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Volunteer

Our Volunteers

Our docents and volunteers are the soul of our museum. They help bring the stories behind our artefacts to life.

Volunteer at the National Museum of Singapore

Over the years, the National Museum of Singapore's family of museum volunteers and docents has grown from strength to strength, counting amongst them private organisations such as Friends of the Museums (FOM), Museum Volunteers (MV), Japanese Docents (JD) and Mandarin Docents (MD), with individuals who are simply passionate about sharing their love for Singapore's history and heritage by providing weekday and weekend guided tours in English, Mandarin and Japanese respectively.

They promote learning not only through guided tours but also through programmes such as lectures, trails and workshops. Our volunteers also work very closely with museum staff on content-related matters and provide useful on-the-ground feedback on the visitor experience.

Apart from these groups, we have two other volunteer groups that support our museum's visitor experience and initiatives:

  • Museum Hosts (MHs) are volunteers who provide valuable services and contributions to the museum. This includes front-desk assistance, supporting the museum's programmes and festivals, as well as acting as ambassadors of the National Museum and helping to enhance the visitor experience through meaningful interaction.
  • Care Facilitators (CFs) are a dedicated pool of volunteers who support our museum's care initiatives and programmes, such as our conversational guided tours for seniors and Reunion social space programmes for visitors with additional needs, including those living with dementia.
Volunteer with us
 

Friends of the Museums

Applications for docent training for 2024-25 are now open. Apply at the links below for English or Japanese docent training.

Friends of the Museums (FOM) is a volunteer, non-profit society that complements the efforts of the National Heritage Board (NHB) in bringing the knowledge of Asian history, culture and art to the community. FOM achieves this by providing guiding services and other forms of partnership to 9 of Singapore's museums and heritage institutions.

Founded in 1978, FOM presently has nearly 1,500 members, from over 50 countries. It is also an associate member of the prestigious World Federation of the Friends of Museums.

FOM provides its own members with enrichment opportunities via docent training, study groups and other educational and cultural programmes. Membership is open to anyone who shares its vision. FOM offers six different membership categories to choose from.

At NMS, FOM provides free guided tours in English, Japanese, French and Korean. To be a weekday volunteer guide in English and Japanese, it is necessary to be a FOM member and successfully complete the docent training programme. The extensive training includes lectures, field trips, recommended reading as well as the preparation of gallery talks and the final tour paper.

Those wishing to guide in French or Korean are also required to complete the training in English before they can guide in these languages.

Friends of the Museums volunteer application
English Docent Training
Japanese Docent Training

For any queries, please call 6337 3685 or e-mail office@fom.sg.

 

Museum Volunteers

The Museum Volunteers (MVs) is a group of English-speaking volunteer guides. We provide free tours to the public in English at various National Heritage Board (NHB) museums and heritage institutions in Singapore. We aim to increase the public's appreciation of the collections in the museums and institutions as well as to enrich the experience of our visitors. In addition, some MVs volunteer with the Preservation of Sites and Monuments to offer tours of national monuments and with the Singapore Biennale to guide visitors when it is held. The group was also involved in the training of new guides for Singapore's very first community museum at Taman Jurong.

All MVs undergo training to familiarise themselves with the museums and institutions they guide at and to equip themselves with good communication and interpretive skills.

We have about 200 members now. Most of the MVs are Singaporeans with the rest from Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. The age group ranges from the 20s to the 70s. Most of us hold full-time jobs and we share a passion for heritage, culture and the arts.

You may follow the Museum Volunteers facebook page to better understand the Museum Volunteer group in general.

Museum Volunteers Singapore

If you are interested to be updated via email about their recruitment, please complete and submit the online Volunteer Registration of Interest Form and we will be in touch when they commence their recruitment.

Enquire now
 

Japanese Docents

ミュージアム日本語ガイドグループは、Friends of the Museums (FOM)の組織の一つとして、1981年、シンガポール国立博物館(NMS)でのボランティア日本語ガイド活動をスタートしました。その後、ガイド活動はシンガポール美術館(SAM)、アジア文明博物館(ACM)、プラナカン博物館(TPM)にも広がり、近年では常時50-90名程度のガイドメンバーが在籍しております。入会者を定期的に募集し、トレーニングを行っております。

シンガポールを中心としたアジアの深い歴史や文化、盛り上がりを見せる東南アジアの現代アートを日本語でご紹介することで、より多くの方にシンガポールのミュージアムを楽しんでもらうお手伝いがで きたらと願っています。ガイド活動やミュージアム情報について詳しくは公式ブログ(http://jdguide.exblog.jp/)をご覧ください。日本語ガイドに関するお問い合わせはjdmuseumguide@yahoo.co.jpまで。(ただし、団体予約、ガイド予約につきましては直接ミュージアムにお問い合わせください)

 

Mandarin Docents

结交同好、传播文化、服务人群、提升自己。

我们是新加坡国家博物馆 (National Museum of Singapore) 华文导览组的华文义务导览员,主要任务是为参观国家博物馆历史展馆和特别展览的访客提供中文导览,解说展品背后的故事。

虽然我们来自不同的生活背景,但我们共拥对文史的爱好与回馈社会的热忱。我们通过配合国家博物馆的活动,让更多使用华语的访客进一步了解新加坡的历史、文化、情感与认同。

在参与国家博物馆的导览活动的过程中,我们也通过深入研究展出文物、组织讲座及参观团、在《博物馆华文义工 研习坊》的网站上分享心得等活动,除了促进导览员间的联系与交流,也为访客制造一个思考与回忆的平台。

欲知详情,请参阅华文义工网站:

博物馆华文义工:研习坊

或发电邮至:

mandarindocents.nms@gmail.com
 

Museum Hosts

Museum Hosts (MHs) are volunteers who provide a variety of valuable services and contributions to the museum. The roles of MHs range from front-desk assistance to supporting the museum's programmes and festivals, as well as acting as ambassadors of the National Museum and helping to enhance the visitor experience through meaningful interactions.

MHs undergo a six-week orientation and training programme to equip them with the essential skills and knowledge to fully support the museum's initiatives, understand our operational aspects, familiarise themselves with our galleries and meet the needs of different visitors. MHs add a personal touch to the visitor experience.

Join us as a Museum Host

Stay tuned for our next Museum Hosts recruitment.
Find out more
Email for enquiries
 

Care Facilitators

Care Facilitators (CFs) are a dedicated pool of volunteers recruited to support the National Museum's care initiatives and programmes. The roles of CFs range from guiding seniors (including persons living with dementia and caregivers) on conversational gallery tours to supporting and facilitating some of our museum's programmes at our Reunion social space.

CFs undergo a six-week orientation and training programme where they will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to:

  • Engage seniors, including visitors with dementia and accompanying caregivers, in our museum's galleries and Reunion social space – the first dedicated social space for seniors in a local museum.
  • Facilitate conversations with seniors using the museum's artefacts through conversational guided tours.
  • Support the running of our museum's signature programmes for seniors and visitors with additional needs.

Join us as a Care Facilitator

If you have a caring personality and are keen to spend time with seniors and persons with additional needs, and/or are keen to explore how the museum's collection can be used to support our visitors' well-being, we welcome you to join us as a Care Facilitator.

Stay tuned for our next recruitment.
Find out more
Email for enquiries