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By: Claudia King
Photography: Courtesy of the Heritage Farmstead Museum
Date Posted: 1/28/2010
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Volunteer at: The Heritage Harmstead Museum in Plano
Looking for a fun way to enjoy time outside, learn about history—and help out the community? Consider spending some time volunteering at Plano’s Heritage Farmstead Museum. The museum, which was originally built as a farmhouse in 1891, sees more than 30,000 visitors every year and sits on 4.5 acres of land. The museum’s educational programs are top-notch too, with tours, Scout workshops, preschool classes and more.
Angie Carroll, the museum’s volunteer coordinator, and museum director of education Kathy Strobel say they hope the museum’s volunteers (adults and children ages 12 and older) will gain an appreciation for Collin County’s past.
“We have many ‘teaching’ opportunities at the farm
, and training is provided,” Carroll says. “We need docents for our tours: the Plano ISD third-grade children’s tour; Farmer Duck tour; Sarah Plain and Tall Tour; our Tag-a-Long Tom Tour; and our daily public tour. Our docents range in age from 13 years old to 90 years old! Our volunteers are also encouraged to bring their families and enjoy our grounds.”
Children 12 and older are welcome at the museum’s Volunteer Saturdays (from 9am-12pm the third Saturday of every month). The museum asks volunteers to commit to at least a year to get the full benefit of the training. “We offer docent training that teaches how to lead a group through the Heritage Farmstead Museum, and we provide a full docent manual filled with historic
facts,” Carroll says. “Docent trainees and volunteers also get the opportunity to shadow current docents to see where they might fit best.”
The museum is a nonprofit organization with a limited staff, which, Carroll says, makes volunteers so important. “Our volunteers help us get our message to the public,” she says. “We would not be successful without their support in the garden, giving tours, helping with special events, caring for our animals and helping with many other areas of the museum. We hope our volunteers realize their importance in preserving our past. They will touch our children in a way they have never experienced because they will make history come alive at our nationally accredited Landmark Museum.”
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