04/01/2008: "Whale Museum Docent Training Program"

Friday Harbor, Wash. –Join the Whale Museum team! This opportunity is perfect for people who want to learn about the marine environment and their relationship to it.

Meet people from around the world, learn new information and skills, and enhance the visitor experience by sharing this knowledge as museum Exhibit Hall Docent. Training includes classroom natural history of local marine mammals, human impacts on our marine ecosystem, as well as successful strategies for working with the public.

Capitalizing on the charisma of whales, docents present these animals as ambassadors for conservation. By utilizing artifacts, text panels, and hands-on specimens, docents will be able to explain to visitors the characteristics of a marine mammal, what marine mammals live in the area, and the interactions between humans and whales over time.

Training sessions are held monthly April though August; the next training session is Thursday, April 17, 2008, 6:00pm – 9:00pm at The Whale Museum, 62 First St. N. The fee for this program is $25 for non-members to cover materials costs and is free for current museum members. This program is for potential volunteers aged 14 and over. For more information or to sign up, please call Nikki Ruggiero, Volunteer Coordinator, at 378-4710 extension 28.

Founded in 1979, The Whale Museum’s mission is to promote stewardship of whales and the Salish Sea ecosystem through education and research. In addition to providing exhibits, the Museum also provides programs including: the Orca Adoption Program, Soundwatch Boater Education, Marine Naturalist Training, San Juan Islands Marine Mammal Stranding Network, and the Whale Hotline. The Whale Museum can be found on-line at www.whalemuseum.org.