"In February of 1996, a charming letter from a fourth-grade girl who had recently visited the Durant-Peterson House Museum inspired us to begin the volunteer program for youngsters which evolved into the Prairie Children corps [now Junior Docent program]. Seven years later, that nine-year-old is a junior at St. Charles East High School--and still a committed volunteer at our historic site... Linda Saxer, director of the Durant-Peterson House Museum deserves all the credit for starting this program, training youngsters to serve as competent guides, and offering them such perks as candlelight hearth dinners every November.
An extra perk for us: these children are much better than our adult docents at steering visitors to the Donation box!
We feel extra pround about [this award from the Illinois Association of Museums] because we are up against the 'big boys' in the Museum world when these awards are handed out. It's nice to know that when it comes to excellence, we are every bit the equal of the Field Museum and the Chicago Historical Society."
If you are interested in volunteering with this award-winning program, please click the box below for more information.
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SOURCE: "Younger Generation Earns Kudos Too," Advocate (Winter/Spring 2003): 2.