Rocklin History Museum hosts docent training course

The Rocklin History Museum is working to take away the intimidation of being docent with a new museum training class. A docent is a museum volunteer who acts as a guide for visitors. Without docent volunteers, Rocklin History Museum's stories will permanently go away. The new museum volunteer training class aims to present everything you always wanted to know about volunteering at the Rocklin History Museum, but may have been afraid to ask. There will be two upcoming volunteer/docent trainings. The first training, scheduled for Wednesday, July 24, from 10 a.m. to noon at the museum, will offer an overview of what is expected of docents along with an introduction to the resources available to volunteers and the public. A second training is being planned for October. Both trainings will cover the basics of what is expected of a docent as well as answer questions about the history of Rocklin as presented in the various exhibits. Each docent will receive a handbook that summarizes what is in the museum as well as stories to share about Rocklin's history. Docent responsibilities include opening the museum each Saturday and Sunday afternoon to visitors, answering questions about exhibits and sharing stories of the families, individuals who settled in the area and the quarry and railroad history associated with the town. The training doesn't stop there, however. After the two-hour session, trainees will be invited to shadow docents during active museum hours. New volunteers will then be paired with a "seasoned" docent for a regular three-hour shift; volunteers work in pairs whenever the museum is open to the public. For more information or to register for the July 24 training, contact Bonnie Neumann at bonnieneu50@gmail.com.