused to 'glazed'
But I would start their training to informal one -on one pocket science activities, to let them really get to know where visitors are coming from, before putting them on a stage or behind a cart.
Hope this helps
-----Original Message-----
From: Anna Hurst [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, February 05, 2004 8:47 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: volunteer training
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
I am new to the list, so please excuse me if this topic has been covered before. I have searched the archives and didn't find much, except for one discussion in 2001.
At the Schenectady Museum, we have science demonstrations that are presented on the weekends by volunteers. These volunteers are retired General Electric engineers. I oversee them, and working with them is one of the most enjoyable parts of my job. I am looking for ways to train them. This training would of course not be for content, but more for presentation and teaching strategies for a variety of audiences. These volunteers are very enthusiastic - they enjoy developing and presenting these demonstrations and would like to learn how to communicate with the audience more effectively. They have also been volunteering with us for several years, so I don't want to throw too much change at them too quickly.
Any suggestions would be appreciated
Thanks,
Anna
Anna Hurst
Education Department
Schenectady Museum
15 Nott Terrace Heights
Schenectady, N.Y. 12305
(518) 382-7890 x236
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