Young Docents
Docent: a person who acts as a guide, typically on a voluntary basis, in a museum, art gallery or zoo.—Webster’s Dictionary
Thurber House Young Docent: a fun, outgoing, well-spoken 5th or 6th grader who is trained in all things Thurber and gives guests tours of Thurber House, helps decorate for the holidays, acts out skits and overall have fun!—Thurber House definition
Thurber House is a live museum where guests can step back into time, play the piano, take pictures, and perhaps see a ghost! To keep Thurber’s legacy alive, we train students in 5th and 6th grade all about James Thurber, his family, his works, Thurber House, and of course the ghost stories. Each year ten students are selected and after four Saturday training sessions, they become Young Docents! Throughout the year they will give tours to patrons before our Literary Picnics, to our campers during Summer Camp and other various special occasions.
Being a Young Docent isn’t just about giving tours of Thurber House! Each year they help decorate Thurber House for Halloween and Christmas, perform Thurber works at the Columbus Arts Festival downtown, and have been known to have other fun get-togethers such as our Friday the 13th field trip to Greenlawn Cemetery to see James Thurber’s grave!
We are gearing up for our 2011 class of Young Docents this fall. If you’re around for a Literary Picnic or downtown for the Arts Festival, make sure to catch a tour by one of our Young Docents. I guarantee you it’s a tour you won’t forget!
If you're interested in becoming a Young Docent, email Meg Brown at megbrown@thurberhouse.org.
Just a few of the docents at “work” this year:
Docents in the museum room catching up on Thurber History.
Docents reading at the 2010 Literary Picnic: A Thurber Treat
Docents decorating the outside and inside of Thurber House for the Holidays!
