Volunteer of the Quarter

In early 2000 the Museum was selling admission for an upcoming Egyptian exhibition. At that time I had been to Egypt twice and I thought I might be able to volunteer and help in some way. Zach Zacharias ended up recruiting me for docent training and I always enjoyed giving tours and the interaction with museum attendees so I decided to stay on as a docent.

Zach offered extensive docent training for all of the galleries which included shadowing other experienced docents. I have continued as a docent at the Museum since that time and it has been an ongoing learning experience and has offered the opportunity to meet so many interesting people.

Having escorted tours worldwide (as the President of a travel club) and being exposed to many tour guides and museum docents, I have realized the value of expanding what you see with verbal explanations.

BY JAMES "ZACH" ZACHARIAS, SENIOR CURATOR OF HISTORY