VOLUNTEER POSITION DESCRIPTION POSITION TITLE: Volunteer Gallery Interpreter DEPARTMENT: Education STATUS: Non-employee POSITION SUMMARY: Volunteer gallery interpreters engage museum visitors in experiences that provide new perspectives on the past and help them make connections to Chicago. Gallery interpreters are involved in innovative activities designed to reflect the Museum’s brand of experience—welcoming, fun, social, and meaningful—such as gallery activity carts and workshops for student groups, and guided tours for the general public and adult groups. Note: this position exists for individuals willing to volunteer their services without expectation or contemplation of compensation. POSITION-SPECIFIC DUTIES: Gallery interpreters help educate Museum visitors of all ages by leading these activities: • Gallery Activity Carts (“History a la Cart”) – At activity carts, gallery interpreters encourage student visitors to become active participants in their Museum visits by prompting curiosity, imagination, collaboration, conversation, and reflection. The carts provide activities to support teachers and chaperones accompanying school groups during field trip visits. Activity cart topics include the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Chicago bridges, Chicago architecture, the early Illinois landscape, and more. During a 20-minute activity, each cart addresses various learning styles, incorporates hands-on elements, investigation of primary resources, and opportunities for embodied/kinesthetic learning. • Student Workshops – Gallery interpreters can also learn to facilitate student workshops. These innovative workshops, serving grades 3 through 12, help students think critically, consider multiple perspectives, and work collaboratively. The workshops include text analysis, hand-on encounters with objects, and focused time in the Chicago: Crossroads of America exhibition, or the Facing Freedom exhibition. • Guided Exhibition Tours – Gallery interpreters can also lead engaging tours for public and private groups. Gallery interpreters conduct 50 minute tours of the permanent exhibition, Chicago: Crossroads of America. • Assistance with Commemorative Day Programming – Gallery interpreters will also be asked on a limited basis to assist with commemorative day program activities. Commemorative Days include Presidents’ Day, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, and Chicago’s birthday, for example. Duties could include helping with family craft activities or facilitating a special gallery activity. Note: All gallery interpreters are required to learn to staff the History a la Cart Activity Carts. After about a year of staffing the Activity Carts, volunteer interpreters have the option to learn about facilitating student workshops or giving guided tours of the Chicago: Crossroads of America and other temporary exhibitions.
Training Courses Gallery Activity Carts: Specific training dates are still being finalized, but our next gallery interpreter training course for the Activity Carts will occur on select afternoons during late January and February 2017. Training sessions will consist of talks on Chicago history led by Museum staff, as well as gallery workshops on cart facilitation and interaction with visitors. Guided Tours and Student Workshops: Volunteer gallery interpreters must volunteer staffing activity carts for about a year before they become eligible to participate in the training seminars to learn about leading guided tours and facilitating student workshops. Dates of the seminars for these training opportunities will be made known to volunteers during the course of their volunteering. Course Fee: We request volunteer trainees issue the Museum a check in the amount of $30.00 (made payable to the Chicago Historical Society) at the first session of the Gallery Activity Cart seminar. If the trainee chooses not to follow through with the commitment of volunteering, we will consider the check a fee for the course. If the trainee completes the entire training process and earnestly commits to a schedule of volunteering, we will offer a refund to the trainee. This fee, however, is not intended to be prohibitive to participation in the volunteer program. Feel free to discuss this matter with the volunteer program manager.
Note: it is fundamental that the volunteer’s work serve a civic, public, charitable or humanitarian purpose. THIS VOLUNTEER POSITION REPORTS TO: Volunteer and Intern Manager WORKING RELATIONSHIPS: Volunteer and Intern Manager, Education Staff, Visitor Services Staff QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Docent and/or teaching experience preferred, but not essential 2. Applicants must have a commitment to making history relevant to a diverse audience through use of engaging, inquiry-based, conversational techniques, and innovative programming. 3. Top applicants must possess strong public speaking skills and be able to communicate effectively in a wide variety of situations and with a variety of audiences of all ages (children and adults). 4. Additionally, potential volunteer gallery interpreters must possess good listening skills. 5. Potential volunteers must be friendly and enjoy interaction with people; they must have and maintain a positive attitude. 6. Potential volunteers must be capable of working in a high-energy environment. 7. Experience working with the public is a plus. 8. Potential volunteers should have a predictable schedule and the ability to provide availability information at least six weeks in advance. 9. Applicants should be reliable and understand the importance of a volunteer commitment. 10. Applicants should be readily available during the spring months, the Museum’s busiest season. 11. Potential volunteers must be able to stand on their feet for up to two hours. 12. Volunteer gallery interpreters must be able to acceptably remember material learned at training and relay appropriate amounts to visitors. 13. Volunteer gallery interpreters will be asked to attend two to three mandatory meetings each year in order to receive informational updates and keep skills and knowledge sharp. 14. Volunteers must show commitment to the mission, values, and programs of the Chicago History Museum.
TIMEFRAME OR COMMITMENT: Volunteer gallery interpreter trainees must be able to attend the several session activity cart training course. Specific training dates are still being finalized, but our next gallery interpreter training course will occur on select afternoons during late January and February 2017. In additional to attending the required training sessions, gallery interpreters typically volunteer one weekday per week for two to four hours. Volunteer gallery interpreters must be readily available to volunteer during the spring season—the busiest time of the year for school field trips. In light of all the training involved, we request a minimum one-year commitment. BENEFITS: Chicago History Museum volunteer gallery interpreters will be able to use and refine skills in the area of communicating a variety of historical topics in an engaging and effective manner with visitors of all ages, from nearby and international locations. CHM volunteers receive ongoing training, including opportunities to attend and participate in enrichment programming toward mastery of skills and to increase knowledge. After one year of volunteering, CHM volunteers receive a complimentary membership. Note: A CHM employee may not volunteer the same services they are employed to perform. An employee may not volunteer during his/her normal hours of work. APPLICATION DEADLINE: We will be accepting applications until mid-January 2017. If you are interested in applying for this volunteer position, please complete a volunteer application, found on the CHM website, and submit your completed application according to the noted instructions.
Chicago History Museum Values These are the values of the Chicago History Museum as an institution, our ―Collective Values‖:
Service, Collaboration, Discovery, Creativity, Empathy, Authenticity, Integrity, and Stewardship.
These are the values that the staff and volunteers of the Chicago History Museum should embrace:
All-in: Taking and sharing responsibility for the Museum, its mission, and our future.
Welcoming: Demonstrating every day that the Museum is for everyone.
Forward-looking: Anticipating needs, spotting opportunities, and solving problems with determination and ingenuity.
This job description is not intended to be an express or implied contract between CHM and anyone. CHM volunteers are volunteers at will. CHM reserves the right to change or assign other duties to this volunteer position as necessary to meet changing business needs. CHM is an equal opportunity institution.
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