The Grace Museum is seeking volunteers to join its education team as docents.

“Docents help administer our various education programs to school groups throughout the year,” said Pam Harman, director of education for The Grace, in a news release. “You don’t need to have a background in art or history to be a docent. You just need to love children and believe in the importance of educating them about the culture that surrounds us.”

The museum needs two types of docents. Tour docents give tours of art galleries, the History Museum and Children’s Museum. The time commitment includes two hours of training every month to learn about new exhibits, plus time spent giving tours as needed.

Outreach docents go into the schools to teach art lessons to third- and fourth-grade students eight times a year. Training varies from month to month, and the average time spent in the schools is between six-10 hours a month.

“All new docents attend two orientation sessions where they receive training in art history and art techniques. Tour docents receive training in tour techniques, while outreach docents receive training in hands-on classroom art instruction. New docents also observe two tours/outreach visits before being asked to give tours/outreach visits on their own,” added Harman.

“We want the experience of being a docent to be rewarding for you. Docent training is a form of continuing education, and we strive to introduce you to new artists, new skills, and new experiences. We often invite artists and local scholars to speak at docent training. And we periodically take field trips to other museums in the surrounding area. Plus, docent training is a great opportunity to meet other fascinating people in Abilene.”

The next docent orientation course begins Aug. 26 and continues Aug. 28. If you are interested in becoming a tour docent or outreach docent at The Grace Museum, contact Harman at (325) 673-4587 or pam@thegracemuseum.org before Aug. 20.