Materials For Volunteer Docents
What's A Docent?
A tour docent is a volunteer trained to facilitate learning in the galleries. Many docents come from teaching backgrounds, but the only requirements are an appetite for learning about the arts and sciences along with a readiness to share that learning with students, teachers, and other groups who tour the Dennos Museum. Docents are expected to complete several months of training in the fall, and commit to volunteering for at least two years. For more information and to apply to become a tour docent, please visit the Volunteer Page.
About This Page
This page contains useful documents and forms for volunteer docents who lead tours at the Dennos. Many of the resources here will also complement a classroom teacher's art lessons, and are available for that use as well.
Files are provided in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. You should be able to just click on the PDF link next to each file name and have it appear on your computer. If you do not have the free Adobe Acrobat reader, download it at this link.
Questions? Email our Curator of Education and Exhibitions, Liz Celeste, at eceleste@nmc.edu or call (231) 995-1029.
TRAINING Documents
- Dennos Museum Center Docent Handbook (PDF)
- 2023 Volunteer Handbook (PDF)
- Microaggressions Annotated Bibliography (PDF)
- Gender Identity & Pronoun Resources (PDF)
- Top Touring Tips from Dennos Museum Center Docents (PDF)
Docent Forms
- Object Focus Sheets (Google form)
- Tour docent sign up (Sign up Genius)
- Log Your (non tour) Hours Here
- Tour Evaluation - Teacher (PDF)
- Tour Evaluation - Docent (PDF)
Tour Outlines
- Looking to Learn - Grades K-2 (PDF)
- Tell Me About It - Grades 3-5 (PDF)
- Full Steam Ahead - Grades 6-8 (PDF)
- Process and Culture - Grades 9-12 (PDF)
- Attachments - Grades K-2 (PDF)
- Attachments - Grades 9-12 (PDF)
General Tour Planning
- Tour Planning Worksheet (PDF)
- Multiple Intelligence Activities (PDF)
- FAQ Video for Teachers & Docents (Link)
Inuit Tour Planning
- Exploring the Canadian Inuit Lifestyle: A Research Guide (PDF)
- Introduction for Inuit tour (PDF)
- Model Tour - Inuit Culture: Government, Clmate Change, and Technology (PDF)
Permanent Collection Resources
Online Resources
- Dennos YouTube page
- Smithsonian Learning Lab
- National Docent Symposium Council
- Building a Visual Arts Lesson Plan (Getty)
- Harvard Project Zero
- Visual Thinking Strategies
- Art Institute of Chicago Videos
- Museum of Inuit Art
- Early Printmaking Presentation
Artists in the Dennos Collection
- Kenojuak Ashevak
- Howard Ben Tre
- Natvar Bhavsar
- Diane Carr
- Gene Davis
- Michael Davis
- Sam Kerson
- Joan Livingstone
- Charles McGee (article)
- Agapito Miniucchi
- Harold Olejarz
- Carter Ratcliff (article)
- Julius Schmidt (article)
- Arthur Secunda
- Mary Shaffer
- Lois Teicher
- Bernard Verhaeghe
- Andy Warhol
- Edward Weston