Museum Docents
By Bob Havens
March 2018 - The EAA Aviation Museum is one of the very best in the country. It is by far the most complete when it comes to emphasizing homebuilding and innovation in general aviation. As we look to the future, there will be many improvements and additions that will enhance the visitor experience. One of the ways we are improving the experience is by having docents available whenever we have visitors.
So what is a docent? We are volunteers who educate. We inform museum visitors of what is in the museum, spark their interest in aviation, and direct them to items that will answer their questions about aviation. We also answer their questions about specific aircraft. We create enthusiasm about EAA and our history. We are probably the only group of volunteers who are at EAA every day of the year.
At the present time, we have approximately 60 docents. Of this group, we have 22 registered tour guides. The tour guides conduct tours of the museum for many types of groups including school groups, corporate groups, or any other group of at least 10 people.
We conducted 519 tours in 2017. This was a record year for us compared to 2016, itself a record year, when we conducted 421 tours. In January 2018 we had 36 tours, which was an increase of 150 percent over the previous January.
We also participate in all of the special events that are conducted in the museum including Family Flight Fest, the Skiplane Fly-In, Space Day, Christmas in the Air, and EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. We are also present for corporate events, the Aviation Adventure Speaker Series, movie nights, and the Wright Brothers Dinner as needed.
There are numerous benefits to being a docent, and we would very much like for you to join us. We offer a training program for docents and a separate training assistance for tour guides.
Our requirements are quite simple in that we only request that you work two sessions per month and are at two separate events per year. If you would like more information or want to become a docent, please complete the application on the website, or contact Chris Henry at 920-426-6853 or Bob Havens at 920-475-3482.
