Guiding Procedures

Arrive for your tour shift on time.

Sign-in at Security.

Tour any group scheduled and carry out assignment posted on the Weekly Schedule.

No tours other than those printed on the schedule may be conducted. Public tours must follow the Museum schedule.

Scheduled gallery talks and time allocated will appear on the electronic sign at the Information Desk by Museum staff.

When time permits, the guide may elect to do a third assignment in the 45-minute block of time, unless this imposes physical hardship. It can be either Gallery Duty, Roving or Gallery Talk.  When arranging a Gallery Talk, be sure it fits in with previously scheduled tours and discuss it with other guides on duty.

Immediately following each Tour Shift, please record the information in the Online Sign-Out Form on the Computer in the Guild room.   If it was a tour or talk, record the number of people attending unless it was a private, paying tour or school tour. Admissions already has that number. The number you record should be as accurate as possible, since grant applications, decisions and policies depend on correct attendance figures

If the guide is Roving or doing Gallery Duty and ends up doing an impromptu Gallery Talk for 20 minutes, it is then considered a Gallery Talk and should be logged in as such in the Online Sign-Out Form. It should include the ”number of people” the guide spoke to and the ”exhibit name” as the assignment.

Guides must sign out at security when leaving so staff will know that the guides are no longer on duty.

If there is last minute cancellation, the guide will receive full credit for the tour.

Instructions for a ”No Show” group:

  1. After 15 minutes, call the group’s contact person. The name and number are part of the contact guide information.
  2. lf the group is on the way, wait for it.
  3. If you are told the group is not coming assume Gallery Duty or Roving.
  4. If no information is obtained, all guides remain on duty for 30 minutes before leaving or assuming Gallery Duty or Roving.
  5. Tour credit will be given for ”no show” groups.

A single person showing up for a Public tour constitutes a large enough ”group” to be taken on a 45-minute tour. Private guided tours are booked for groups of approximately ten or larger.

In order to ensure a pleasant and personal tour for every visitor, guides are required to split both scheduled and public tours evenly if two or more guides are listed for the same tour. It is quite appropriate to divide small groups such as eight visitors into two groups or use the team approach. Either way, visitors will automatically receive more attention and feel very special. Both guides should do the same type of tour that was assigned – Highlights or Home. The splitting or teaming of tours also ensures that each guide fulfills his/her tour requirements and is busy during on-duty time.

The guide’s job is to show people how to enjoy the exhibits in the museum, not to show them everything