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Training
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Online Museum Classes
Description:
Volunteers should be considered unpaid staff and, like a staff handbook, a strong volunteer organization should have a volunteer handbook. This course goes beyond understanding various aspects of a volunteer program to putting the volunteer program to paper. Create an outline and some draft text for a handbook providing consistency within the volunteers as well a legal support if ever needed.
Course Outline:
- Purpose of a volunteer handbook
- Job descriptions
- Requirements
- Chain of command
- Policies and Procedures
- Recognition and Benefits
- Dismissal and Grievance Procedure
- Additional considerations
Logistics:
Participants in The Volunteer Handbook work at their own pace through sections and interact through online chats. Instructor Karin Hostetter is available at scheduled times during the course for email support. Fundamentals of Museum Volunteer Programs II - The Volunteer Handbook includes online literature and student-teacher/group-teacher dialog. The course is limited to 20 participants.
The Volunteer Handbook runs six weeks. To reserve a spot in the course, please pay at http://www.collectioncare.org/tas/tas.html If you have trouble please contact Helen Alten at helen@collectioncare.org
The Instructor:
Karin Hostetter has over thirty years experience with
museum education. With a career that includes natural
history museums, cultural history museums (including first
person interpretation), nature centers, and zoos, Ms.
Hostetter is experienced in interpretive writing, program
and curriculum development, and staff and volunteer
training. As a museum educator, she was Curator of
Education for the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife
Sanctuary (McKinney, TX). Among her award-winning
education curricula are several programs she developed for
the education departments during her five years at the
Heard Museum and her twelve years on staff at the Denver
Zoo. As an interpretive writer, Ms. Hostetter has written
text for exhibits, wayside exhibits, visitor brochures, and
professional magazines. Her skill is in making technical
information understandable and meaningful to visitors.
Karin has worked with volunteers throughout her career,
becoming the first paid volunteer coordinator at the Denver
Zoo. Ms. Hostetter taught the National Association for
Interpretation's two-day volunteer management course for
volunteer coordinators and served on their panel about
volunteer programs. She authored a series of articles for
the National Association for Interpretation's Legacy
magazine, providing guidelines for developing and
maintaining a volunteer organization. Ms. Hostetter now
consults with organizations on structuring and improving
volunteer programs.
Over the years, Ms. Hostetter has been
responsible for small animal exhibits and animal care at
both the Heard Museum and the Denver Zoo. She worked with
wild animal rehabilitation and public education animals,
work that included training volunteer animal handlers.
Karin co-founded the Zoos, Wildlife Parks, and Aquaria
special interest section of the National Association for
Interpretation.
Karin Hostetter is owner of Interpret This,
a consulting company specializing in interpretive writing,
program and curriculum development, and volunteer program
management. When she is not consulting with other museums,
she likes to volunteer and contract teach at them with a
special love for preschool and family programs.
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