Yale Bulletin and Calendar

September 20-27, 1999

Volume 28, Number 5

Cindy Laffee teaches pre-schoolers and school groups about dinosaurs and birds as a docent at the Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Peabody Museum hosting open house
for would-be volunteers

The Peabody Museum of Natural History is inviting individuals interested in natural history to an open house and orientation for prospective volunteers on Thursday, Sept. 23, at 1 p.m.

The event will introduce volunteers to the diversity of the Peabody's collection and to the possibilities for volunteering at the museum. Volunteers will have the opportunity to meet individually with staff and collections managers.

There is a need for volunteers in the following areas:

Docent Teachers

Volunteers are needed to help teach the more than 35,000 schoolchildren that visit the museum throughout the academic year. Prospective docents must have a college degree and enjoy working with children. Candidates will undergo a six-week training program at which teaching techniques and natural history topics will be taught.

BioAction Lab Educators

Volunteers will serve as teachers' aides and will help provide the technical resources to introduce the museum's new mobile BioAction Lab to children in participating New Haven schools (grades 3-6). The Lab is part of a new biodiversity education outreach initiative with New Haven public schools. Volunteers should have an interest in, or knowledge of, life sciences, especially zoology, botany, and biology, an enthusiasm and talent for making science exciting for youngsters, and an interest in teaching students of elementary school age. The minimum volunteer requirement is two to four hours per week, Monday-Friday, between 9 a.m. and noon.

Senior Series Assistants

Volunteers are needed to teach programs on birds, dinosaurs, ancient Egypt, and the "web of life," utilizing the museum's 11 dioramas, as well as provide hands-on craft activities for senior citizens. Programs will be taught at participating New Haven senior centers and to groups on return visits to the museum.

Volunteers should have an interest in, and knowledge of, at least one of the four subject areas, and a desire to enrich the lives of senior citizens. An ability to speak Spanish would be helpful but is not required. The minimum commitment is four hours per month.

Additional volunteer enrichment programs will be held at regular intervals throughout the year and are part of the experience for all volunteers. In addition to the enrichment program, volunteers receive free admission to the museum, free issues of the publication "Peabody Explorer," a 10 percent discount in the museum store and invitations to previews of major exhibitions. The cost for participating in docent training is $35. This fee will be refunded after docents teach their fifth program.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Ex-Secretary of State will present talk at YCIAS

Yale modifies Divinity School renovation plan

New office to help meet needs of University's international scholars

Taste-test to top tribute to insects

Soderstrom to carry on work of his predecessors in OCR

Artist's depictions of Victorian-era Britain featured in show

Cutting dollars for mental health care increased medical costs, study shows

'Seminars help medical students learn how to become 'culturally competent'

Conference to explore diverse topics in women's health

Study shows affect of long-term abuse of cocaine lingers in brain . . .

Blacks undermined by lack of wealth, sociologist argues

Kenneth Starr says post of independent counsel is ineffectual

Biblical figure of Eve is theme of works in Slifka Center exhibit

Staged reading of Shaw's 'Philanderer' to include little-known fourth act

Gerstein's work for Human Genome Project gets $1 million boost from Keck Foundation

New laboratories will seek a cure for spinal cord injuries

Research offers insights into enzyme that makes cancer cells grow

Dr. Harvey Kaetz dies; was internist and oncologist

Memorial service to be held Oct. 1 for Dr. Robert Byck

Benefit will kick off Dr. Mel Goldstein Fund for research on bone marrow cancer

1999-2000 University Directory arriving soon

Peabody Museum hosting open house for would-be volunteers

. . . In the News . . .

New program will bring postdoctoral scholars to Whitney Humanities Center

Talk and dedication open fall Humanities in Medicine series

Allan R. Wagner receives award for scientific work

Yale affiliates featured in 'Books Sandwiched In'

Campus Notes