If you like learning about the history of Nevada and, maybe, showing off a bit by explaining it to other people, the Nevada State Museum has a place for you.
Museum officials are looking for people interested in becoming volunteer tour guides at the museum and the Capitol.
Curator of Education Deborah Stevenson said she planned two days of presentations which she hopes will not only be educational, but fun. Training is free and runs from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday this week and next.
"We have over 10,000 people per year participating in guided tours at the museum and the state Capitol and all those tours are done by volunteer guides," she said.
Stevenson said the museum has about 25 active guides but that some days there are as many as three or four tours and that would welcome more people interested in becoming guides.
While many of the guides are seniors with the time to devote to the museum tours, Stevenson said all ages are welcome to take the training.
The training starts Tuesday with vocal coach Marsh Brodeur, who will teach vocal techniques to make the tour presentations a bit more lively and fun. Cultural Affairs Director Michael Fischer's portrayal of western Nevada pioneer rancher H.S. Dangberg and history curator Bob Nylen's portrayal of William Stewart, one of Carson City's founding fathers will follow.
"We're moving into a new era where we'd like to think of history as performance," she said.
A tour of the Marjorie Russell Clothing and Textile Center will be given Tuesday where Jan Loverin will discuss fashion history - including such things as Victorian era undergarments, hoop skirts and bustles. Rachel Dolbier of the W.M. Keck Earth Sciences and Mineral Engineering Museum will talk about the mine exhibit at the museum and how mining plays into the history of Nevada.
The training resumes Sept. 25 with D.D. Lapointe of the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology giving a lab tour of rock and minerals. Also on the list is the mammoth skeletons unearthed near the Black Rock Desert north of Reno.
The final day will feature, among other presenters, Donna Cossette of the Fallon Paiute Tribe who will take prospective guides through the "Under One Sky" exhibit.
• Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.
If you go
What: Tour guide training
Where: Nevada State Museum, 600 N. Carson St.
When: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and Sept. 25 and 26
Cost: Free, refreshments provided
CALL: Deborah Stevenson, curator of education, 687-4810 ext. 237