LAS GUIAS NOTICIAS
To Guides from the Education Department October 2013
Heard Museum Guide Schedule:http://heard.org/education/volunteers/schedule.html
From Lynn’s Desk…………
Many thanks to all of the Las Guias members who listened to my pitch for Books & More at the October7thmeeting! You can make a tremendous difference in our sales just by “guiding” people into the bookstore by mentioning some of the titles we carry – and that there are lots more to look at! Please do stop by and checkout our selection of more than 2,500 titles for both adults and kids.
New this month – and actually for the first time ever –is our Georgia O’Keeffe Exhibit Shop. It’s located right next to the exhibit, so pleasetake a look.If this venture is successful,that space will continue to be an exhibit-specific shop as exhibits change.
Please also take note of the attached list of books for “Cuentos” which will be available for sale atBooks & More. Although a few of the titles turned out to be out of print, we were able to find mostof them.Please don’t confuse this list with the Library’s bibliography, which may include some of the out of print books.This should be a fun family exhibit, so bring your kids and grandkids to both the exhibit and Books & More!!!
From Diane’s Desk………….
First Ed.Council Meeting of the Year
Nov.16th at 1:00pm, the afternoon of guild meeting.
Open to all Las Guias members. Get together with your fellow guides. We will hear from the Museum Ed.Staff and you will have an opportunity to ask questions and offer new ideas.Mostly it’s fun to share our touring stories.
Don’t miss a great opportunity to attend Shaliyah’s School Tour Training Seminar. You will be learning from the best as she takes you through each gallery and points out what would interest children of all ages. School Tour Training Seminar on November 7 at 9:30 am in the Dorrance Education Center classroom.
From Shaliyah’s Desk……….
It was great to see all of you at the Education Exchange Day.For this Month’s Noticias I will highlight and reiterate what I went over at the Exchange Day.
Las Guias Friends and Family Tours
These special tours are offered to all active Las Guias as a perfect way to show off your talent to family andfriends.This is a special tour offering so please be sure to call me (Shaliyah Ben @ 602-251-0259) in order to set up your tour; do not call adult tours. LG-Friends and Family tours allow your guests to enjoy the museum at $13 per adult and a waived guided tour fee.All tours require two weeks advance notice.Please be aware that for this special tour option that you will be the guide for the group!When you are interested in booking please call and have the following information available:
*Desired tour date and time
*Number of people attending (members and non members)
Call for Guides
Evie and I put out a call for guides to help fill in days that were bare bones. Thank you to all who amended their weekly schedules to help us out.While on topic about guides needed this will be an offical inquiry to see if anyone would be interested in joining the Heard North Guides group. If you are located in and around the Scottsdale area and are interested pleaselet me know.
O’Keeffe –GalleryTalk
It was decided that the O’Keeffe exhibition will not be a 1 pm tour option.The 1 pm daily tour will remain a HOME public tour.What I will be doing because of the popularity of the exhibit is to start next week (October 27-November 2) assigning Gallery Talks in the am and pm in O’Keeffe.Gallery Talks in Quentos will start being assigned a week after (November 3 -10).
On the Floor Manner
I know personally how appealing and fun it may be to stand around and chit chat with friends in between tours at the info desk.Let’s try and rove a bit more!I know some need to rest and sit in between tours and understand that, however if you find yourself able please do make an effort to rove the galleries, engage with the public and remember to stock the galleries as this is also a part of your duties while on your shift.
As per our policy only Las Guias trained guides and student guides are given the green light to tour at the Heard.If you find someone who is touring and is not LG or a student guide please notify someone in Education and do not engage with the group.This brings me to another topic that I’ve heard mentioned a few times.For the duration of the O’Keeffe exhibit we are obligated to provide two security guards on duty at all times.That is 9:30 am to 5 pm each day; no wonder the guards are anxious to share information with our guests.Personally I do not find it harmful as long as they are #1 paying attention to their duty in guarding the wonderful works and #2 not interrupting or disturbing guided tours in progress.I will inform them to not engage while tours are taking place; however for the time being and for the few times that I am aware it has happened I will not make a big issue of it.
Another item I brought up at the Edu Exchange Day was that we all need to be nice to admissionsstaff.They are not the people to go to if you are frustrated with your duties, or if you are upset at another guide, or just upset in general.They don’t have any additional information than the schedule that I give them.I am here as well as Jaclyn or Darian if you need anything. Also, please be respectful of your fellow guides.
