York Castle Museum

Volunteering

Welcome to our Volunteer Programme

Working in the Yorkshire Museum library

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 21^st 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 Observatory

Examining the Observatory clock

Volunteers work on a rota basis to open the Observatory and welcome visitors to this beautiful building in the Museum Gardens, explaining the history of the Observatory itself and the collections it houses.

No specific astronomical skills or knowledge are required, but a keen interest is essential as volunteers are asked to learn about the history of astronomy in York and impart this knowledge to visitors in an interesting and enthusiastic manner. There are opportunities for training in how to use the telescope, but this is not compulsory.

Volunteers man the Observatory in pairs and are supported by the Assistant Curator of Astronomy, the Yorkshire Museum Manager and the Volunteers Manager. Volunteer sessions are usually three hours at a time on weekday afternoons or Saturdays across lunchtime, but do not necessarily have to be every week.

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 York Museums Trust 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 York Art Gallery, please also specify this in the "Area of Interest" box.


Meet the volunteer...

Pam Beilby in York Observatory

Our volunteers take part in a wide variety of projects - here is just one example.

Name Pam Beilby

Age 62

Role Volunteer in the York Observatory in the Museum Gardens

What has the work involved? My work involves meeting and greeting people who visit the Observatory, telling them about the history of the building, taking them up to see the telescope and just generally chatting to them and making them feel welcome.

How did you get involved? I saw an advert for people who wanted to volunteer to get in touch, but thought I probably wouldn't be suitable because, although interested and enthusiastic about the subject, I didn't know such a lot about astronomy. The job, though, is much more about the history of the Observatory. We got lots of training and Martin Lunn, the museum's astronomer, was great and spent time with us explaining everything.

Would you recommend it to others? Yes I would - I love being there and helping people to enjoy the experience of visiting the Observatory. The building itself is so worth preserving and visitors often remark on how wonderful it is for it to be open for everyone to appreciate.

Our verdict Martin Lunn, Assistant Curator of Astronomy, says: "Pam has been absolutely terrific, in fact she's been one of the linchpins of the Observatory project. She's a real stalwart and is as enthusiastic and interested now as she was on day one."