New Canaan Historical Society, New Canaan, Connecticut
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School Program Description:  We need both men and women volunteers to explain how homes were built and demonstrate the process of farming in the Tool Museum, as well as to give Early 19th Century school lessons in Rock School.  We provide tours for groups of children from the first through fifth grades.  The classes are split into 4 groups; each group starts in a different area and is rotated every 30 minutes.  They visit our 1764 farmhouse and the Tool Museum as well as the one-room schoolhouse.  Presentations are given in the Hearth (Colonial kitchen); the craft room (clothing-spinning-weaving); the Tool Museum and Rock School house where students experience education as it was taught in early America.

Need for Volunteer Docents:  Volunteer hours are flexible; we need your help two to four mornings (9:45 a.m. to 12 noon) in both the fall and spring tour seasons.  Children from grades 1 through 7 take part in a two hour tour of our museums.  Docents are needed in each of the four areas.   Each presentation lasts 30 minutes and is given 4 times each tour.   Volunteers choose their interest area, and the Historical Society provides the scripts for a short training session along with a wealth of background information.  Call Janet Lindstrom at 203-966-1776 for more information and a tour of the museums.

Time Committment:  Our museums are open to the public on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday afternoons from 2:00 to 4:00 PM.  Docents are stationed in the Hanford-Silliman House.   Visitors are taken through one or all of the four museum buildings.  Training is also provided for this program.  We ask that volunteer docents be on duty at least one afternoon a month and adhere to that schedule for a twelve month period.

	Library opportunities are available in many areas, including costume, historical, and genealogical research, archival assistance, and working with our many fascinating collections.  The library is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, and the time of service is arranged to suit the times available to volunteers.
Please call 966-1776, or better yet, come in and meet with our librarian to learn how your interests might best be met as a library volunteer.

We have more!  Please call 203-966-1776 for more information about the above programs and to learn about other long and short volunteer projects.

Return to Volunteers page.