Our team of welcoming, friendly, inclusive, and flexible volunteer Guides facilitate dialogue during guided tours for elementary and secondary groups from the City of Boston and the wider region.

All School Group Guides are:

• Dedicated to the MFA’s Mission, and passionate about sharing the Museum’s collection with others.
• Friendly, outgoing, team players. Thoughtful and collaborative.
• Attentive listeners. Flexible problem solvers.
• Compassionate, caring, and culturally responsive.

Role Description

Each school year, School Group Guides facilitate thematic tours in the many different collections and galleries of the MFA. Through interactive, art-based discussions, and hands-on learning activities in the galleries, School Group Guides engage students in looking, thinking, and talking about art. School Group Guides advance the Museum’s mission by serving both those who are already familiar with art and those for whom art is a new experience, via direct encounters with works of art. Through these encounters, School Group Guides encourage inquiry and greater cultural awareness by creating space for multiple perspectives and the telling of fuller more nuanced stories.

Requirements

• All School Group Guides must be able to facilitate a 75-minute experience, including walking with groups to multiple galleries across the Museum and being active in the museum spaces.
• All School Group Guides must complete the initial 9-month training program, which includes content and facilitation training, tour shadowing, and tour co-facilitation.
• After satisfactory completion of the initial training program, this role requires a one-year commitment, facilitating tours one weekday morning per week from mid-October through the end of June.
• All applicants must have an active e-mail address, must learn to utilize the MFA’s online learning system, and be comfortable communicating via e-mail and managing their tour schedules online.
• All applicants must attend required online and in-person volunteer training sessions for all Museum volunteers, including Museum orientation, training in Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access, safety procedures, and other role specific training.
• All applicants must be committed to the Museum’s core values of care, inclusion, excellence, curiosity, service, and shared accountability.

Touring Schedule

• In-person school group tours are available Monday-Friday. Tours last about 1 hour.
  • Mondays at 10:30 am
  • Tuesdays at 10:30 am (Tuesday tours last about 75 minutes.)
  • Wednesdays at 9:30, 10:30, and 11:30 am
  • Thursdays at 9:30, 10:30, and 11:30 am
  • Fridays at 10:30 am
• Additional optional touring opportunities with families during the week and weekend of February and April Vacation Weeks
• All applicants should expect to join at least one tour a week.

Benefits

• Free admission to the MFA and other cultural institutions around Boston
• Staff discounts on dining, shopping, and public programs
• Access to special events for volunteers and a weekly newsletter
• Best-in-class collection training
• Camaraderie and friendship

How to Apply

To learn more about this role, please complete the Volunteer Interest Form and select the information session that you would like to attend. Thank you for you interest in volunteering at the MFA!