News from the NDSC
Carole Kramer
Posted in News from the NDSC
May 21, 2013
We are sad to announce the death of Carole Kramer, a former National Docent Symposium Council member, in February.
Carole was one of the "stars" of the National Docent Symposium Council. She held many positions during her long tenure on the Council, including that of President.
Her name will be most familiar to many readers as the co-author, with fellow Council member Helga Keller, of The Docent Handbook. Sponsored by the National Docent Symposium Council and publi
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Technology in the Museum
Posted in News from the NDSC
May 21, 2013
by Susan Engelhart, Art Institute of Chicago Docent
Recently the Art Institute of Chicago installed something new in several of their galleries that were not considered master works of art. They were iPads!
The Departments of Decorative Arts and Greek, Roman and Byzantium Art now have iPads for public use. The menu bar is limited to information related to objects in the galleries. And no, you cannot send an email or google on these iPads.
A very young user enjoys the iPad wi
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Symposium - What is It?
Posted in News from the NDSC
May 21, 2013
The National Docent Symposium Council's purpose is to plan and promote a biennial international symposium for all volunteer docents. But what exactly is this thing called symposium and why is it important to docents and museum educators?
For the ancient Greeks, it was a convivial meeting for drinking, music, poetry and intellectual discussion. Today, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, it is "a meeting or conference for discussion of a topic, especially one in which the participants
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National Docent Symposium 2013 San Francisco
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From Docents-For Docents
Learning-to-Go
Posted in From Docents - For Docents
August 21, 2012
- Submitted by Elaine Mason, Docent, North Carolina Museum of History
- Article by B. J. Davis, Education Section Chief, North Carolina History Museum
In the 2011 movie Limitless, down-and-out writer Eddie Mora is introduced to a new and secret pharmaceutical drug—known as NZT—that allows people to access 100 percent of their brain's capacity. Soon this aspiring author is finishing books in a few days and making millions through onl
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Calling All Docents
Posted in From Docents - For Docents
July 22, 2012
"The times they are a'changing" – very rapidly. At the 2011 St. Louis Symposium just nine months ago we introduced this new website with the hope that it would become a go-to site for all things related to docents. There is much information about the National Docent Symposium Council, reports from the St. Louis Symposium and preliminary information about the 2013 gathering in San Francisco. To date, the various articles posted here have come through the efforts of our Web Content Comm
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Docent Recruitment
Posted in From Docents - For Docents
May 1, 2012
-- Article by Rena Minisi, docent at the Mingei International Museum, San Diego, CA
Recruiting new docents is always a challenge. There are several museum docent programs which have shared their experiences with the recruitment of new docents. Perhaps you will find ideas that will help the docent program at your museum.
One of the first steps in recruiting new docents is to assess the needs of the museum. How many docents are neede
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