On July 9 we kicked off orientation for a new group of tour guides. During this session, the volunteers were introduced to what docents do here at the Maltz Museum. Since then, we’ve offered various training sessions on topics such as Cleveland Jewish history, the Holocaust and basics of conversational interpretation. We were fortunate to hear from experts such as Sean Martin, Associate Curator for Jewish History at the Western Reserve Historical Society, and Mark Cole, Associate Lecturer at Cleveland State University. Both are very busy and we appreciate the time they took to share their knowledge with us. Martin is speaking on Thurs., Oct. 1 about his newest book, A Stitch in Time: The Cleveland Garment Industry, at the Cuyahoga County Public Library. (You can register here.) Cole is a cultural historian whose research interests include the rise of Nazism, the Holocaust and food consumption. Most recently he wrote a book chapter for Kontrollierte Arbeit – disziplinierte Körper?.
In this new cohort we have an amazing group of 20 diverse individuals who all exhibit enthusiasm and curiosity, not to mention a deep commitment to what the Museum offers as a cultural hub. We are very excited they will be sharing their expertise, time and passion with our visitors. Upcoming training sessions will cover Jewish art, Israel and questioning techniques. If you would like to get involved in our volunteer program at the Maltz Museum as a guide or in other ways, please contact Aaron Bane at 216.593.0587 or wbane@mmjh.org.
–Hadas Binyamini, Coordinator of Student Learning & Community & Aaron Bane, Interim Manager of Volunteers & Visitor Services
