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BECOME A DOCENT AT PACIFIC BONSAI MUSEUM

Want to help share the art of bonsai with tens of thousands of visitors from around the world? Become a docent! We’re looking for docents that love working with the public and enjoy learning about the art of bonsai. No bonsai experience necessary.

Docents are trained volunteers who engage with visitors in the Museum to help them better understand the living art of bonsai. Serving as ambassadors to the Museum, docents help visitors interact with both our permanent collections and our temporary exhibits. Docents also lead tours to school and community groups.

Responsibilities

Greet visitors
Walk the collection, answering questions and directing visitors
Lead tours (virtual & in-person, when safe to do so) to groups of 10 or more, including school groups
Answer questions on Museum facilities and local area attractions
Encourage visitor participation in Museum programs (events, membership, etc.)
Participate in the docent training program
Commit to at least two (4) shifts a month of four (4) hours each, April - October, including two training sessions (typically three hours each)

Docent Training

Docents are required to attend two-three trainings at the Museum and shadow a current docent for 2-3 shifts before they are given their own shifts.

Continuing Education

The Museum is committed to the continuing education of its docents beyond the initial training. Docents are given the opportunity to further their learning through demonstrations, excursions and online learning, and continuing education is designed to inform docents of topics related to special exhibitions, the permanent collection, and essential skills as communicators/teachers to the public.

Benefits

The joy of meeting and interacting with visitors from all over the world
Being part of a team of skilled educators who love to connect people with the living art of bonsai
Personal and intellectual growth. Docents have continuing opportunities to learn about art, bonsai, the collection, teaching, and learning.

Requirements

Enthusiasm and flexibility for being part of our Docent Program
A love of art, bonsai and/or teaching
Ability to engage meaningfully with members of our diverse community
Excellent communicator
A willingness to learn, discover and be surprised by the art of bonsai
Reliability and commitment
Internet connectivity and ability to participate in virtual tours and trainings (via Zoom)

Contact Shayla at shayla@pacificbonsaimuseum.org or 253.353.7345 with any questions

About Pacific Bonsai Museum

MISSION

Pacific Bonsai Museum connects people to nature through the living art of bonsai.

HISTORY

Weyerhaeuser Company opened the Collection in 1989, in conjunction with the Washington State Centennial celebration. The Collection was established to symbolize Weyerhaeuser’s long-term commitments to its customers, its

community, and its forest resources. At the end of 2013 the corporation gifted the entire collection to a new non-profit, The George Weyerhaeuser Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection, now known as the Pacific Bonsai Museum.

DISPLAY

A grand outdoor setting with the elegance of a fine museum, the Museum boasts over 150 bonsai and the most diverse public collection in North America with trees from Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the United States. Approximately sixty trees are on display at a time and are rotated depending on the season, current exhibits and care schedules.

The Museum buildings were designed by Hoside Wenzer Architects of Seattle. The displays were created by the landscape architects of Berger Partnership of Seattle.