January 13, 2010
By Jessie Millerson
The deadline for submitting a guide training application is JANUARY 20th. Guide traininng is scheduled to begin February 13th.
Everybody is different, but to a friend of mine seeing and doing new things has a lot to do with enjoyment, adventure, discovery, learning, socialization, sharing and personal growth. The friend is a guide at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in northeast Phoenix.
Photo courtesy Musical Instrument Museum.
My friend is not a musician. In fact, as a kid he preferred playing baseball with his buddies to taking piano lessons, which was his Mom’s unfulfilled desire. She earned an “A” for effort but absorbed a “STRIKE THREE!” on the piano lessons. Her consolation prize was that years later her son played drums in the high school band.
Who besides failed baseball players, like my friend, volunteer as a guide at the MIM. There are retired teachers, marketing, sales, medial, library, engineering, retail professionals, non–musicians, musicians of various skill levels and young people who pitch in for summer programs. Almost all of them find personal satisfaction in introducing young and old guests alike to the real world of differing cultures, histories and musical instruments.
Guides at the MIM seem to enjoy the positive energy and feedback that they get from adults and/or kids who are on vacation or a school trip and are being exposed to something very special, the wider world they live in. My guide friend says that it’s also gratifying to know that he is part of a vibrant organization that in less than ten years has become a top tourist venue in the Phoenix area, attracting more and more visitors from around the world.
My friend recalled his interview with a member of the MIM’s volunteer department. He was asked, “How flexible are you?” It’s a good question. The MIM provides considerable flexibility in guiding and personal scheduling opportunities. What you do and when you do it is to a large extent up to you. When you are considering donating your time to an organization, two thing to ascertain are 1) how good is its training? and 2) do they know how to say, “thank you.” When you are thinking about volunteering education and appreciation are huge, like the globe we live on.
To get started on your personal discovery tour, click on the link below and scroll down to “Museum Guide” to review the relevant pages in MIM’s website.
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