Greetings from Canada -
I also work in a small museum.  Our focus is on local history rather than
science, but I assume that you have the same problem that we have,
interested students but little money.  Most of our instructors are recruited
from local interest associations (eg our genealogy courses are taught by
members of the BC Genealogy Association) and professional associations.
They really are the best since they already have a sincere interest in the
topic and are willing to run the courses for a small honorarium - we feel
that this is necessary since our museum is located 'off the beaten track'
and it can take some time for people to get to us.  Another way to offset
the cost of an instructor, is to offer to pay for thier materials such as
photocopying.  Finally, have you tried recruiting instructors from a
university/college teaching program?  They are often willing to volunteer
their time in return for a line in their resume.  We have also found that
they can be very helpful in designing as well as delivering programs.
Hope this helps you -  let me know if I can be of further assistance and if
these tips paid off.  Please contact me off-list at [log in to unmask]

K. Linda Tzang
West Vancouver Museum & Archives


-----Original Message-----
From: Mary Sheila McMahon <[log in to unmask]>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.museum-l
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: February 1, 1999 11:07 AM
Subject: Teachers for Classes


>Greetings to all.
>        Does anyone have any experience recruiting teachers for Saturday or
after-
>school classes?  We are a small museum which focuses on the history of
science
>and technology.  We would love to expand our class roster and have lots of
>eager
>students, but are having trouble coming up with: a) teachers willing to
either
>volunteer their time or accept a small stipend/honorarium (basically the
fees
>charged for the class); b) teachers who feel comfortable teaching science-
>related courses.  Does anyone have a program for training museum teachers?
>I'd appreciate any suggestions.  Thanks.
>
>Mary Sheila McMahon
>Museum of American Heritage
>Palo Alto, CA
>