Museum docent is a title given in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

to people who serve as guides and educators for the institutions they serve, usually as a volunteer (unpaid) position. The English word itself is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''docēns'', the present active participle of ''docēre'' (to teach, to lecture). Cognates of this word are found in several extant

Romance Languages The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language fam ...

(and languages influenced by Romance languages) and are often associated with university professors or teachers in general. For example, in Spanish language, the word "docente" (from the same Latin root) means "teacher". In many cases, docents also conduct research utilizing the institution's facilities. The title "docent" is not widely used outside the United States in English languages, with the terms "guide", "facilitator", or "educator" preferred.

United States

''Museum docent'' is a title used in the United States for educators trained to further the public's understanding of the

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

and

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

collections Collection or Collections may refer to: * Cash collection, the function of an accounts receivable department * Collection (church), money donated by the congregation during a church service * Collection agency, agency to collect cash * Collection ...

of the institution, including local and national

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

planetarium A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetarium ...

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for Conservation biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...

s, historical

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

s, and

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

s. Prospective docents generally undergo an intense

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...

process at the expense of the educational institution, which teaches them good communicative and

interpretive __NOTOC__ An interpretive discussion is a discussion in which participants explore and/or resolve interpretations often pertaining to text (literary theory), texts of any medium containing significant ambiguity in meaning. Education Interpretiv ...

skills, as well as introducing them to the institution's collection and its historical significance. They are also provided with reading lists to add to the basic information provided during training, and must then "shadow" experienced docents as they give their

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...

s before ultimately conducting tours on their own.

References

External links

* Museum occupations Guides {{job-stub