National Docents Symposium Council
Dedicated to providing an ongoing forum for docent education and the exchange of ideas since 1981
Keep the Exchange Alive!
The 20th biennial National Docent Symposium in Washington, D.C. was a resounding success thanks to the Smithsonian’s Freer|Sackler Galleries of Asian Art and the entire NDS2019 team!
Now we ask you to join us in our very first fundraising campaign. Our goal is to raise $20,000 by the end of this year to “keep the exchange alive," plan future symposia and replenish our education grant fund. Will you help us reach our goal?
We work constantly to “keep the exchange alive” for YOU! Check out a few examples of our impact:
- Explore and download the breakout presentations from the Washington, D.C. symposium.
- Enjoy a video tour and highlights of the Washington, D.C. Symposium.
- Meet the Council members, including ten new members elected in 2019, and those who are already planning our next Symposium.
- Read about the five Education Grants that were awarded to help first-time attendees experience the 2019 Symposium.
- Join the conversation and share ideas by contributing an article for this website or joining the National Docents Forum on Facebook.
If you have found the Symposium energizing, if the Symposium experience and the resources provided freely on this website have helped you, if you feel good about making new friends within the larger docent/guide community, we repeat our question to you… will you help us reach our goal?
Current and retired Council members have endorsed the campaign by donating or pledging over $6,000 during our pre-launch. As you consider your year-end giving please visit our donor page. Every gift helps and is greatly appreciated.
Madelyn Mayberry, President, National Docent Symposium Council
It takes the collaboration of many to make a successful symposium, and the Washington, D.C. Symposium, Capitalizing on Experience, was absolutely a rousing success! The National Docent Symposium Council extends sincere gratitude to the host site, the Smithsonian’s Freer|Sackler Galleries of Asian Art, their director and staff, and the volunteers from the Freer|Sackler and from their many partners from other museums in the Smithsonian family and sister museums in the Washington DC area. Most particular thanks go to Symposium co-chairs Pat Morgan, Tom Gage, and Susan White for their tireless efforts in the years, months and weeks leading up to the Symposium and throughout the days we spent in Washington DC. Thank you for an unforgettable and rewarding experience!
Find PowerPoint Presentations and Handouts from the Washington D.C. Symposium and several past symposia at the Symposia menu tab above or click here
More Docent News/Sharing Ideas and Experience
Docents at the Utah Museum of Art share the use of the "pendant format" in Power Couples exhibition. (Fall 2019)
Now available in two versions, digital and print.
For more information and ordering instructions, click this LINK.
New Contributions (Fall 2019)
Many docents are adventurous travelers. We continue a series on docent travels to unique places and interesting museums with a journey to Kenya and Tanzania.
Take a video tour of Holland with a docent from Crystal Bridges Museum.
More Travel Stories from Docents: Homes and Historic Sites in the Eastern United States; Amsterdam; Twin Cities; Malta: Scenery, History and Art.
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NDS 2019 Washington D.C.
October 24 - 27, 2019
Registration is closed.
