The Mission of the National Docent Symposium Council is to promote continuous improvement in docent practice by facilitating communication and collaborative interaction among U.S. and Canadian volunteer docent/guides. This is accomplished through biennial symposia, sales of The Docent Handbook and with our interactive website www.nationaldocents.org and the National Docents Forum closed Facebook group.

A VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION

The NDSC board of directors is made up of active docents/guides from cultural institutions throughout the United States and Canada. The directors serve a 4-year term at their own expense attending annual board meetings and the biennial symposium. Meet our Board of Directors.

RECRUITMENT OF DIRECTORS

Consider serving on the NDSC board.

OUR HISTORY

Docents at the Indianapolis Museum of Art organized the first nationwide meeting of docents in 1981. A second symposium was held in 1983 at the Milwaukee Art Museum and a third in1985 at the Oakland Museum. At this time, it was believed necessary that a permanent advisory board be established to ensure continuation of the symposium which, since then, has been held every other year at a museum in the United States or Canada.  See List of Symposium Host Sites. Please see historical timeline of our NDSC organization.

The NDSC is a 501 c 3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing an ongoing forum for docent/guide education and the exchange of ideas since 1981. See a brief summary of annual income and expenses.

We appreciate your engagement and support. We are eager to continue our mission to meet the needs of docents, guides and educators. Please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to tell us what we can do for you. Consider a donation to support the work of the NDSC.