Volunteer House Docent

House Docent

Volunteer Job Description 

Chief Objectives of the Position: 

Our House Docents volunteer within the Public Programs Department to enrich Historic London Town and Garden’s visitor experience by keeping the site’s original 1760s brick tavern (the William Brown

• Answer guest questions about the house and Historic London Town and Gardens.
• Discuss potentially contentious site history (slavery, the almshouse period, etc).
• Manage visitor flow on busier days
• Enforce site rules (i.e. no dogs in the WBH)
• Be an enthusiastic and engaging presence that helps guests form a deeper connection to the site.
• Continually research and refresh oneself on the history of London Town through reading site-provided books, articles, and handbooks.
• House) open to the public during opening hours. Docents also act as a resource that guests can tap into to learn more about particular objects, people, and stories they become interested in as they explore the house.
• Responsibilities: 
• Attend docent trainings.
• Inform staff members of any notable challenges or incidents that took place during the shift
• Unlock and lock the William Brown House (WBH) at the beginning and end of their volunteer shift.
• Remain present in the WBH for the duration of a three-hour shift.

Skills/Physical & Environmental Requirements: 

• Ability to work with the public and speak to visitors of all ages, and backgrounds
• Ability to tackle challenging and sometimes contentious subject matter.
• Enthusiasm for creating interactive experiences for visitors that are relevant to their lives, connect with them emotionally, are thought provoking, and
• include multiple perspectives.
• Ability to walk up and down the steps of the WBH.

Schedule: 

• In order to be considered a house docent, one must sign up for two 3-hour shifts per month. These shifts are from 10-1 and 1-4, Tuesday

Sat, with an occasional need for Sunday docents during larger festival weekends. Docents sign up for their shifts via on a monthly first come first serve basis.

Docents must also complete a training period which will consist of attending a generalized new docent training session, shadowing 2 shifts with an experienced docent, and successfully completing a shift shadowed by a staff member.

Reports to:  

Director of Public Programs

Compensation: 

• Member pricings for our events
• Member discounts at our gift shop

London Town’s Mission as a Museum and Public Site: 

Historic London Town and Gardens is operated by the London Town Foundation (a nonprofit entity). As such, our job is to ensure that we appropriately manage our historic, archaeological, and horticultural resources. We work with the Anne Arundel County government and other heritage organizations to promote London Town as an educational resource while ensuring the site’s sustainability for future visitors.