Please note: Your Symposium Registration includes ONE Breakout from EACH Session, for a total of 4 Breakout Sessions.

Reimagining Docent Training (This Breakout Session is FULL)

Phoenix Art Museum

Discover ways to streamline your docent training program to make it more flexible, relevant, and accessible to a broader pool of prospective docents. Concrete steps will be shared that ensure that a docent program produces prepared, inspired Docents who are ready to engage and connect with diverse Museum visitors.

Art for Social Emotional Learning

Weatherspoon Art Museum

Incorporate mindfulness practices and slow looking at selected art works to encourage development of emotional intelligence. These tour strategies can be learned virtually and in person once we are back together in the museum.

Docent Diversity and Engagement (This Breakout Session is FULL)

High Museum of Art

Explore ways to increase the diversity of your docent corps. Strategies for recruitment, training and retention of diverse docent groups will be discussed. Additionally, explore how to gain the support and collaboration with your Education Staff in developing a successful docent program that interacts with and welcomes diverse audiences.

Art + Science Student Tours (This Breakout Session is FULL)

Art Institute of Chicago

Be introduced to the 5 parts of the Art + Science tour through the demonstration of this interactive experience targeted to middle schoolers. This tour emphasizes the numerous connections between art and sciences and how students might become practitioners of either role. Artists of various ethnicity, gender and cultural backgrounds will be introduced in the demonstration.

Virtual Travel & Making Connections

The Walters Museum of Art

Explore docent enrichment through organizing virtual tours of museums throughout the world. You will learn techniques for connecting with and creating reciprocal opportunities with museums domestically and abroad and through creating conversations among docents.

From Land to Virtual Footprints

Rancho Los Alamitos Historic Ranch and Gardens

Learn how a 4th-grade school tour called Footprints on the Land was transformed successfully into a virtual program that served more students than the original in-person program.

Art for All

Milwaukee Art Museum

Learn about the Art for All program and its applicability to other museums. Join presenters in exploring some real-world tour scenarios, sampling a facilitated conversation, and considering DEAI topics such as racism, inclusive vocabulary, trauma-informed care, and social emotional learning.

Visual Arts for Young Minds

Harn Museum of Art

Learn how to engage early learners through touring strategies that use hands-on team activities to focus on the “Language of Art” (e.g., color, line, shape), and concepts such as landscape, still life and cityscape.

Opening Up Through Improvisation

Dallas Museum of Art

Open up your mind and body through a series of fun vocal warm-ups and basic improv exercises geared towards connecting you with museum visitors and becoming even more comfortable as the center of attention. These techniques are especially useful when introducing yourself and getting to know your tour groups.