Docent School

Current and aspiring docents are encouraged to join us for Docent School, a fun and fast-paced way to learn about the wide array of tours we give at Hearthstone. It is also a way to obtain certification to give one or more of our tours and to qualify for an end-of-the-year stipend.

All current and prospective volunteers are welcome at these spring 2025 sessions. Join us every other Tuesday starting on Feb 11 from 6:00-6:30 pm for Docent School to be introduced to one of our tours. Then, stay for a special “Curation Corner” presentation by Lynne Phillips from 6:30-7:00 pm highlighting an interesting, fun, or underappreciated artifact in the museum’s collection.

Greeter duties will also be reviewed at the beginning of the first two sessions.

Tours we will cover

Docent School will cover all of the tours being offered at Hearthstone throughout the year. These are:

  • Regular daytime tour (Feb 11)

  • Grades K-3 Basics of Electricity tour and Operation Everybody in Appleton Public Schools (Feb 25)

  • Grades 4-6 Hydroelectricity and Inventions of Hearthstone tour (Mar 11)

  • Gemeinschaft exhibit tour (Mar 25)

  • Victorian Bad Ideas and Horrors of the Household tour (Apr 8)

  • How Victorians Invented Christmas tour (Apr 22)

  • End of school celebration and stipend awards for 2024 (May 6)

Session Format

Every other week we will spend 30 minutes reviewing a different tour focusing on its unique aspects and other highlights. The sessions will be fast-paced and easy to follow. For each session everyone will receive:

  • Brief overview of the tour.

  • Note cards listing the important points (typically just 5-6 items) to be covered in each room.

  • Full tour script and/or outline.

  • Brief examples of how to give the tour.

  • Link to the full audio tour with voiceover and/or other illustrations where applicable.

Stipends for Docents and Greeters

Hearthstone Historic House Museum could not function without the dedication of our great docents and greeters. Everyone at the museum deeply appreciates you sharing your time and talents and being a part of our tour team. As a tangible way to say thank you, we will be offering stipends for docents and greeters.

In order to be eligible for the $500 stipend for docents in 2024, docents need to volunteer for at least 50 shifts between Feb 1, 2024 and Jan 5, 2025. Please note: One “shift” could be a standard daytime tour shift (9:45 am - 1:00 pm or 12:45 pm - 4:45 pm) where up to two tours are given or a school or specialty tour as listed below where one tour is given.

To qualify, all docent or greeter shifts must be logged in on Volgistics and must be attended. In the rare case where no visitor comes for a regular tour, or another docent is scheduled for a shift as well (docent or house manager), and only one tour is given between the two volunteers, the shift still counts for both volunteers.

If a docent drops in to help give a tour, the shift must be logged on Volgistics afterwards by contacting George to receive credit.

In addition to being certified to give the Regular Daytime Tour, docents may also wish to be trained and certified to give all of the tours listed above. Docents will need (re)certification prior to giving any one of these tours as well.

It is very easy to be certified. Docents and greeters must:

  • Attend or review docent school sessions.

  • Shadow a certified docent or greeter for at least one shift (feel free to shadow additional shifts if you would like).

  • Whenever you feel ready, have George or another staff member shadow you on a tour that you give.