Volunteers are essential to S'edav Va'aki Museum's mission of interpretation, research, and preservation. There are many benefits to volunteering at S'edav Va'aki Museum. These include learning tangible skills, meeting people with similar interests, access to exclusive events and trainings, and helping enhance visitor experiences at an award-winning, accredited museum. See below to learn about the different volunteer opportunities we offer. To learn more about each position, click the title. To become a volunteer, sign up
here.
On-Going Volunteer
Opportunities
Collections Volunteer: Work in partnership with Collections staff to digitize, photograph, catalog, and preserve S'edav Va'aki Museum’s artifact and archival collection. By joining our Collections team, you will assist with the preservation of the collection of S'edav Va'aki Museum.
Exhibits Volunteer: Exhibits volunteers help prepare and install temporary exhibitions, outreach educational displays, and special off-site exhibitions; and maintain permanent indoor and outdoor exhibits. Exhibits volunteers research, design, build, and create the exhibits our visitors get to enjoy.
Front Desk Ambassador: Front Desk Ambassadors assist with all aspects of visitor services at the Museum: reception desk, admission, registration for public programs, visitor statistics. By joining the Front Desk Ambassadors, you will help make SVM a great place to visit.
Garden Volunteer: Garden volunteers maintain the Museum’s Native Plants Garden, which showcases a variety of traditional Native American food staples and desert plants used for construction, clothing, and medicinal purposes. Garden volunteers design, plant, water and weed the garden and assist staff in teaching audiences about Sonoran Desert plants.
Museum Store Attendant: Independently run museum store operations during volunteer shift. This includes welcoming visitors, answering questions about the site and objects that are for sale, conducting simple transactions, and opening and closing duties. The museum store is operated by the S'edav Va'aki Museum Foundation (501c3).
Interpreter/Docent: Interpreters/Docents meet and greet museum visitors, supply information, and conduct tours for visitors in the museum’s galleries. Initiate interaction (i.e. conversations about artifacts) and answer questions for visitors in the museum’s various galleries. Docents may also facilitate crafts or programs about topics such as the archaeology, life in the southwest, and the canals.
Mudslinger: Mudslingers participate in the process of stabilizing S’edav Va’aki’s earthen structures by creating adobe from natural materials (“mud”) and applying it to the structures, typically by throwing (“slinging”). This process is invaluable to the continued preservation of the invaluable cultural resources that S’edav Va’aki stewards. Open to groups up to 25.
One-Time Volunteer
Opportunities
If you are looking to volunteer just for an event like S'edav Va'aki Museum Foundation Indian Market, Portal to the Past Festival, or Ancient Technology Day, please call us at (602) 495-0901 during business hours to learn about what is available.
Community Service
If you are interested in community service hours, please call S'edav Va'aki Museum at (602) 495-0901 during business hours to schedule your hours before arriving.
Service Hour Shifts are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday:
Summer: 6:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Fall, Winter, & Spring: 7:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Please bring water bottle, hat, closed-toed shoes, and work gloves and arrive promptly at the given start time (unless otherwise approved by the museum). If you no-call, no-show, you will not be able to complete any further hours at the museum. We are an approved court-ordered community service facility.
