Although it had always used volunteers from the day it
opened in 1939, Pittsburgh's original Buhl Planetarium
and Institute of Popular Science (1939-1991) began an
aggressive effort to procure volunteers in February of
1983. One of the target audiences was young people.

Many high school students came to Buhl Planetarium to
volunteer in the 1980s and early 1990s. Many of these
students, interested in Astronomy and the Physical
Sciences, were quite pleased to have the opportunity
to work with professionals in their field of interest.

One student, Yuri Saito, was a very active volunteer.
Today, she is a physician and medical researcher at
the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
You can read more about her, and see a photograph of
her at the Buhl Planetarium Observatory Console [which
was published on the front page of a 1987 issue of the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) at this link:

< http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/#YAS >

In addition, an elementary school student, Katherine
Roolf, who volunteered with her father and high
school-aged sister (Buhl Planetarium allowed younger
volunteers, accompanied by a parent or guardian),
became so interested in Astronomy that she recently
participated in the California and Carnegie Planet
Search Project, with her San Francisco State
University professor, including a working visit to a
major astronomical observatory in Chile. You can read
more about how Buhl Planetarium spurred her interest
in Astronomy at this link:

<
http://buhlplanetarium4.tripod.com/friendsofthezeiss/HRCnom/support/KRZeiss3.htm
>

Our volunteer program did not differ that much for any
particular age group [except for the aforementioned
younger students]. In addition to having a lot of high
school and some college students, we also had quite a
few senior citizens, as well as a fair number of
middle-aged volunteers [often employed in the
sciences].

From time-to-time, we scheduled special events for the
volunteers. I scheduled a tour for volunteers and
staff members to visit the University of Pittsburgh's
major research observatory, Allegheny Observatory,
located about three miles north of Buhl Planetarium.
The response to this was so great, I had to
immediately schedula a second tour [as tours are
restricted to 60 people per night].

Also, some times recreational outings were planned for
staff and volunteers. This included an almost annual
rafting trip on the white-waters of the Youghiogheny
River at Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, located in the
Allegheny Mountains about 50 miles southeaast of
Pittsburgh.

I hope this information helps. Let me know if you have
any specific questions.

gaw

--- Anne Carlson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 06:31:45 -0800 
From:  "Anne Carlson" <[log in to unmask]> 
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] high school volunteers 
To: [log in to unmask]

> All,
> 
> Along with my request for assistance with developing
> a
> high school internship program, I would also be
> interested in learning how museums procure high
> school
> volunteers.  How does your volunteer program/policy
> differ for high school age volunteers?  Any advice
> you
> can offer would be greatly appreciated.  
> 
> Thanks,
> Anne
> 
> Anne Carlson
> Curator
> Sam Rayburn House Museum
> Bonham, TX
> [log in to unmask]
> 
> 
> 12/13/06
> Two questions for everyone in Museumland:
> 
> Can anyone provide some guidance on the development
> of
> a high school internship program?  I'm guessing we
> would need to meet with the school's principal or
> guidance counselor to set something up.  If you have
> had high school interns in the past at your
> institution, when did they actually put in hours? 
> During the summer or on Saturdays?  Any advice?  
> 
> Also, we've been considering using magnetic paint in
> our exhibit galleries.  I've been told that larger
> art
> museums in the U.S. use this method.  Has anyone had
> any success with it?  I'd be interested to hear some
> real-world experiences.
> 
> Thanks,
> Anne
> 
> Anne Carlson
> Curator
> Sam Rayburn House Museum
> Bonham, TX
> [log in to unmask]

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh
Electronic Mail - < [log in to unmask] >
NEWS - Astronomy, Space, Science:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh: 
  < http://www.planetarium.cc > 
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago: 
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer & Optician John A. Brashear: 
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com > 
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries: 
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc > 
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh: 
  < http://www.incline.cc >

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