Meet your colleagues in museums and sites around New England! It’s often too easy for colleagues to feel isolated in their own institutions—we hope this feature will help close the gap. We also hope that it reinforces your own joy in your work and encourages you to recognize your own positive impacts.
In this edition of the NEMA Member Profile, we feature Kimberly Beal, Guest Services/Volunteer Coordinator, Imagine Nation, A Museum Early Learning Center, Bristol, CT.
How did you get into the museum field and what was your path to where you are now?
As a matter of fact, my path began with volunteering. I was in early childhood education while my own children were young and was looking for a way to start building a path to a museum career. I have an interest in history, so I reached out to the Connecticut Historical Society and ended up taking on a long term project reviewing old grant files and creating a database of those records. Over the course of that time, I built relationships, learned a lot about how museums operate, and took some classes at a community college. It eventually led to a job at The Mark Twain House & Museum, where I worked for five years prior to my current position at Imagine Nation, A Museum Early Learning Center.
The Early Learning Center is an integrated part of the Boys & Girls Club of Bristol Family Center. Can you tell us about the partnership? How do you share, split, or manage volunteers?
Imagine Nation, A Museum Early Learning Center is a unique division of the Boys & Girls Club of Bristol Family Center, and is the first children’s museum in the country to be operated by a Boys & Girls Club. Our facility includes a NAEYC Accredited Early Learning School that serves 126 children a day. Both the museum and the early learning center are inspired by and infused with the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education.
Volunteers play a vital role in the daily lives of the children we serve. Together we share resources and talent. Many of the volunteers from the Club help us in a variety of ways. We work closely with the Keystone Club, a leadership group of 14-18 year olds and the Older Member Alumni Group and Women’s Auxiliary. Our volunteers serve as role models to children and youth, and are goodwill ambassadors for the organization.
How do you balance aligning volunteer skills with museum project priorities?
Most of our volunteers work as Studio Assistants, not directly on museum projects. We match them to studio assignments according to skills and interests. We have students from Agriculture Science & Technology programs who help in our Wildlife Studio and art students facilitating our art studio. We are always looking to expand our volunteer program and collaborate with other organizations committed to children and families.
What kind of trainings and checks do you have for your volunteers?
We have a series of training modules for our volunteers – one for facilitating communications and one for each of our unique museum studios. We have volunteers of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, and many come to us through outside agencies. I coordinate any tracking, performance evaluations, etc., that each agency requires. I also stay in close communication with our museum staff, and we meet regularly to evaluate needs, assign volunteers and discuss what is and isn’t working.
Are there different strategies you employ when working with different age groups of volunteers? Any helpful tips?
We definitely have a full range of ages represented here. We regularly bring in a group of middle school students who help with special events. They have an adult mentor who accompanies them and I coordinate with her. I love watching this age group take pride in being trusted as young adults at the same time as they’re invited by the museum environment to have fun and simply be kids. At the other end of the spectrum are our older volunteers – I try to evaluate what they want and are able to do and match them accordingly. It helps to keep a master list of tasks handy so we don’t spend the day hunting for things for volunteers to do.
How do you motivate your volunteers?
I make name tags for all of our volunteers, and I try to always have them ready on their first day. I would not think of this as an especially big deal, but I’ve seen really positive reactions to it. To know on day one that you are being welcomed as a part of our team can be a powerful message, especially for people who haven’t had much of that in their lives. Appreciating volunteers, even with something as seemingly small as a name tag, can go a long way in fostering the relationship.
I also think it’s important to try to understand what brought each person through our door in the first place and to make time to pay attention and listen, even when I don’t have time to listen. I try to ask about the trip they just took, their spouse’s health, the class that’s challenging them, whatever seems relevant. In true non-profit form, my job requires me to wear many different hats, and there are times when I just want to tune out and complete whatever is in front of me. But I remind myself that my number one priority is our volunteers, and I close the spreadsheet and take a moment to listen.
What current trends in the field are you most excited by?
I like that the field is catching up with what Children’s Museums have always known, that visitors of all ages respond best to an immersive, hands-on experience, rather than a “look, don’t touch” treasure box. I’m currently watching from my desk as a small group of families are taking part in a cooking class –everyone is engaged in conversation, enjoying the smells and flavors, and taking pride in mastering the skills being presented. Aside from snapping a photo or two, no one is distracted by a phone – they’re all enjoying a sense of connection – and some really good brownies. I think museums become more relevant and accessible when they find ways to draw visitors towards something experiential.
Can you a share a piece of advice that you would give to someone new to the museum field?
Try to constantly update and improve your computer skills, especially database management. Try to be proactive about tracking the kind of data that your organization will be looking for and be ready to report it. I remind myself of this all the time.
What is on your museum bucket list (sites to see, things to do, places to visit)?
I need an Olympic sized pool to fit my museum bucket list! If I’m in your town and you have a museum, I want to go. I’ve heard amazing things about the Tenement Museum in NY, and will probably visit there next.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Every human being has a gift, and with a little thought and effort, museums can help them find and develop it.
