Slater Museum of Natural History seeks Politics & Government docents!

I'm the Education and Outreach Specialist at our university's Slater Museum of Natural History. In addition to being a valuable repository of over 90,000 plant and animal specimens from around the world, the Slater works to enrich knowledge and appreciation of natural history, both at UPS and in our larger community. Every year, dozens of student docents are invaluable members of our team. Docents develop and deliver public events on and off campus, assist with our successful Nature in the Classroom elementary education program, and --this year more than ever-- are invited to participate in exhibit design and fabrication.

I am reaching out to many departments in the hopes of generating a diverse, interdisciplinary docent team for this year. There are two upcoming opportunities for students to learn more about docenting at the Slater: A Docent Interest Meeting on Sept. 7, 6-7 PM; and a Docent Bootcamp on Sunday, September 18 from 9-3. ​(The bootcamp involves free food!) Both take place at the museum: Thompson rm. 295. 

Politics & Government students would provide valuable insight into connections between, well, politics, government, and natural history-- especially at the local level. (Of course, much of the practice of natural history has historically revolved around power and exploitation.) These students' perspectives would enrich our public events, educational outreach, and exhibits. Additionally, students interested in gaining experience interacting with the public or working in a museum setting would benefit greatly from participating with Slater.

Angela Mele
Slater Museum of Natural History
Education and Outreach
http://www.pugetsound.edu/slatermuseum