Share your interest
After checking out the volunteer opportunies below, share your interest with us by downloading the fillable PDF and emailing your completed form to MIAC.Education@dca.nm.gov - It's that easy.
Regular Volunteer Needs
Education
The Living Traditions Educational Program provides the opportunity for volunteers and docents to assist in the school tour program through preparation of curriculum and materials as well as hands-on activities during tours. Docents are trained to guide students through the museum exhibits, providing unique tours to the youth visitors. Docents and volunteers also work with students in the classroom and outdoors doing hands-on activities, as well as special educational yearly events such as Sun Mountain Gathering and Winter Feast. Volunteers are needed Tuesday through Fridays and occasionally weekends.
Complete the simple form at the bottom of this page for quickest response to your volunteer interest. If you have questions not addressed here, contact the Director of Education at 505-476-1272.
Museum Gift Shop
The Colleen Cloney Duncan Museum Shop's selections reflect the collections of the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture and is a truly unique shopping experience. The shop provides visitors with a wide array of contemporary Native arts — ceramics, sculpture, textiles, jewelry, kachina dolls, prints, and baskets — as well as clothing and an extensive selection of popular and scholarly books on Native cultures, boxed cards, etc. Volunteers are needed to help with retail sales and general shop needs, especially on weekends.
Complete the simple form at the bottom of this page for quickest response to your volunteer interest. If you have questions not addressed here, contact the Museum Gift Shop at 505-982-5057 or miacshop@swcp.com.
Laboratory of Anthropology Library
The Laboratory of Anthropology maintains an extensive research library and archives. The museum has a 25,000-volume non-circulating special research library, computer catalogued and available to the public and researchers in the library or online via OCLC. The library specializes in the southwestern American Indian cultures from earliest times to the contemporary. We are looking for people willing to shelve books (knowledge of Dewey Decimal system necessary) as well as repair books and periodicals, check in journals, indexing projects, and assist patrons. We also need volunteers to help organize and run the annual Book Sale Fundraiser. Tasks include sorting donations and pricing books, cash handling, and supervising book sale areas. Special projects may include placing leftover donated items on eBay or other online listings (Amazon.com or AbeBooks, etc.), book weeding projects, or updating/cleaning up the catalog database.
Volunteer hours are available from 8:30am–4:30pm, Monday–Friday.
General Office Assistance
From time to time, MIAC needs help with photocopying, collating, data entry, filing, assembling packets/binders, member mailings, etc. Complete the simple form at the bottom of this page if you wouldn't mind being asked for help with short notice.
MIAC Native Gardens and the Avanyu Trail
Working outdoors with replicas of historic and prehistoric structures and native plants.
Complete the simple form at the bottom of this page for quickest response to your volunteer interest. If you have questions not addressed here, contact the Director of Education at 505-476-1272.
Docent Training Program
Docents are an essential and sustaining part of the Museum, and indeed serve as the public face of the Museum for our visitors from around the state and around the world. We rely on our docents to give daily guided tours, to help with our hands-on classroom activities and outreach visits, and to participate in our fundraising and special events for the public, as available.
Docent training classes are arranged by the docent coordinator, other knowledgeable museum staff, guest artists and speakers, tribal representatives, with panel discussions, and studio tours as well as other field trips. Following successful training as a docent, we ask that you be able to commit a minimum of two years as a docent.
Trainings
Archival Assistant
Perfect for a lover of Southwestern and New Mexico history, the archival assistant will work with the archivist to process and tag archival material with ID numbers for later use. Special projects within the archives are available. Seeking well-organized and curious individuals.
- Training: On-the-job
- Time Commitment: 4–8 hrs/week; flexible schedule, no weekends
Exhibitions Assistant
Always wanted to know what it takes to put on a museum exhibition? Help copy-edit text, do research, and assist in other exhibition needs.
- Training: On-the-job
- Time Commitment: Variable, dependent on exhibition schedule
K–12 Docent and Lesson Leader
Teach children from all over the country about the Indigenous Peoples of the Southwest! K–12 Docents will lead hour-long tours in our core exhibition, Here, Now and Always, and rotating exhibitions, focusing on requested themes. Experience with children is a plus.
- Training: Sessions scheduled monthly in advance
- Time Commitment: Four 2-hour visits a year; irregular but scheduled in advance
Museum Docent
Lead groups on tours of the Museum and Laboratory of Anthropology for adults around the country and world! Develop themed tours for the needs of different audiences.
- Training: Sessions scheduled monthly in advance
- Time Commitment: Two to three 30–60-minute tours per month; irregular but scheduled in advance
Library Assistant
For the well-organized individual: assist the LOA librarian in shelving collections, including rare and oversized books. Tasks also include keeping items in sequence order, creating identification labels for periodicals, and processing received materials. Computer proficiency required. Previous library and database experience is a plus.
- Training: On-the-job
- Time Commitment: 4–8 hrs/week, no weekends
Special Events
Assist with the many exciting special events at the museum. Varies from indoor to outdoor events, preparing materials, or leading activities.
- Training and Time Commitment: Variable
Is there something you are interested in and want to learn more about in the museum field? There are many special projects available! Please specify in your volunteer submission form what you would like to know!
Share your interest
Share your interest with us by downloading the fillable PDF and emailing your completed form to MIAC.Education@dca.nm.gov - It's that easy.