Volunteering
Welcome to our Volunteer Programme
York Museums Trust has an active Volunteer Programme across all of its sites and we welcome volunteers from all walks of life. Our volunteers are invaluable in helping us to achieve one of our core objectives of promoting access to the collections, gardens and buildings appropriate to the 21st Century.
We have a diverse range of volunteer projects; many are "behind the scenes" such as research projects, cataloguing or preparation of holiday activities, but we also have a number of opportunities for volunteers to be in the "front seat", interacting with visitors to enthuse and inspire them with objects from the collections that we care for.
Projects for which we are currently recruiting
York Castle Museum Studios
Making old-fashioned ice cream in the Kitchen Studio
These are three themed activity spaces within York Castle Museum where staff and volunteers work together to demonstrate and interpret items from the collections to visitors. We have Kitchen, Military and Costume Studios, based on relevant parts of our social and military history collections.
Each Studio runs a varied programme of activities throughout the year which incorporate a range of actual collection objects alongside appropriate replicas. Examples of recent activities include:
Kitchen Studio - Ice Cream Exploring the methods, equipment and recipes of historic ice cream making. Demonstrators prepared ice cream using two different machines and also used antique ice cream moulds to demonstrate how to shape sorbet. Visitors were encouraged to assist in the preparation and also taste the results.
Military Studio - Dressed for Action Looking at the development of soldiers' field uniform from c1660 to the present. Volunteers helped visitors to try on a variety of replica costumes as well as demonstrating genuine examples from the military collection which reflected the conflicting ideals of ceremony and field practicality.
Costume Studio - Dressing Up Original garments from the collection were on display along with a number of replica items such as corsets and crinolines which visitors were able to try on with the assistance of the demonstrator who also explained the process of dressing in Victorian ladies underwear.
No specialist knowledge is required, though an interest in the subject area is obviously desirable. There is a full training programme attached to this project and this is an essential part of the time commitment for volunteers as most of the activities cannot be undertaken without the appropriate training. We provide presentation skills, object handling, general museum skills and activity specific training as well as Basic Food Hygiene Certificated courses for the Kitchen Studio.
All three Studios open together during holiday period whilst during term time at least one Studio is open at any one time. When they are open the Studios operate seven days a week and volunteer sessions can be as many half or whole days as the volunteer is able to do.
How to apply for current projects
If you would like to get involved with any of our current projects, please click here to download and complete a copy of our Volunteer Application Form and return it to fiona.burton@ymt.org.uk or send it by post to Fiona Burton, Volunteers Manager, York Museums Trust, York Castle Museum, The Eye of York, YORK, YO1 9RY
Future Projects
We have plans for a number of volunteer projects in the future and we frequently have small ad hoc projects coming up. If none of our current projects are for you but you would still like to explore the possibility of volunteering with us, why not join our volunteer database?
Volunteer Database
We maintain a database of potential volunteers who are sent information by e-mail about all our volunteer projects as we launch them. The information covers all our sites but you can ignore anything that doesn’t interest you. We do not use your contact details for any other purpose within YMT and we never disclose them to third parties.
How to apply to join our database
If you would like to be included on the database, please complete the online form at the bottom of this page marking the "Area of Interest" as Database. If you are only interested in volunteering at one of our sites, eg Art Gallery, please also specify this in the "Area of Interest" box.
Meet the volunteer...
Our volunteers take part in a wide variety of projects - here is just one example.
Name Mary Cox
Age 57
Role Volunteer with the York Castle Museum learning team
What has the work involved? I come in once a week, more often when needed, and help prepare craft activities, trails and booklets for school groups. At the moment I’m working on materials for the Post Early for Christmas workshop for nursery, reception and Key Stage 1 children, including making a cardboard copy of the museum’s Edwardian postbox!
How did you get involved? I got involved seven years ago after doing a placement at the museum, organised through Target Training in York, where I was learning computer skills.
Would you recommend it to others? Yes I would. It’s creative, friendly and I do a bit of anything and everything. That’s the joy of it really!
Our verdict Lucy Knock, assistant curator of social history learning, says: "Mary comes in every week and does so much for us that we don't have time to do. She is our most experienced volunteer and understands the ethos of the Castle Museum and what we are aiming to achieve. She is absolutely brilliant!"
