New Volunteer Docents to be trained at Sea Life Park
Teaching about the Sea
by Keene Rees
What is a Docent?
Sea Life Park has a group of about 70 dedicated volunteers known as docents. They are the ones who teach the many school children who visit Sea Life Park each day about a variety of marine life from Albatross to Zooplankton. They also teach in the community through special events, exhibits, displays, and presentations.
How do they get so smart?
Each fall there is a 50+ hour training course given by Sea Life Park staff and various experts in the field. It covers such topics as corals, marine invertebrates, ocean plants, fish, seals, dolphins, whales, and much, much more. After the course a docent usually learns a presentation on one topic of interest and comes once a week to give it to school groups.
What do they get out of it?
In addition to gaining new knowledge and skills, docents make new friends, participate in field trips and social events, and receive free family admission and discounts at Sea Life Park. Volunteers come from many backgrounds and range from high school seniors to retirees.
Meet Maggie:
Maggie Nakamura, a Waimanalo resident, took the Docent Workshop in 1993 and began teaching preschool and kindergarten students about sea turtles, sea stars, and other topics. She also helps with one of the plays given for first to third graders. She finds the schedule works well with her job as a nurse at Queens Hospital. Maggie loves being with the children and seeing their faces light up as they watch the animals and touch the many props she uses in her presentation. She has also enjoyed traveling to different parts of the island and even outer-island to teach about ocean life.
How about you?
If you'd like to learn more about the program, attend a free orientation session on Wednesday, September 6 at 9 am. It's a chance to learn everything involved in being a Volunteer Docent at Sea Life Park. Reserve a spot by calling 259-6476.