As we all know some days are slower than others.In 1998 when I started touring if our group was too small to spilt we did “tag team” touring.I know that some of you may not like the idea, or not like to “share” a tour however this is something that will need to be done.On a lighter note it actually isn’t a bad idea.After giving 100+ tours often times it can become tiresome or dull to repeat the same thing over and over.The best thing about Las Guias guides is that we are all equally passionate about American Indian cultures of the Southwest.Another wonderful quality is that we each have our own personal interests whether it is environmental, political, traditional, special interests in jewelry, etc, etc.etc.I remember a tag team tour I did years ago and remembering how many things I learned from the other guide that I never knew about.Itis not as painful as it sounds, it is fun and demonstrates unity amongst our guides to the public and is something you will do if lets say your tour is too small to split. How small is too small? Let’s say 5-10 people.
I know it takes some time to become fully acquainted with galleries, the museum layout etc.I also know that when there is an 11 am Highlights tour and then 11:30 am Gallery Talk that you can and very well might bump into one another.Please keep in mind that if you see a Highlights tour at 11 am and 11:30 am Gallery Talk please start your tour in the gallery of the assigned 11:30 am Gallery Talk so that by the time the Gallery Talk starts you will be out of the way.It’s all a very elegant dance but once it is mastered everyone’s touring day is much more pleasant.
Blue Chips
The blue chips are a vehicle for increased visitor engagement.When people check in and pay at admissions they are allowed to take one blue chip to place in any one of the boxes located just outside of Lovena Ohl Gallery.The pictures represent recent acquisitions to the Heard Museum collection.On February 14th we will stop accepting blue chips and end the votes on facebook. The public has a unique opportunity to participate in the selecting of the pieces for this upcoming exhibit: “That’s the way I Like it”. This exhibit has an opening date of April 26, 2013
Reminders
Please keep tours to 45 minutes.Gallery Talks, 20 minutes.
Please remember to check the galleries and replenish activities if necessary. Please rove in galleries and engage with public.
Please obtain subs in timely manner, not one week before. Holidays are around the corner – GET YOURSUBS NOW!
School Tour Training Seminar will beheld this year on November 7th 9:30 am to noon.Please RSVP to sben@heard.org if you are planning to attend.Why attend? Learn touring technique forour younger crowds, about school tours at the Heard and particpate in a Bonus Tour!
Round of Applause
At the Education Exchange I was asked if we could add a section that highlights the great feedback we get from our visitors.In future Noticias I will call this “Round of Applause”
A few of these are from awhile back….but it’s a good start.
6/25– Tim Gerke received two comment cards about his great tours! (comment card)
6/27– Jan Lanthrop did a 2pm and 3pm tour and received great praise! (visitor survey)
8/13– When asked whatwas the best part ofyour visit: “Tour Guides!”(visitor survey)
9/8–Our guides were “very good” (visitor survey)
9/10– Card to Sue Snyder – “Dear Sue, We just wanted to thank you again for such a wonderful tour of the museum.You were wonderful and we can’t wait to visit again!–The Terraces of Phoenix Residents.
9/24–Email from teacher at Tesseract Upper School about Mary Lee Madison’s School tour –“Hello.I would like to take this opportunity to say thanks for allowing our Peruvian exchange students to visit your museum. By all accounts, it was informative and educational. They really complimented the volunteer docent too. They said she was very well prepared for the group and kept them engaged. I hope we are able to have a similar experience next year.Best regards”
Our Very own Lea Seago will be inducted in the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame for her work in the service and over 6,600 hours of volunteer work for the Heard Museum!Congratulations Lea! (please see the attached pdf of the article).
Thanks, Shaliyah
Exhibit Schedule
Home: Native People in the Southwest – long term We Are! Arizona’s FirstPeople – long term
Every Picture Tells a Story– long term
Remembering Our Boarding School Days – long term Around the World –long-term
“ElegancefromEarth:Hopi Pottery Families”– through June2013 “RethaWalden Gambaro: Attitudes of Prayer”– through December31
“Georgia O’Keeffe in New Mexico: Architechture, Katsinam, and the Land – throughMarch3, 2014
“Chocolate, Chili, and Cochineal: Changing Taste Around the World“ – through November30, 2014
” Cuentos Populares: Art by Latino Artists” – through January 5, 2014
Heard North at the Summit
“Choices and Change: American Indian Artists in the Southwest”–longterm
“Stories Outside the Lines: American Indian Ledger Art”-through September22,2013
The Heard Museum, 2301 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona 85004