Los Alamos Historical Society

Do you love history? Do you love Los Alamos? The Los Alamos History Museum is looking for dedicated volunteers to serve in our Guest Cottage & Bethe House as docents. Docents need to be friendly and welcoming and willing to serve for a four-hour shift (9am-1pm/1pm-5pm). As the face of our museum, docents also have the opportunity to volunteer for various events and festivals throughout the year, representing the Los Alamos History Museum or on our educational event team. All volunteers go through a training program and shadow a seasoned volunteer, so stay tuned for our volunteer training events!

Guest Cottage

The following traits and skills are helpful for our volunteer docents in the Guest Cottage (our main museum site):

• Friendly and welcoming to visitors
• Love of Los Alamos History
• Knowledge about the Museum campus and the town
• Ability to communicate with people of different ages and backgrounds
• Organization and the ability to multitask while taking money and giving instructions
• Comfortable using or learning to use the Museum payment system (Square/iPad)

Volunteers in our Guest Cottage are often the first ones to interact with visitors. Your job is to welcome visitors upon entrance into the museum. Guest Cottage volunteers take payment from museum visitors and work the small museum shop. Knowledge about Los Alamos' history is important so that you can answer questions and explain some of our history, including that of the buildings that are part of the museum campus.

Hans Bethe House

The following traits and skills are helpful for our volunteer docents in the Hans Bethe House:

• Friendly and welcoming to visitors
• Love of Los Alamos History and the Cold War era
• Knowledge about the Museum campus and the town
• Ability to communicate with people of different ages and backgrounds
• Organization and the ability to stay on task

The exhibits within the Hans Bethe House are dedicated to the Cold War era. Your job is to welcome visitors as they enter the house, provide some background information, and answer any questions that may arise. Some visitors may enter the Bethe House before the main museum; your job is to explain where the main museum entrance is located and direct patrons to purchase a museum entrance ticket. Within the Bethe House, you need to be knowledgeable of the Cold War era and general Los Alamos history. Familiarity with downtown Los Alamos is helpful, as visitors will often ask for advice on where to eat or go next while they are in town.