Museum of Art Amarillo Museum of Art, on the east side of the Washington Street campus of Amarillo College, uses volunteers called docents to conduct educational tours for students and other visitors and to assist museum staff with programs such as teacher services, research and art classes. Docents also serve as greeters at the reception desk. Docent training leads to knowledge of art history in general as well as specialized studies of the museum's offerings. Cullen Lutz, who directs volunteers, said active docents serve at least 50 hours a year. Associate docents serve 35 hours a year.
Docents act as aides in children's classes at the museum and assist in community outreach programs.
Amarillo Art Museum uses docents as greeters, as assistants in managing scrapbooks and archival records and in mailing of printed material from the museum. Need for docents was recognized even before the Amarillo Museum of Art opened in 1972. Betty Bivins Childers, who died in 1982, was a leading force in the creation of the Amarillo Museum of Art, formerly the Amarillo Art Center, of which Childers was on the board of directors. Botanical Gardens Amarillo Botanical Gardens in the Harrington Medical Center serves a population from pre-kindergarten to nursing homes. Begun about 30 years ago as the Amarillo Garden Center through the work of garden clubs, Amarillo Botanical Gardens uses volunteers for hands-on gardening as well as hospitality and education.