Education volunteers present a variety of school programs to over 6,000 elementary and secondary students per year. School programs vary in length from one to two hours and are presented by one or two volunteers. School programs are highly interactive: volunteers engage students with questions and lead discussions while touring museum displays, help students with program activities, and supervise the handling of objects in the teaching collection.

Education volunteers also present live digital programs. These programs generally run 45 minutes on a live camera stream and provide an opportunity to engage with the students while showing specified objects from the museum’s teaching collection. The session ends with a question-and-answer period for the students.

School programs are delivered Tuesdays to Fridays, throughout the school year (September–mid-December; January– early June). While there are no school programs in July and August, additional summertime volunteer opportunities are available to Education volunteers.

Education volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds. The ideal volunteer should:

• Be enthusiastic, energetic and enjoy working with children and teens
• Be patient, flexible, and willing to work with children and teens of varying ability levels
• Be able to volunteer during regular school hours
• Have strong interest in First Nations/Indigenous culture and issues both historical and contemporary
• Have an interest in museums
• Be able to commit to several hours per week during training
• Be able to commit to two to three hours one day a week following training

Training:

All new volunteers are required to attend all sessions of MOA 101: Introductory Training Seminar (dates TBA) and participate in an extensive and supportive training program that will prepare them to deliver school programs. They will train with experienced Education Committee volunteers and MOA staff.

Education volunteers learn two programs designed for Grades 3–6. Training for the first program takes place from October to December and the second program from February to April. New volunteers will complete this training and be available to present both tours by the end of the first year.

Commitment:

• Three hours per week, from September to June
• Attend Education Committee meetings, six times a year, which usually take place before VA general meetings
• Attend VA general meetings, six times a year